The Visa in Practice at the Serbian and at the Ukrainian borders

In the following article, I explore and evaluate the practices associated with the Hungarian visa policy. The results are based on field research carried out in the summer of 2006 in the region of Vojvodina and Novi Sad in Serbia and in Trans-Carpathia in Ukraine.
Research focused on the primary actors involved: the applicants, the consulates and the border guards in Ukraine and Serbia. My research was conducted using qualitative research methods, and because of my focus on micro-level processes, there is a lack of representation that should be taken into consideration. Additionally, the number of researchers (two
in Serbia; one in Ukraine) might also infl uence the results.
Our aim was to explore how obligatory visas practically and/or morally impact people’s everyday lives and feelings in the given regions. We were not only interested in the current practices associated with the present visa-system; we were also concerned with the views, expectations and knowledge about Hungary’s forthcoming accession to Schengen. Our research focused entirely on individual citizens and considered Border Guards and Consulates as institutions that possibly affect transborder movements of civilians. Our primary aim was to develop a picture of the general opinion in Serbia and Ukraine about obligatory visas and
Schengen accession.