Immigration

We have had out interview with the scariest women ever at the Department of Immigration. Looking back at it, she is actually very good at her job but at the time she had us both in a fluster trying to find the evidence that we had gathered.

Everything was in a lever arch file, indexed and each document was in a plastic sleeve so it was easy to find. We turned up at the office on time for our interview and we were seen straight away (I was glad as there were hundreds of people milling around waiting in queues etc). Then the interview began.....

After taking our passports, and other official documents and setting up a file on her PC, she proceeded to look at Brad and ask what he had done 2 days ago. I clicked straight away that she was referring to my Birthday so told him that was what she meant. I was shot down and told that if she looked at me she was asking me a question, and if she looked at Brad, she was asking him a question and not to speak unless spoken too. So on it went - question after question, checking how much we knew about each other along with different questions about our time in the UK and travelling. Oh she did keep referring to the UK as England which annoyed me (I kept trying to correct her in the nicest possible way though!) She kept asking for different bits of evidence and at one point we had paper everywhere. So much for the filing system. Brad was in a fluster trying to sort everything out and I gave up and just kept talking too her! It would have been funny to watch had it been recorded. (Oh and my credit card was declined when I went to pay the fee..... he he. UK banks keep blocking my cards at the most inappropriate times so that was more stress as we got the block removed!)

So at the end of an hour and a half, I was given a bridging visa which allows me to stay in the country beyond when my tourist visa expires (5th May) and I have to produce a couple more documents from the UK within 28 days. It was quite promising though and she seemed to indicate that the visa would be granted. That being the case I can start applying for jobs on the 6th May.... (Just in time for winter!)