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| Sunset light reflected off the clouds |
The last few days have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. When I got my police clearance form earlier this week, I thought I was ready to go, all I needed to do was email it to YWAM Australia. They already had my other papers. So that's what I did. On Thursday, I heard that that the Immigration Department want all the original paperwork for the visa application, because of the signatures. As well a few other things, like a certified copy of my birth certificate (this is a photocopy of the original with a few stamps from a police station saying that its an exact copy of the original) and a doctor's report saying I'm healthy, along with a signature and an official stamp.
There's now a sense of urgency involved as my South African visa expires at the beginning of next year. So on Thursday evening, my father and I went to the police station to have them certify that my photocopy of my birth certificate is identical to the original. Then yesterday evening my mother got hold of the local doctor's assistant and made an appointment for me to go in for a health check. My mum has a medical background, but the letter from the doctor needs stamping to prove its not a forge.
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| A warthog and her offspring |
So two days after hearing that I need to send everything via DHL, I gathered all the needed documents and put them in order. They're now safely with the the curriers. It'll be send off on Monday and I'm thrilled to say that I'm a few steps closer to leaving than I was at the beginning of this week.
The process from here is that the base I'm going to be joining in Australia will send my application (when they get it) to another base, which handles all the visa applications. They'll put it into the system from there. It may take some time, depending on how many other visa applications are in line before mine. I'm praying it arrives before I need to be out of South Africa (I need to be out of South Africa by 1 January 2014). Keep posted for more news on what's happening down here.