Does your next vacation destination require a visa? Then beware of dubious websites that charge many times the actual fee for entry permits.
Our cooperation partner Watchlist Internet warns: Particular caution is required when traveling to Australia, Egypt, Vietnam, India and Canada or to the USA and Turkey, for example - but in theory the scam is possible for all destinations where a visa is required.
If you are about to travel to a country that requires a visa from you, it makes sense to apply for an e-visa online. In order not to put unnecessary strain on your holiday budget, it is important to ensure that you always submit your e-visa applications on the official government websites. With third-party offers like evisaeta.com (Australia, Canada, India, Turkey) or estavietnam.com (Vietnam), you can quickly pay a small fortune.
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Overpriced visa!
On the official authority and government websites of holiday destinations where a visa is required, the cost is usually between 0 and 25 euros per application. Dubious websites that have no connection with the respective governments, on the other hand, like to charge up to 90 euros per application. When traveling to Australia, for example, a family of four pays 360 euros for so-called “eVisitor” applications, which are actually given out free of charge.
Data security questionable
Most of the overpriced platforms hardly provide any contact information or legal information. So you don't know who you're actually dealing with, but you have to transmit sensitive data to the person you're dealing with. In the wrong hands, this personal information could be used to commit crimes on your behalf.
Chargeback possible?
If you subsequently discover that you paid more than necessary for your visa, a chargeback usually turns out to be impossible. You can still try to contact the company, announce your withdrawal and request a chargeback. If this doesn't work, contact your credit card provider and request a chargeback. However, there is no legal right to this.
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Visa valid?
In most cases we know of, the overpriced visas were at least valid. Nevertheless, we recommend checking through the official websites or the embassies of the destination countries. In the worst case scenario, you will get to your destination but will not be allowed to enter the country!
Use the Foreign Ministry’s “Countries A to Z”!
The Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) offers a detailed list of countries A to Z. Here you will find all travel information for your holiday destinations. Select a country, find out under “Entry & Exit” whether a visa is necessary and where you can officially apply for one.
However, if you google “Visa Vietnam”, for example, numerous more or less dubious offers appear. This means you run the risk of not ending up on the official website.
Advice & help:
For specific advice requests, please contact the relevant offices that we have listed for you on the “Advice & Help” page: www.watchlist-internet.at/beratung-hilfe
(Watchlist Internet would like to thank numerous readers for their reports on evisaeta.com and estavietnam.com)
Article image: Shutterstock / By Roman Samborskyi
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