Well, that was an adventure. London was awesome--got to see a friend who works for Young Life there, go to see all the touristy wonders, got to go to Hillsong London--loads of fun! I really enjoyed London, despite the chilly weather.
When I got to the airport in the UK, I was nervous. I had heard horror stories of how people were held there because they weren't technically legal in the country they were going to. But do you know, God is so awesome. I didn't even have to go through passport control. Not one person looked at my passport (which, honestly, seems a little sketchy to me). I walked from security straight to my gate. I'm not sure why, but it was a HUGE relief.
When I got to Portugal, João was waiting for me to clear customs. We walked up to the counter, handed the man our passports and held our breath. He did ask me when I was leaving Europe, to which I replied that I was in the process of renewing my residency. He said, "Oh, okay," stamped my passport, and I walked through.
Such a ridiculously amazing blessing. I had been so stressed and worried, and God totally came through. And while I do breathe a sigh of relief, the SEF ordeal ain't over just yet!
I have another appointment at SEF on Thursday morning. I will be legal in Portugal for another three months, but after that, I have the same issue again!
The consulate in America is telling me that I should go through SEF to get my visa because if I send everything to them, they'll just send it on to SEF for approval anyway! But SEF is saying that I cannot apply for a visa here--I have to do it from non-Portuguese territory. I thought, hey, what if I go to Spain? Can I apply from Spain? The answer to that--at least at this point--is a big, fat no. Apparently, I have to apply for the visa from the consulate closest to where I have residency. Which, in this case, would be The Portuguese Consulate in Newark, NJ.
Sigh, to go to America, while I'd welcome seeing my family--I do miss them--would be a huge hassle. I can't really afford the plane ticket, I'd have to take time off from work and from my responsibilities here...it's, well, a pain in the you-know-what!
I'll keep you updated...but in the meantime, please pray. Please pray that God, yet again, makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Love,
Ariel
March 15, 2011
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Glad you guys had a good time in London and that you were able to get through all right!
ReplyDeleteI really want to go to London some time!
I know what that's like to be stressed about legal visas and all that...You've probably heard of Alana's time in the detainment facility in London (basically a jail for illegal immigrants) even though she was a resident in Portugal. And while I was in Portugal my visa had been expired for a long time and I was on my way to Italy to visit friends and when I went to the booth to get my ticket the lady started looking through my passport (and they NEVER look through your passport at the ticket booth!) and asking me questions and that was so scary! She even got on the phone with someone but then somehow (prayer! Desperate prayer!) I was let through anyway.
So yeah, I'll be praying for you =)