Yes, we're now in possession of our Residente Permanente cards! Yahoo!! Perhaps a third exclamation point is warranted - !
A friend's RP card was yellow; ours have a pale green background. Don't know that the colors have any meaning; perhaps they just changed stock? Michael's photo is fine; mine is a little washed out, but the cards are issued for an "indefinida" period and also allow us to work for pay - not that we will be doing so any time soon. After all, having the cards is the important part, not one's visage - though I wish mine was not quite as ghost-like!
Best part is that now we can travel outside the country and return without the danger of voiding all the credit for the years we've spent here as an FM3 & FM2 when we re-enter without a valid Residente card in hand. Took us four years to get there (through all the changes in immigration rules), but we're here! [If you've been following this blog, you'll know that our FM2s expired while we were out of the country and we needed to visit a Mexican Consulate while in Florida - which complicated things.]
We did pick up our cards on Thursday after we returned to San Miguel from Puerto Vallarta (last week), but we've been a mite busy since then so forgot to post! The cards (and our facilitator) were waiting for us in the garden of the Starbucks building (our facilitator's unofficial office).
This is a hard time for facilitators: After clients renewed their cards annually for so many years, we're suddenly all getting Permanentes and not requiring their services any longer - at least until the government realizes that it's not taking in the same amount of revenue and changes the rules once again.
You'll notice that our cards are for an 'indefinite' period, not 'forever' so I suppose they can require a periodic review (with a fee, of course) if they wish. Another advantage to the Permanente document is the permissible time out of Mexico. With a Temporal we were limited to 180 days in a five-year period; with the changeover to Temporal/Permanente that limitation went away.
Now to wait patiently for my passport renewal to arrive so we can travel to Orlando on November 1st. I was told by our Consulate's office that the passport should take about 3 to 4 weeks to be processed and delivered. The third week will be up next Tuesday, September 30th. Let's see if I get an email from DHL to come pick the document up! DHL does give you a website and tracking number with which you can monitor the arrival of your passport - all for the $200 peso fee! Yes, one must pay for the required delivery.... Can't have a passport falling into the wrong hands, now, can we?
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Another Wrinkle
Okay; we leave for PV (Puerto Vallarta) tomorrow and I still don't have any 'official' ID. Saw our facilitator yesterday morning while enjoying our koffee klatch at Mega's coffee bar; no joy - not ready yet. Maybe they didn't include yesterday as part of their 'ready in 8 days' estimate. Or perhaps they were even closed on Monday? Holidays down here tend to complicate things. Most government agencies close for the Christmas/New Year's holidays as a bloc of time.
Here's hoping that it is ready for him to pick up today and that he'll have it if/when I run into him at Starbucks later today. Here's hoping I see him at Starbucks....
Not having the Residente Permanente is not a big deal. While it's true that I don't have either form of ID that shows I'm in the country legally, I shouldn't need it for our trip tomorrow to PV. After all, we're driving, not flying and there are no national borders to cross. I'd just be more comfortable to have something in case a cop pulls us over or stops us while walking down the street. I suppose I can try my Mexican Drivers License if push comes to shove. That's an official document, eh? Works in the States; might work down here.
The passport I have in my possession has holes punched in it and is stamped 'Cancelled' inside. Probably won't do me much good, though I have it in my possession. But it has the consulate's Visa glued to one page; that might work!
Don't know if I'll see the facilitator today or not. Michael needs to be home as much as possible to do stuff; we've got haircuts scheduled late morning (that's a walk into and out from Centro); the package that's taken 3 weeks to reach us via our mail handling service has finally arrived (and I've paid the fees via Paypal) so I need to pick that up (still waiting on the packages that have been delivered to them two and one week ago); need to stop by our bank to get some spending money for PV; and we need to brush out a dog and be home when the puppy farm person stops by the house to pick them up for their vacation later today.
Oh, yeah; need to throw some things into a suitcase for the trip and make some sandwiches for the drive to the coast, too. Unlike Los Angeles, there's not a fast food franchise on every corner. We are stopping in Guadalajara to 1) see Victor's mother, 2) leave his winter things with her, and 3) grab breakfast at this great restaurant, New York, New York, before heading further south.
It'll be a busy day!
ADDENDUM [9/25/14]
Okay; so the cards were not ready before we left town for PV. Now that we're home again, we've spoken to our facilitator and he has them in his possession. We'll pick them up from him at Starbucks later today! Whew, what an ordeal. I like things neat and tidy; this has not been so!
Here's hoping that it is ready for him to pick up today and that he'll have it if/when I run into him at Starbucks later today. Here's hoping I see him at Starbucks....
Not having the Residente Permanente is not a big deal. While it's true that I don't have either form of ID that shows I'm in the country legally, I shouldn't need it for our trip tomorrow to PV. After all, we're driving, not flying and there are no national borders to cross. I'd just be more comfortable to have something in case a cop pulls us over or stops us while walking down the street. I suppose I can try my Mexican Drivers License if push comes to shove. That's an official document, eh? Works in the States; might work down here.
