‘Being funny not our strong suit’: SEDUCTION visa joke by German Foreign Office causes Twitter backlash & apology

Germany’s Foreign Office was left egg-faced after cracking a joke about visa approval. Office staff issued a hasty apology to the foreigners they’d offended and acknowledged that they probably don’t have a future in comedy.

Germany’s reputation for comedy is as well-known as Ireland’s reputation for sobriety. Still, the country’s Foreign Office tried its hand at humor on Thursday, contributing to the trending hashtag ‘#SeduceSomeoneInFourWords.’

“Your visa got approved” was the FO’s contribution, but commenters on Twitter were unimpressed.

“This is not funny!” one man tweeted. “There are thousands of people who’re waiting for their visas to get approved in order to come and get treatment, study etc. that’s simply the real face of you guys!”

Though other commenters did find the tweet funny, the FO backed off and deleted it, posting an explanation later on Thursday night. “Being funny is apparently not always our strong suit,” the office account tweeted. “We deleted the tweet below and apologize to all who were offended by this. We know the visa process is complex, and visa decisions can deeply affect peoples’ lives. Our colleagues take these decisions very seriously.”

This in turn saw some Twitter backlash, with critics suggesting people needed to “chill a little” and not be “too uptight.”

Whatever about the office’s attempt at humor, at least they used the correct number of words. Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted five: “Some beer, chocolate & waffles.” France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs played to a national stereotype and stuck to: "Hi, I’m French.”

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