Tourist Reveals Names of Corrupt Macedonian Border Guards

[DraganOfStip]

Originally Posted by Karposh

I didn't realise that it was a requirement to report your presence to the police.

If you're not a Macedonian citizen you must report your stay in the police. Things like how long you will be here and what will be the address of your stay are a requirement.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Spirit

Or how about this one, from a government level.
Apparently if you want to stay in Macedonia longer than 3 months you need a Macedonian passport (I can't remember the cost but it was a couple of hundred euro)otherwise you will pay a considerable fine when you leave, this is what I was told by my cousins when I was there in 2012.
Even though I had no intention of staying longer than I allocated I stated to my cousin that my 3 months should reset once I got back from Spain and England (as stated above I went to Spain and England for 2 weeks in the middle of the three months) should I decide to stay a few weeks extra. My cousin informed me to the best of my memory (and don't quote me on this) that my 3 months would not reset even though I was in another 2 foreign countries for 2 weeks and would only reset the following year. The gist of it is that you can only spend 3 months in Macedonia each year without a Macedonian passport. I don't know how true this is but it seems plausible given the level of blatant open corruption I saw there.
My point is, as I pointed out to my cousins, I have no need for a Macedonian passport as I have an Australian passport which basically allows me to travel anywhere in the world.
The point is, and if this is true, that this just goes to show the mentality of the bureaucrats in the country, let's fleece the foreigners, the diaspora out of a couple of hundred euros. My counter argument would be that if I wanted to spend a year in Macedonia obviously I've got the finances to do so, my spending would be pumping money into the economy and during that year I would obviously be spending a lot more money than the initial couple of hundred euro to get a Macedonian passport, as stated I do not need one as I have an Australian passport. The bureaucrats obviously can't see the bigger and longer picture and are thinking in the short term.

I thought it was pretty much standard practice in most places around the world that a tourist visa is valid for 3 months...and I also thought that if you left the country and returned within that 3 month period that it would reset...

(I'm not suggesting for a moment that Macedonia fits any of the accepted visa conventions found in the civilised world...that would require following rules of law and suitably qualified individuals operating within the law...)

[Karposh]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

I thought it was pretty much standard practice in most places around the world that a tourist visa is valid for 3 months...and I also thought that if you left the country and returned within that 3 month period that it would reset...

(I'm not suggesting for a moment that Macedonia fits any of the accepted visa conventions found in the civilised world...that would require following rules of law and suitably qualified individuals operating within the law...)

That kind of explains why I have been a little bit ignorant about this requirement to report yourself to the police when in Macedonia. Otherwise I would have clued up to it sooner or later I guess. My stays in Macedonia have always been 3 months or less, the amount of time my visa was valid for.

Just in regards to Spirit's encounter with the dodgy police officer, I can't stop thinking about that and it really pisses me off. The police, like all public servants, are employed by the state and receive a tax-funded wage or salary. If Australia is something to go by, public servants are there to serve the people and receive a wage/salary for those services from the government. They should not be charging fees from the public (i.e. naïve tourists) for every form they process or administer to subsidise their poor pay. That is their job and that is what they get paid for by the government. So my advice is to be aware of this when in Macedonia as I imagine the same rule applies for Macedonian public servants. People should be reporting these bastards. Once Macedonian public servants start losing their jobs over unethical behaviour then maybe they will learn the hard way that this is not on.

[Risto the Great]

China is a pain in the arse with all it's tracking of individuals. But every one of their customs entry points allows you to rank the officer letting you into their country from sad face all the way through to happy face.

I remember going into Macedonia once and being questioned thoroughly as to why I was going there. I told them my entire family had dedicated themselves to Macedonia and this was meant to be a visit to my homeland. I might as well have said because I am Greek and I want to go to your shit casino in Epinal. The response was some pathetic grunt and a stamp in the passport. Peasants.

[Niko777]

After reading all of your stories, I consider myself lucky. The only fee I had to pay at the border was 1 or 2 euros for the mandatory health insurance.

BTW Australian passport holders can visit Macedonia for 90 days within any 180 day period. Anything beyond that would require permission or a visa.

[Karposh]

Originally Posted by Risto the Great

I might as well have said because I am Greek and I want to go to your shit casino in Epinal.

Hey, what's your beef with the Bellagio of Bitola anyway? I'll have you know that Epinal is the pride of Bitola and we don't take too kindly to outsiders rubbishing our cultural treasures.

http://www.hotelepinal.com/

[Risto the Great]

The Bellagio of Bitola lol.
Maybe when the taps let go and a fountain is created .... sure!

My most distinct memory of that place was how pathetic the staff were when the Greeks gave them shit. One idiot parked his car (Greek number plates) right where all the cars needed access. He left it there and repeatedly told the staff where to go when they kindly asked him to move it.

My friend (Macedonian from Australia) threatened to burn the car and then he moved it promptly. A great night for all.

[Amphipolis]

Well, I had an unpleasant experience during summer when simply crossing the country by bus 4 times while traveling from Greece to Germany or Italy and vice versa. I was with a student team that participates in some international games.

Having read the dreadful stories about the director whose drone was confiscated, I was really worried, so I ran and ran and gathered all the necessary documents to declare our equipment and be fine. So we did.

Yet at the customs officer of both Macedonia and Serbia we were charged with a total of about 650-700 € simply for crossing the non-EU former Yugoslavian countries (Macedonia and Serbia). The legal pretext was that our equipment was too expensive; there was a danger that we’re smugglers (!) so we’d have to be followed throughout Yugoslavia by a car with state employees that would ensure we’re just crossing and exit the country and we’re not selling any of our equipment.

At first I thought this was a trick but it seems a car DID follow our van (at least for the part of Serbia). I was not with the equipment group, so I didn’t see the situation and the negotiations with my own eyes (it lasted around 3 or 4 hours) and didn’t manage to do anything from my phone.

The team did get receipts for all this and was also given bizarre alternatives when they protested that they are just students, they have all the legal custom documents and they don’t have much money.

For instance, they could pay less if they had accepted a state officer to travel with them IN the van (but the van had three students and three seats so they would have to leave one student out). The customs would also not receive money transfer, they would take only cash and it’s funny that the students had so much cash on them.

The whole blackmail worked fine since if they didn’t pay they would lose the games and they had no time to take a different route to Germany. Of course they would also have to pay an extra 700€ when returning so this time they made a full circle and returned to Greece through Romania and Bulgaria.

Has anyone heard something like this before? Do you think it is normal? Were we royally robbed or not?

As for the four times we crossed Yugoslavia by bus, it felt like passing through 100 checks. Each check meant a delay of 10-30 minutes and for each check the employees (police or custom officers) would take a bribe of 5 € and also anything else (ouzo, coffee, cigarettes, chocolates). I mean ANYTHING, there was an occasion they were bribed with fashionable empty plastic bags (I don’t know what they do with them).

The drivers were very experienced and accustomed with the situation and they knew how to handle each bribe but they also had their limits. For instance, in one case after handling 18 consecutive bribes they just flipped in the 19th one and they didn’t want to give extra money. That meant we delayed more and I believe it was the police who first stepped back and compromised with the 5€ instead of 10 or 15 they were asking.

The above refers to all border crossings (Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia) including European Union crossings. Usually there are four checks per border, a double check (police & customs officers) at exiting each country and a double one while entering the next country. That gives you an idea on the extra money you need if you want to cross Yugoslavia.

[Risto the Great]

Greece circa 20 years ago was about the same and still is in some regards along the border with Macedonia. No excuse for any of these countries to behave this way.

[Stojacanec]

Amphipolis, where were the signs saying "Welcome to Yugoslavia"?