Residence Permit


It's that time of year again! The time where I visit the center of Lima multiple times per week and scream at government workers for not clearly explaining the process to renew my residence yearly.  The time where I scream at my husband every time I walk out of the Immigration Office and tell him I hate this country and that I want to leave! The time of year I make so many excuses for arriving late to work that no one actually believes I'm doing the same thing related to my residence permit.

Except it isn't.

I went at my allotted time of 8 am this morning and somehow, miraculously, I was out by 8:45 am with residence permit in hand, LEGAL for another year in Peru! Yes of course I had pre-work, some of it which is totally stupid. Like every year I have to go print out a NEW marriage certificate that shows I'm still married.  And every year I need my husband to notarize a letter that says he's responsible for me (so demeaning!), and every year I have to stand in line at the bank for hours to pay my residence fees. Except this year everything was quick, and easy, and relatively painless.  Especially compared to the last 2 years!

Maybe practice makes perfect or maybe they are really getting more efficient down at Immigration. Or maybe it's my luck after the Blood Moon last weekend? But whatever it is, I'll take whatever I can get and count my blessings, and the fact that I'm legal for one more year. And let's not forget the fact that I can travel to Puerto Rico in December. :)

UPDATE:  I knew it couldn't be as simple as that! Just as I go through this (albeit somewhat smoothl) I find out that the Immigration Law for Peru has recently changed. Supposedly I can now become a permanent resident, but I have no idea what to do now!




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