The passport I have in my possession has holes punched in it and is stamped 'Cancelled' inside. Probably won't do me much good, though I have it in my possession. But it has the consulate's Visa glued to one page; that might work!
Don't know if I'll see the facilitator today or not. Michael needs to be home as much as possible to do stuff; we've got haircuts scheduled late morning (that's a walk into and out from Centro); the package that's taken 3 weeks to reach us via our mail handling service has finally arrived (and I've paid the fees via Paypal) so I need to pick that up (still waiting on the packages that have been delivered to them two and one week ago); need to stop by our bank to get some spending money for PV; and we need to brush out a dog and be home when the puppy farm person stops by the house to pick them up for their vacation later today.
Oh, yeah; need to throw some things into a suitcase for the trip and make some sandwiches for the drive to the coast, too. Unlike Los Angeles, there's not a fast food franchise on every corner. We are stopping in Guadalajara to 1) see Victor's mother, 2) leave his winter things with her, and 3) grab breakfast at this great restaurant, New York, New York, before heading further south.
It'll be a busy day!
ADDENDUM [9/25/14]
Okay; so the cards were not ready before we left town for PV. Now that we're home again, we've spoken to our facilitator and he has them in his possession. We'll pick them up from him at Starbucks later today! Whew, what an ordeal. I like things neat and tidy; this has not been so!
Friday, September 12, 2014
Wrinkles
So there were some wrinkles, of course. Our trip to our local Immigration office was not with drama. And I can't leave Mexico for a few more weeks.
INM first: So we went to the INM offices this past Monday, met up with our facilitator, Eduardo, and moved to the waiting area. There we sat for about an hour, waiting for them to call our number (#12). While waiting we counted many times that the single clerk at the window would search for a person's application packet and eventually have to walk to the office next door to find it. However, it wasn't a simple job of walking through a doorway or using a pass-through - no, she had to walk though the intake area (in the opposite direction), past her own office, and then into the office that had the paperwork (and the reverse trek with the paperwork). Not a big deal, I suppose, but when she had to do this with every customer it was tiring just to watch it happen!
So we waited about an hour for them to reach our number. While we were waiting, the person sitting next to us became ill. The room watched in horror as she bent over the empty chair next to her, retching. And she continued to slide until she was on all fours on the floor, retching as she descended. The office did call the Red Cross for assistance. We cleaned up her glasses which had fallen into the vomit so she would be able to see when she recovered and she finally was able to walk into the restroom where she waited for the Red Cross folks to check her out. She did remain to conduct her business with the INM folks; pity, as she had a lower number than ours!
A custodian person also finally showed up to mop up the mess and clean off the chairs. (It still smelled funny, so we stood the rest of the time in the intake area.)
They eventually called No. 12 and we went up to the window. Of course the clerk looked in the file drawers, searched the files on the table, and then went next door to get our paperwork packets.
After signing forms carefully (it must match the signature in our passport; I almost want to sign my new passport differently so it doesn't match - but that would be silly and probably result in travel delays...) and being fingerprinted, we were all set, having paid the fees before this trip.
However, because the office is waiting for a supply delivery, it will be next Wednesday before our cards are ready. Luckily for us, our facilitator will pick up the cards for us and we'll meet him at Starbucks to exchange cards for cash (his fee). One more thing taken care of - permanently, we hope.
Then on to the US Consulate's office in San Miguel. (And we are lucky to have a local Consulate's office so we don't need to trek into Mexico City repeatedly.) In the meanwhile, I can't leave Mexico - or enter another country - because I applied for a new passport. The timing was a little tricky. When we travel to the Scandinavian countries next May, my passport must be valid for an additional 6 months or the cruise line will not allow me to travel. It expires next June. So between now and then I needed to renew my passport.
Our current travel plans are: fly to the US for a cruise in November; the US for a Disneyland wedding of friends in December; Cabo San Lucas for a family vacation in January; the US for a visit to New Orleans with different friends; and the aforementioned Scandinavian cruise: 29 days aboard a ship as we sail from Florida to Copenhagen via NYC, Canada, Iceland, and Oslo; then Northern European capitals in Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden; and finally the western Norwegian fjords before we fly back to Mexico via Iceland & Chicago. All but the trip to Cabo will require a valid passport (Cabo still being in Mexico, I just need my Permanente card for ID).
So I decided to try and renew it before the November cruise - there was no really good time except around the year-end holidays, and Mexican government offices close for a few weeks then. The Consulate clerk told me that it should only take three to four weeks presently, and I've allowed 6 weeks, so we should be A-OK. A quick bus ride to the Consulate's office, service at the counter (the clerk dealt speedily with all the people ahead of me in line) and I already had the new passport pictures with me and the application filled out, and then a walk into downtown to prepay the DHL delivery charges. When Michael did his last year, the Consulate/Embassy used a different firm that had offices just across the street from our neighborhood.
