There seems to be a never-ending list of things we need to apply for before heading off to Montreal - visas, passport renewals, uni courses - let alone all the other jobs that need doing before we go. Until now, everything has depended on what kind of visa hubby can go to Montreal on. Finally, we got information from Canadian Immigration and so last night's job was to start filling out the application forms for the work visa. We have been advised that, as the spouse of a work visa applicant, I can apply for an open work permit. Great news! But hold the cheers, the paperwork isn't in yet!
You would think it would be fairly straightforward to apply for a visa to go to another country, wouldn't you? But I guess it's the same everywhere, not as simple as you think. Applying for a visa requires gathering a lot of information you never dreamed you'd have to remember/collect. Things like the places you've lived in the last 10 years...well, we've lived in at least 7 different places. That's not the hard part - knowing exactly what day you moved into those places is! We've had to delve into filing cabinets to find old lease agreements, check emails from when we were living overseas for any hints at dates we moved places, and even checked our old calendars to see if we could find any info there.
Another application I'm doing at the moment is for my French passport renewal. From my experience, the French consulate in Sydney is not the friendliest of places and when I was there last, until I found a sympathetic employee, they loved to tell you you didn't have x document so needed to come back another day, thanks for waiting 3 hours. This happened to me in France in several places too so it might just be a bureaucratic tendency. Anyway, I wrote an email to them so that I could be sure to have all the documents I need to renew my passport before I actually go in and sit in the queue. I wrote it in French at first but my husband goaded me into trying out my French with them. I have to say, it was easier to do now since watching hours and hours of an old French-Canadian show from the 1970s called Passe Partout. I'm wondering if everyone still dresses in brown cords and yellow skivvies!
Next on the list is applying for a uni course to study by distance while I'm away. No firm decision on which one I want to study yet but the shortlist is Masters of Applied Linguistics (with a TESOL major) or Masters of Teaching (Primary). Two very different courses and hence why the big decision! Stay tuned for the final choice!
You would think it would be fairly straightforward to apply for a visa to go to another country, wouldn't you? But I guess it's the same everywhere, not as simple as you think. Applying for a visa requires gathering a lot of information you never dreamed you'd have to remember/collect. Things like the places you've lived in the last 10 years...well, we've lived in at least 7 different places. That's not the hard part - knowing exactly what day you moved into those places is! We've had to delve into filing cabinets to find old lease agreements, check emails from when we were living overseas for any hints at dates we moved places, and even checked our old calendars to see if we could find any info there.
Another application I'm doing at the moment is for my French passport renewal. From my experience, the French consulate in Sydney is not the friendliest of places and when I was there last, until I found a sympathetic employee, they loved to tell you you didn't have x document so needed to come back another day, thanks for waiting 3 hours. This happened to me in France in several places too so it might just be a bureaucratic tendency. Anyway, I wrote an email to them so that I could be sure to have all the documents I need to renew my passport before I actually go in and sit in the queue. I wrote it in French at first but my husband goaded me into trying out my French with them. I have to say, it was easier to do now since watching hours and hours of an old French-Canadian show from the 1970s called Passe Partout. I'm wondering if everyone still dresses in brown cords and yellow skivvies!
Next on the list is applying for a uni course to study by distance while I'm away. No firm decision on which one I want to study yet but the shortlist is Masters of Applied Linguistics (with a TESOL major) or Masters of Teaching (Primary). Two very different courses and hence why the big decision! Stay tuned for the final choice!