Today is Tuesday, October 18, 2016Oh so you want to get permanent residency in Chile AGAIN? (This time was VERY DIFFERENT for me than the last time (1985-ish). WHY you may ask??? Well first of all I was married (I'm a widow now) and secondly I was a missionary (along with my husband) with ABWE (Association of Baptist for World Evangelism) and they had an individual doing all the footwork...paperwork...preliminary stuff. Mostly we just had to sign papers and when the time came get our pictures made, thumbprints taken and PRESTO-CHANGO....we had our legal documents.
SO THIS TIME...I am the footwork person...I am the making appointments person, I am the getting the right thing paid at the right place person....can I just say after seven months..I'M TIRED...but I am closer to that coveted one year Visa. WHEW.....More later....
Today is
Saturday, October 22, 2016 and I can't believe what showed up on my FB yesterday
entitled "What You Were Doing On This Day"....in 2015....Get
ready...I was just beginning the paperwork to get my ONE YEAR VISA GOING.....So
on Wednesday (the 19th) I went back downtown with what I thought was ALL THE
PAPERWORK I NEEDED....I had finally gotten my One Year Visa Paid for ($478 USD)
and when they called my number and I presented the paperwork...I was told
(several times a bit sarcastically) "All these papers are in English and
we ARE IN CHILE and we need them in Spanish" ...like I didn't realize
where I was??? I had called the Chilean Embassy in Miami, FL. and
was told that as long as my documents were legally apostatized that Immigration
would accept them. NOT....now I have to write up a document in Spanish
stating that the US Embassy has verified that my documents are true and this is
what they say...only $50 USD more!!! At this point with all the fees I
had to pay stateside for the documents to be apostatized, shipped here via Fed
Ex, fees in Chile and now the $50 USD...I'm up to $736 USD. I was so
tired after having gone downtown Tuesday and Wednesday...A TON OF WALKING...I
was outta commission physically from 6 PM Thursday evening until this AM
(Saturday 22nd of October). One positive thing is I get to go and visit
my Embassy and I'm going to take my absentee ballot with me to see if they will
fax it to the states for me while I'm there.