Now I wait with my old passport which has been punched full of holes through the machine-readable numbers and stamped 'CANCELLED.' [Hope there's no emergencies NOB or I'll find out what getting an Emergency Passport entails.]
So not going anywhere until DHL calls to tell me that my new passport has arrived and I go into downtown to pick it up. Michael renewed his last year when we weren't traveling as often - the end of 2014 and 2015 is a crazy time for us! Guess I should have tried to match up my next renewal with his date. They didn't seem to care that I was renewing it 9 months in advance; what would they care about 21 months in advance?
And that's all the news that's fit to print. There should be general rejoicing next week when we get our Residente Permanente cards!!!
INM first: So we went to the INM offices this past Monday, met up with our facilitator, Eduardo, and moved to the waiting area. There we sat for about an hour, waiting for them to call our number (#12). While waiting we counted many times that the single clerk at the window would search for a person's application packet and eventually have to walk to the office next door to find it. However, it wasn't a simple job of walking through a doorway or using a pass-through - no, she had to walk though the intake area (in the opposite direction), past her own office, and then into the office that had the paperwork (and the reverse trek with the paperwork). Not a big deal, I suppose, but when she had to do this with every customer it was tiring just to watch it happen!
So we waited about an hour for them to reach our number. While we were waiting, the person sitting next to us became ill. The room watched in horror as she bent over the empty chair next to her, retching. And she continued to slide until she was on all fours on the floor, retching as she descended. The office did call the Red Cross for assistance. We cleaned up her glasses which had fallen into the vomit so she would be able to see when she recovered and she finally was able to walk into the restroom where she waited for the Red Cross folks to check her out. She did remain to conduct her business with the INM folks; pity, as she had a lower number than ours!
A custodian person also finally showed up to mop up the mess and clean off the chairs. (It still smelled funny, so we stood the rest of the time in the intake area.)
They eventually called No. 12 and we went up to the window. Of course the clerk looked in the file drawers, searched the files on the table, and then went next door to get our paperwork packets.
After signing forms carefully (it must match the signature in our passport; I almost want to sign my new passport differently so it doesn't match - but that would be silly and probably result in travel delays...) and being fingerprinted, we were all set, having paid the fees before this trip.
However, because the office is waiting for a supply delivery, it will be next Wednesday before our cards are ready. Luckily for us, our facilitator will pick up the cards for us and we'll meet him at Starbucks to exchange cards for cash (his fee). One more thing taken care of - permanently, we hope.
Then on to the US Consulate's office in San Miguel. (And we are lucky to have a local Consulate's office so we don't need to trek into Mexico City repeatedly.) In the meanwhile, I can't leave Mexico - or enter another country - because I applied for a new passport. The timing was a little tricky. When we travel to the Scandinavian countries next May, my passport must be valid for an additional 6 months or the cruise line will not allow me to travel. It expires next June. So between now and then I needed to renew my passport.
Our current travel plans are: fly to the US for a cruise in November; the US for a Disneyland wedding of friends in December; Cabo San Lucas for a family vacation in January; the US for a visit to New Orleans with different friends; and the aforementioned Scandinavian cruise: 29 days aboard a ship as we sail from Florida to Copenhagen via NYC, Canada, Iceland, and Oslo; then Northern European capitals in Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden; and finally the western Norwegian fjords before we fly back to Mexico via Iceland & Chicago. All but the trip to Cabo will require a valid passport (Cabo still being in Mexico, I just need my Permanente card for ID).
So I decided to try and renew it before the November cruise - there was no really good time except around the year-end holidays, and Mexican government offices close for a few weeks then. The Consulate clerk told me that it should only take three to four weeks presently, and I've allowed 6 weeks, so we should be A-OK. A quick bus ride to the Consulate's office, service at the counter (the clerk dealt speedily with all the people ahead of me in line) and I already had the new passport pictures with me and the application filled out, and then a walk into downtown to prepay the DHL delivery charges. When Michael did his last year, the Consulate/Embassy used a different firm that had offices just across the street from our neighborhood.
Now I wait with my old passport which has been punched full of holes through the machine-readable numbers and stamped 'CANCELLED.' [Hope there's no emergencies NOB or I'll find out what getting an Emergency Passport entails.]
So not going anywhere until DHL calls to tell me that my new passport has arrived and I go into downtown to pick it up. Michael renewed his last year when we weren't traveling as often - the end of 2014 and 2015 is a crazy time for us! Guess I should have tried to match up my next renewal with his date. They didn't seem to care that I was renewing it 9 months in advance; what would they care about 21 months in advance?
And that's all the news that's fit to print. There should be general rejoicing next week when we get our Residente Permanente cards!!!
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