So I'm supposed to be going to Paris on 25 February with a bunch of other girls for a day trip. Sounds like fun! It's a little less than two months away, but I might not actually be able to make it. Story of my life. Why? Having a Nigerian passport means I have to apply for visas all the time, and whilst this isn't too much of a problem, except for spontaneity, I always almost run out of time. I'd initially said I wasn't going, when my friend Esther mentioned it to be last year, because I thought I wouldn't be able to make it, as there are 3 weddings in Nigeria in consecutive weekends in Nig, of family and friends. I'm not too bothered about the first, but the other 2 are people I know well, and as I thought the Paris trip was in early February, I wouldn't be able to do both. It isn't, so in theory, there's no reason why I can't do both.
But as luck will have it, I might not be able to make either, and it's all to do with the annoying fact that my current UK work permit ends bang in the middle of February! If it ended in January or March, it wouldn't be a problem, but as it's in the middle of February, it certainly has to be renewed before Nigeria or Paris. Renewing it is pretty straightforward (amen), it's just that it takes what seems like forever. Before Paris or Nigeria came into the picture, I'd planned on sending off the application and all this month, get my passport back whenever hopefully with the extension. But then, both came into the picture, and it became apparent that sending off the application in January might be cutting things a bit too fine, if I plan on going to either, as it apparently takes 4-6 weeks to process, and if I was to go Paris, I'd have to make another application for a Schengen visa, and this takes about 2-4 weeks. This hit me on the day payment for Paris was to be made which was in the middle of December, which was incidentally when I realised that it wouldn't be early February as I'd initially thought. So after much hmm-ing, I decided to pay for Paris, send off my application in December, and hope that I get the passport back in time to then apply for a visa, my calculation being that if I sent it before work closed for Christmas on 22 December, 4-6 weeks from then would be very early February, and I can then apply for the Schengen visa in time for 25 February, or just get a Schengen visa in Nigeria, if I do end up going for the weddings.
So true to my word, I sorted out my application in about a week- filled the ridiculously long form, asked the Uni for my payslips and gathered all the required documents, and paid the bloody expensive fee by way of postal order. Good thing payday was early in December!
But despite having sent off the application in December, there is a real possibility that I won't have my passport back in time to make it to any of the weddings, or to even make it to Paris. An ideal situation would be buying tickets to Nigeria well before February, but I certainly can't do that right now, because I really don't know when I'll have my passport back. I initially thought the 4-6 weeks was from the date the application was made, but what with the move for biometric residence permits, the processing times is actually based on the date you register your biometric information, and you can't do so until you've received a letter from the Home Office confirming that your application has been received. It's exactly 2 weeks today since my application was received, and I'm still waiting for the said letter. I put my correspondence address as my work address, as I included a self-addressed special delivery envelope in my application so my documents could be returned securely, and there's no chance of the delivery being missed, as opposed to at my flat. But then I'm slightly worried that as the Uni was closed all through Christmas, so if the letter was sent to me by special delivery- which really, it shouldn't be, it being just a poxy letter- it would have been returned undelivered, as there would have been no one to sign for it. Other regular post would apparently just be held at the sorting office until the Uni then opened in January.
So I'm hoping that the letter just hasn't been sent yet, due to the them being very busy over the Christmas period as if it has been sent and then returned undelivered, I'm really not sure what their next step would be. I'd hoped I'd have received the letter sometime this week and enrolled my biometric information (which can be done not too far from me through a walk-in service for £20) so time can start counting. But it's all getting very tight right now. 6 weeks from today is 15th February. Wayyyy to late. Damn, I've just checked, and the first wedding I really want to go for is 4 February. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :'(
But fingers still firmly crossed- at least for Paris- because I have a history of successful late applications!
The last two times I've had to apply for Schengen visas- first on tour to Spain with my football team at the time, and second to Spain for a Christmas cruise in 2010- I applied outside the recommended timeline, and I remember that they almost didn't even take my application for the Christmas cruise, but I applied, hoped and prayed that I'd get my passport in time, and I did! I think for tour I went to collect my passport the last working day before we were to fly out! And for the Christmas cruise, it got posted back to me in time, even with the postal services always going to pot round about Christmas!
Seems like I'll be in the same boat third time running! I pray it works out well again this time! Although it really isn't going to be my fault this time, I probably need to promise not to leave it to the last possible minute next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment