Some of you may have noticed i've been a little negative and 'off' recently in my posts, as unfortunately I'm going through quite a bit of stress.
I’m living in Oman and trying to get my wife and children over to join me. The list of requirements from the Oman Government is photocopies of my passport, visa and resident card, marriage certificate, birth certificates, Oman Medical Certificate, passport photos on blue background and supporting documents from work to complete the sponsor.
This all seems reasonably straight forward, so I prepared all this over a month ago and handed in at work.
They then advised me that the documents from the Philippines need to be certified by the Philippine Embassy (Birth Certificate/Marriage Certificates). The Philippine Embassy won’t accept their own documents, they want NSO Approved Certificates (2 of each + 3 photocopies), which have been ‘Red Ribbon Authorised’ at the Department for Foreign Affairs in Manila which then needed to be sent via Fedex to me.
I went to the Philippine Embassy, who sent me away to get lots more photocopies, were basically unfriendly and rude and then eventually took the documents, took my money and said come back in a week. A week later I went back, and collected the same documents, now with a little stamp on them. I then had to take this to the Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be counterstamped.
Then I got a call from work saying that the Omani Medicals need to be also signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Eventually, work booked Marvie and the kids business class flights for Christmas Eve to fly out here, and we hoped it would all work out.
Yesterday, I got a call saying that because Angel is my stepdaughter we need an Affidavit from Marvie. They said it’s a rare situation, because it’s actually not an Omani requirement, but a stipulation placed on them by the Philippine Government, and no other government has this issue. I can sort of understand it, but it’s a bit of a nightmare none the less.
I called the Philippine Embassy again to ask about this and they said the Affidavit should be made by a lawyer in the Philippines and taken to the DFA for authentication.
So in a mad rush Marvie dashed to the local lawyer, and then flew to Manila this morning, and I booked her in business so she could at least get some breakfast on the way across.
She arrived at the DFA, who told her that the Affidavit had to be remade by an approved lawyer, and that she needed to provide the lawyers certification (or something along those lines).
She went off found a lawyer, and then went to the cityhall to get the lawyers certificate that she needed. The Cityhall then told her that before she gets this certificate she needs a police clearance NBI?? (why, I really don’t know!!!!), so then she went to the police. She completed all the paperwork for the police clearance, to be told that it needs to be signed by the Police Chief who isn’t in and they didn’t know when he would be AGHHHHH. Finally, when she got the clearance this afternoon, they told her that she needed to take it the department of justice to have it countersigned or something… Finally she is now in possession of the correct documents for the DFA, and will go again tomorrow.
Now we need to see how long it takes for the DFA to authenticate the document, and then it needs to be sent by Fedex priority to me. Then I need to take it the Embassy which is closed until the 27th due to Christmas, and then I have to hope I don’t get the rude guy at the Embassy and they process it the same day instead of over three days. Then I need to take it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get it stamped, and then submit it to work.
Finally once the Immigration here issue the visas, I need to send a copy of that paperwork to Marvie so that she can go to the CFO to get her sticker/stamp in the passport (she did the CFO seminar several months ago), and then work will get her new flights here. I hope that I’ll see her by the 1st or 2nd January….
Christmas isn’t going to be the greatest, however because the children are so young, we are going to make Christmas day whenever they arrive. They have moved out of the house, are living out of a suitcase, and all the Christmas presents and much of their belongings are already here.
I’m tired thinking about all of this hassle, and just want it all to be completed!
To make matters worse, Marvie’s grandma died last week which has left her quite emotional, especially when we can’t be together for me to support her.
Whilst for me, when I went to withdraw the equivalent of 400 pounds from a cash machine the other day for Christmas presents, half way through the transaction the machine showed ‘Out of Order’, I tried another machine to find the money had been debited. The bank are working to resolve that issue………
My blood pressure is up at 145/80 (normally is 120/60), and have abandoned my diet whilst trying to my hardest to remain calm.
Merry Christmas from Oman!
P.S I’ve also decided against getting UK visas again for Marvie and Angel this year for our holidays, and going for US Visas as a 10 year US Visa is easier to get, costs about 60 quid each (vs 800 quid for a UK 10 year family visit visa), and it’ll be cheaper for us to holiday in Florida then the UK!!!! That’s one thing to look forward to!
Originally Posted by RickyR
You're a very sensible and thorough chap, so I'm sure you'll get it sorted out. Try to stay patient and look forward to when your family can join you and you can enjoy a belated Christmas together.
