We were rudely and mercilessly woken at 3.30 am by shrieking banshees, panicking, in the foyer of the VFS Visa Reception Centre in Makati, for nothing really............ Something that could habe been dealt with by the use of common sense, but no........... But maybe I am being a bit too harsh on them............... After all, they never went more than a mile or two out of Cebu City in all their lives, and a trip to Manila, by plane could have been a bit daunting and scary for them........ Where do I start.........??? It is about time for Jhera to join her mum here in wales, she has turned 18, finished her schooling in a way, and countinuing college in Pinas was rather heavy on the wallet, for very little return, as she didn't really like one or two of her teachers.... The straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that the college kept on introducing rather expensive assignments on a, more or less, weekly basis, and in the end I had to say boll""s to this mickey take, and tell the girl to wait until she comes here, where things will be much rosier with more opportunities in life. So, after gathering all the evidence needed, and a bit extra, I filled the online application form, booked the appointment, Plane trip for two (+ Chaperone... ), hotel room, just a mile away from the VFS Building and send some money for incidental expenses. Alan, was very kind in delivering all the documents faster and more reliable than DHL/UPS/FEDEX............ In exchange for some dinner and a few german brandies..... (More where that came from, Al...) Anyway........ The trip was for 5 am on teh 21st of November.... The day before it was like blue murder trying to make sense, wether they had downloaded and printed the flight voucher, hotel booking, VFS appointment booking and all the rest of the stuff which I saw as a doddle in doing, but in Pinas is considered a major hindrance in continuing doing sod all.... Confusion reigned supreme... Somehow, we got to the point, where I e-mailed all those scraps of paper again, hoping that the piso-piso internet cafe was open so that they could print the stuff again as the home printer wasn't playing ball.... In the end we finally got sorted out for the best. Realizing that I wasn't going to have a stroke after all that, I went to sleep. Woke them up, for the taxi trip to the airport.. Woke them up, while at the airport.... Then nothing for ages, as they were obviously in flight......... Still nothing, well after arrival time.......... As panic started to take over, they answered the phone from the hotel lobby..... Heck, they got there without external help (my help...)....:vhappy: They had to pay for early check-in charge and went to sleep, after a hearty late Jollybee breakfast.... Again, before retiring ourselves, last night, we woke them up, to make sure that they arrived early enough to pick the best spot, although with the appointment system, it was totally unnecessary... But old habits.........and fears.... Good luck, I said.......... Move to 3.30 am................. our time......... Panic stations.......... The VFS wanted her to make xerox copies of everything............ Me half asleep... Huh... ??? Why...?? they also wanted 1850 piso...... Double... Huh...?? Don't yell at me....... Easily sorted.......... We don't want any of the paperwork back.... Money is for delivery of passport to the home address, with or without visa. Last I heard, the girl was on the way to the cubicle for digital photo scan. let's hope for the best.............:grouphug:
Now let's see if the EU Family Permit lark, is really what it is purported to be. I am dead sure, that the ECO will find some kind of excuse to delay the Visa.... Oh, well... We will cross that bridge when we get to it.........
Trying to keep abreast of the situation in Manila as the day unfolds.... The kid is wildly confused by the tagalog staff, although I requested a bisaya/english speaker.... I may have to fire a nasty one to VFS..........
I empathise entirely Ive been going over the lists of documents for Jheans journey on monday and the "what to do at the airport " sequence luckily i think she has just got back from manila so has a first flight experience but even going over such simple things as when to text me on the journey has eaten up a couple of hours today I dont even want to think about the visa route we have been through ......but i will once she and micks are here lots to post just waiting for after her arrival
Yeah good luck Dom, hope it all goes smoothly. Keith good luck, it's all about getting through immigration and into departures, I've always been so distrustful of that process that I was always there to accompany Ana when she came here. Have you made sure that Jhean has a bit of spare cash for the inevitable last minute emergencies at the airport? (like excess baggage and so on)
