I downloaded the application from the Korean Consulate yesterday. Got it notarized. Next I have to get the photo. Well, I took a photo, but I have to figure out a way to get it to the required 3x4cm. As I mentioned, this is not a standard sized passport photo, so this means I need to manipulate the photo I took so that when it prints out and I take my scissors to it, my head fits into a 3x4cm box. Hopefully that won't be too hard.
I also have to have Proof of Status in Canada. Um. I'm a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport. Will that be enough? Goodness, I sure hope so.
So here is the kicker: I assemble this motley crew of documents and send them to the Korean Consulate with a postage-paid return envelope. If it meets with their approval, they stamp it and send it back to me. I then have to send it myself to the Korean National Police Agency, with international return postage. I sure hope this doesn't take very long.
Yesterday I took this Korean document to a notary. My appointment was at 11:00, and I waited patiently for Mr. So-and-so to call me in. It was at 11:24 that the receptionist went in and told the notary that his 11:00 had arrived. There was a bit of pomp and ceremony, but we got the thing done.
Next on my list was to get my Police Certificate. I don't know what happened, but I phoned and was given incorrect information or I read the website wrong, but I thought I had to go to the West Shore RCMP for this, which is way the heck out in Langford. They only take fingerprints from 12-4 on Wednesdays so I made sure I got there before the window closed. Well, turns out that I needed to go to the Victoria detachment after all. More driving. Parking is hard to find in that area because it is right next to the Memorial Arena where concerts and games are held, and there was an event that evening. I went up to the counter, and the polite lady behind the glass informed me that they only take fingerprints at 1:00 on Wednesdays. Well, it was Wednesday but it was 3:45. I'll have to wait another week.
So there I was mad at bureaucracy, mad at the world, mad at having to do all this crap. We were so close and this adds another layer or two of complexity. They really do make it hard for immigrants. Everyone on Twitter keeps joking to do things like just get a Mexican passport or enter some other way. If we had lied from the beginning I would have been there by now but we wanted to do it 100% honest and here I am still.
And yet. I'm here in Cowichan Bay which is arguably one of the most beautiful places on Vancouver Island. I am now volunteering at Providence Farm three days a week and am having all kinds of amazing experiences there. Toni and I have been having some riveting conversations about peak oil, climate change, economic collapse and other post-apocalyptic excitement. The roses are in full bloom and the garden is full of heady scents. It's not that bad. I just really want to be with my husband.
Well, I will do all the things they ask and then they will let me into America and I will be with my husband. This is, after all, simply a matter of jumping through hoops, not like getting a university degree. And I have two of those.
Today when I was filling out the application for the long form of a birth certificate, I discovered that I had to have that notarized as well. I found one much closer and she was AWESOME. No waiting. I called, showed up 15 minutes later, and we had the whole thing wrapped up in five minutes. Boom.
So, yes, I'll get all my paperwork sorted out, I'll enjoy my last summer on Vancouver Island, and all will be well.
I also have to have Proof of Status in Canada. Um. I'm a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport. Will that be enough? Goodness, I sure hope so.
So here is the kicker: I assemble this motley crew of documents and send them to the Korean Consulate with a postage-paid return envelope. If it meets with their approval, they stamp it and send it back to me. I then have to send it myself to the Korean National Police Agency, with international return postage. I sure hope this doesn't take very long.
Yesterday I took this Korean document to a notary. My appointment was at 11:00, and I waited patiently for Mr. So-and-so to call me in. It was at 11:24 that the receptionist went in and told the notary that his 11:00 had arrived. There was a bit of pomp and ceremony, but we got the thing done.
Next on my list was to get my Police Certificate. I don't know what happened, but I phoned and was given incorrect information or I read the website wrong, but I thought I had to go to the West Shore RCMP for this, which is way the heck out in Langford. They only take fingerprints from 12-4 on Wednesdays so I made sure I got there before the window closed. Well, turns out that I needed to go to the Victoria detachment after all. More driving. Parking is hard to find in that area because it is right next to the Memorial Arena where concerts and games are held, and there was an event that evening. I went up to the counter, and the polite lady behind the glass informed me that they only take fingerprints at 1:00 on Wednesdays. Well, it was Wednesday but it was 3:45. I'll have to wait another week.
So there I was mad at bureaucracy, mad at the world, mad at having to do all this crap. We were so close and this adds another layer or two of complexity. They really do make it hard for immigrants. Everyone on Twitter keeps joking to do things like just get a Mexican passport or enter some other way. If we had lied from the beginning I would have been there by now but we wanted to do it 100% honest and here I am still.
And yet. I'm here in Cowichan Bay which is arguably one of the most beautiful places on Vancouver Island. I am now volunteering at Providence Farm three days a week and am having all kinds of amazing experiences there. Toni and I have been having some riveting conversations about peak oil, climate change, economic collapse and other post-apocalyptic excitement. The roses are in full bloom and the garden is full of heady scents. It's not that bad. I just really want to be with my husband.
Well, I will do all the things they ask and then they will let me into America and I will be with my husband. This is, after all, simply a matter of jumping through hoops, not like getting a university degree. And I have two of those.
Today when I was filling out the application for the long form of a birth certificate, I discovered that I had to have that notarized as well. I found one much closer and she was AWESOME. No waiting. I called, showed up 15 minutes later, and we had the whole thing wrapped up in five minutes. Boom.
So, yes, I'll get all my paperwork sorted out, I'll enjoy my last summer on Vancouver Island, and all will be well.
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