We've finally gotten to where we can submit my paperwork to the Canadian High Commission.
This past month has been nothing but feeling like we took two steps backward for every step forward. After we finally got the police record sorted, G got impatient with all the time it was taking to get the various pieces of paperwork ticked off on the checklist I downloaded from the CIC website.
When he visited the Commission, it was only for them to tell him that we needn't go through all the paperwork for my permanent residency now, because in any case it can't be issued here, they will only issue it when I am in Canada. Argh. They told us to simply apply for a temporary visa, which is good for periods of six months to a year, and apply for the permanent residency once we are settled in. Nice of them to tell us that after we've gone through all that time and expense!
So I filled out the paperwork, and waited for my salary to come in to make the payment at the bank for the visa. Having done that on Tuesday, I left the paperwork with G to drop them off, because he also needs to go to the Commission so his immigration stamp can be extended. Apparently the Immigration Officer who cleared him didn't believe he was coming to Jamaica to get married, so she gave him the minimum minimum stay of only 3 months. I was beyond insulted, on his behalf, because in the two trips I have taken abroad in the past year I have never been given a minimum stay of less than 6 months, I can't believe she would treat a visitor to our country with such suspicion!
Tomorrow he goes back, having gone there today and waited for more than 2 hours only to miss the opportunity to speak with a consular officer and submit my application. Apparently it was hugely busy there today. I am interested to know this, because I can't recall ever seeing the lines of people waiting outside that you typically see at say, the US embassy, outside the High Commission. Canada must be experiencing a rise in popularity among Jamaicans traveling abroad!
No comments:
Post a Comment