In a previous article, I told the story of the tedious process of applying for a resident visa, then the additional obstacle that the coronavirus pandemic represents in my immigration process.
A little update on our situation the adjective "uncertain" has qualified very well in the last few months. To the point of cutting me off from writing or drawing (hence the silence of this blog since July).
A little reminder: when I made my initial application for a resident visa, I should have an answer at the latest just before my departure from New Zealand on September 20th. Well, it was already a bit of a gamble, but we had planned a family vacation at this time anyway, so I was planning to enter as a tourist if the deadline for my application had to be extended.
Absolute confidence (future myself thinks "naivety")!
Due to temporary closure of the immigration offices because of confinement in New Zealand, the deadline for a decision was now far exceeded our departure date. Moreover, due to the closure of the borders, it is impossible for Baby and myself to enter as tourists without exceptional authorization from the New Zealand authorities!
Confidence affected...
So here we are initiating a new application hoping to be able to move on the date initially planned. Fill out the form to ask for an exception, following which we received a file to be filled out with new documents to provide and translate... the process seemed endless, with a question going round and round in our heads: what if we were not allowed in New Zealand?
In a context where I left my job and where all our recent decisions were based on the certainty that we would leave at the end of September, many of our discussions on the French roads turned around the thousand possible scenarios. Some, rather colourful, put us on a Greek island or in Corsica while waiting for the visa, others, much darker, included separation, all our projects questionned and our savings largely undermined.
Our mood and our stress level fluctuated according to how much uncertainty we were experiencing. Poor Baby has obviously stored up some of this stress, shortening our nights accordingly.
And then one evening, at one o'clock in the morning my phone announced a new e-mail...WE ARE GRANTED A TOURIST VISA FOR 6 MONTHS!!!!!
O joy O joy! We will be able to leave and wait on the spot for our resident visa. This news relieved us and filled us with a new hope. Confidence has returned!
Until, coincidence or not, I received in the following minutes a second email telling me that our plane is cancelled ...
We first thought it would be easy to exchange our ticket. Well, it just so happens that in times of pandemic and border closures, it is very difficult to find a flight, and most of all, prices have now soared! We are even told that some Europeans have taken months to get back home, with one cancelled flight after another.
Confidence lost again...
Fortunately, with the precious help of a good fairy travel agent and an additional blow in our savings (argh), we rescheduled our departure for September 28th.
Theoretical departure in one week so (at the time of the initial post, sorry English speakers readers!), as a tourist for the moment. Expect a blog post in a few months entitled "visa episode 4".
I am confident I guess...and I found a new passion for lucky charms.