Sunday, May 12, 2013

May 5 to May 11- Finally Our Visas and Cedulas


We heard from our lawyer that our passports with residency visas on them were ready to pick up in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We couldn’t go there until our company left on May 3rd so on Sunday May 5th we took off.

For those of you who may not be following my BLOG  regarding our saga of trying to get our visas, please refer to previous post http://uwepetrastravelyear.blogspot.com/2013/04/march-25-finally-our-residence-visas.html

Salinas is 2 hours away from the airport in Guayaquil and this time we took the bus since we only had a small overnight bag. Usually we have Eddie drive us when we have many suitcases. It’s your normal air-conditioned inter-city comfortable bus for $3.20 each. Our bus station is a short walk away. The bus was waiting when we got there, we bought our tickets with assigned seats and away we went. After a couple of stops at neighbouring towns, La Libertad and Ballenita, to pick up additional passengers, we were soon on the highway towards Guayaquil.

During the ride various vendors selling drinks and food were picked up and let off along the way. We arrived at the Guayaquil bus station 2 ½ hours later and took a $3 taxi ride to the nearby airport. The Guayaquil airport is quite nice- wins awards for best airport in South America quite often- and we were soon on our way for the 1 hour plane ride to Quito.

A new airport has recently opened in Quito which on a good day is 1 hour taxi ride from the city. Since we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, we had no traffic problems and after a $26 taxi ride arrived at our cute boutique hotel Vieja Cuba (more about our stay there on the next post).

We met our lawyer, Sebastian, the next rainy morning at the government office.  We took numbers and got yet another form to fill out required for requesting our cedula. Though they gave us paper copies, this form was to be filled out on the computer! Off we went to a shop down the road that rented computer time. Sebastian did the typing while we provided the information: our names, passport numbers, nationality, parents’ names, their nationality etc.

Printouts in hand we hurried back through the pouring rain just in time to have our numbers called up. Now when you hand in these forms, it normally takes 2 days to get the letter  required to take to the cedula office( yes, another office, another location, a totally different department!). Sebastian talked them into having it ready for us by 2:30PM that day.

We had our passports with pretty residency visas and drove with Sebastian to his office to go over the needed documents for our cedula. Yes, more documents! While going over our birth certificates, Sebastian discovered that Uwe had spelled his father’s first name incorrectly on the form just handed in. What!

In the German alphabet there is an additional letter- U- with a squiggly on top. On the birth certificate, Uwe’s father’s name had been spelled Gunter ( with the squiggly over the U). However, once in Canada, Uwe’s dad had gotten into the habit of spelling his name Guenter which more closely resembled the pronunciation. This was the only spelling Uwe knew never looking closely at his birth certificate. BIG PROBLEM! As now the information entered and waiting for us at 2:30PM had some incorrect information.

Before meeting us at the office at 2:30PM, Sebastian retyped the required document correcting the spelling. We waited for the person we were to see to return from lunch and then Sebastian explained the problem. First, no way, the information has entered the system. But then… then. Yes, he was able to do the correction and gave us the letters required for the cedula office!!! Yea! Of course, we could not go to that office until the earliest Wednesday when our files would get there.

On Tuesday at 2:30PM we met in Sebastian’s office again to go to the notary. If on your birth certificate there is no entry regarding your parents’ birth place, you need a notarized statement as to their place of birth for the cedula office. We left our statement with the notary but it would not be ready until 3:30PM the next day. So much for going to get our cedula on Wednesday. So now we were to meet at Sebastian’s office on Thursday morning to meet Lain, his associate, and go with him to the cedula office. Sebastian had to go to Guayaquil. The only problem was that Lain only spoke Spanish- oh well, more practicing our new language!

On Thursday morning, documents in hand we walked a few blocks from Sebastian’s office to the building housing the cedula offices. Now for the required documents.

Uwe only required his letter received on Monday, his birth certificate and our marriage licence translated and legalized by the Ecuadorian consulate in Toronto and his notarized document re his parents’ birth place.

I, on the other hand required more. Since the name on my birth certificate was not the same as the name on my passport I required my marriage certificate to my first husband- translated and legalized. Since I had not changed my name again when I married Uwe ( all my professional and financial reputation was on the name I had had since my twenties so I refused to change it again) I also needed my divorce papers from my first marriage as well as the other stuff.

We took yet another number and waited our turn. The officer who reviewed our documents spoke perfect English- yea- however there was another problem. Of course there was. We only had one translated, legalized copy of our marriage certificate but required one each. He told us just to get a copy of everything and get it notarized. Off we went back to the notary office several blocks away. Once there, yes they could do it but it would not be ready until the following Tuesday! Are you kidding me! Lain knew of another notary several miles away- why are there not more notaries in Quito????? We hopped into a taxi and after a 25 minute ride arrived at the new notary office. It was wall to wall people but Lain lined up, spoke to someone in charge- yes, they could do it right away- got copies, got them notarized and we were off 20 minutes later back to the cedula building.

Met again with the same officer and yes, all our documents were now OK though I was questioned about my divorce papers which had only been translated and notarized – not legalized back in Toronto. I explained that I thought they may not be required, he checked with his supervisor and they were accepted- whew! We were told to go upstairs, pay $5 each at the bank cashier and proceed to the next step. You thought we were finished, didn’t you? Silly, remember this is Ecuador.

After paying at the bank we were given yet another number and went back downstairs to wait our turn with another officer. We were called up separately but managed to get side by side officers. Mine went pretty smoothly- she spoke only Spanish- but her supervisor, who spoke English, came out several times to answer her questions regarding my many many documents. After entering all my info into her computer ( by the way, during this process ALL the computers went down in the building and my info had to be re-typed) she took my pictures and  my electronic finger prints and I was told my cedula would be ready to pick up on Monday- yea, one down one to go!

Uwe on the other hand- what can I say- more problemas! His place of birth in Germany had never been added into the system when we had first applied so his cedula could not be processed until Norden was in the system. He was told to return at 12 noon the next day when the system would have been updated. No celebration that day and yet another night at our hotel.

Friday found us yet again at the cedula office and Uwe returned to the same officer he had been to yesterday. Again his birth city, Norden , was not in the system! Please go see the supervisor. We lined up at yet another office to speak to the supervisor to try to explain the problem. After a 30 minute wait, yes we’ll input, come back in an hour (we thought that is what they said- Spanish only). After an hours wait and lunch at a nearby mall, we returned. Same problem, city still not in system, go back to the supervisor’s office. Another 30 minute wait and again an explanation to the supervisor. We finally found out why it hadn’t been entered. On Uwe’s passport it says Norden, DEU ( DEU for Deutschland). In Spanish it is Allemania and since they had no idea what DEU stood for, had tried to enter it as Canada! Finally it was entered correctly and the supervisor walked Uwe to another officer for entry of his information into the computer. Entry went great, then his picture and finger prints and five hours after arriving at this office, we left with both cedulas approved and ready for pick up the following week.

WOW! What a process but we are now complete( hopefully Sebastian can pick them up next week- we left notarized instructions and passports photos with him).

 

 

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