Why is it that getting a visa to live in a different country is so difficult? Soon after I moved here I applied for my short-term visa and had it within a week. I was so thankful I didn't have to deal with it and it was nice and easy. Then I started to apply for my long-term visa.
When I brought my paperwork in, they asked me why I waited so long to bring it in. I didn't think it was going to take so long for it to be ready, so I was surprised to hear them ask me that. I thought things were going well and called them about a month later to see if it was ready. They were surprised I would even ask that soon because mine was one of the "fresh cases". In the meantime, my short term visa was about to expire. I tried to figure out every possible option-only to settle on the fact that I just had to wait and hope that it'll be ready soon. There's no reason to stress over something when you can't change the outcome of it. So I waited. About a week later (while I was at English camp) I got a phone call from my roommate..."Um...there were three policemen who came to the door looking for you. They said they have a letter that they have to deliver to your hands and can't tell me what it's about." Ahh! So much for waiting and seeing what happens! So I got back from camp and intern debrief on August 14th (knowing my short-term visa would expire on the 15th). I woke up the next morning and the bell to my front door rang. I thought it was a friend coming to visit...nope! It was the police. They asked for my passport and had me sign for the letter and they were on their way. I set the letter aside assuming I wouldn't understand it anyway. Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I opened it. It said I needed to meet at the office of the foreign police on Monday morning at 8:00am with my passport. I could tell it had something to do with my visa that I applied for in Bratislava, but I didn't know what that part of it said.
On Monday I went to the foreign police and they told me I had a few things missing from my visa paperwork (I'm pretty sure 2/3 of those things were already in there, but oh well). I gave them the other paperwork they needed and wrote down everything else. Then I asked them what I should do since my short-term visa expired. He said I still have a few days since I'm allowed to be in the country for 90 days without a visa. (Apparently, they add the days before you get your visa and you still have time left if it's less than the 90 days.) But he also said I need to leave the EU...even just to get a cup of coffee. So he told me to go to Croatia for coffee (and a stamp in my passport) and come back. So I'm going to go on a forced vacation. :) I needed one anyway and this just gives me an excuse to do it now. :)
So thankfully, I'm not going to be deported. And I don't have to leave the country for long. :)
