Yesterday was a good day. Brian and I woke up early (for us) and headed across town to turn in our residency permit applications. There's an annual quota on the type of permit for which we applied and by the time we were ready to apply last year, the quota had been met. So we decided we would go the first day the office was open in 2008.
Both Brian and I were a little worried that we would have to wait hour upon hour to see someone. Three or four other people or families were entering the building when we arrived and many people were waiting at the elevator. It didn't look hopeful. But when we found the room we needed, there was only one family ahead of us -- the Haskews! We were given a number and waited 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe not even that long.
The whole thing was pretty anti-climatic. We sat down with the lady taking our application. She looked through everything. Made a few copies. Then gave us a letter saying our residency permit was in process, or something along those lines. The application said that all of our documents (birth certificates, marriage license, passports, etc.) had to be translated into German and notarized. Not the case -- she accepted everything in English. The application said that originals or notarized copies had to be provided. Also not true. Now we just have to wait for a letter. I'm not sure what the letter will say because we've been told that there's a one-year waiting period for this type of permit. But we've been told a lot of things.
Afterwards, Brian and I walked around the city a bit and stopped by Starbucks for a victory cup. It's so nice having this task behind us. I know there may still be a long road ahead as far as the acquiring the permit goes, but it's nice to have finally made the first step.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I'd say that is a victory...and starbucks too! What a great day!
Suzanne - Starbucks was a nice treat. It just feels familiar. When we first arrived, when we accomplished something significant we would sometimes stop somewhere for a "victory ice cream." Since it was below freezing on Thursday, we decided a "victory coffee" was more appropriate.
It's really nice that the application process (so far, at least) wasn't as torturous as you expected. If it had been me, I think I would have waited to apply, though. I'd want to keep my excuse for quarterly trips to Prague!
Gina - Technically, we're still supposed to leave every 90 days until we receive our residency permit. But, Prague doesn't count anymore! You have to leave the Schengen Countries in order to get your passport stamped and as of December 21st, Czech Republic is now part of the border-free travel zone. So are our other neighboring countries of Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. So now the closest options is Croatia -- about 4 hours away.
Oh, brother! That totally takes the fun out of it. Is Sveti Stefan in Croatia? I saw a picture of it once and wanted to go there. (Now that I look at it, I'm not even sure I got the name right.)
Okay, I Googled it. It's the right name, but it's in Montenegro and it looks like it's a wicked expensive resort. I wonder if they'd let you look around for free?
Post a Comment