Silver Fern Visa Stamped today

The long wait is finally over. I got a call from NZIHS this afternoon informing me that they already have my stamped passport and documents. Woohoo! I'll be visitng them tomorrow to get my docs and will kick off living arrangements with them.

OMG! It's happening now to think i was just discussing this with a friend last night!

The actual adventure begins. :)

Preparing and Waiting for the Visa

A week after the announcement of my successful SFV application, I used my week-long scheduled vacation to process all the documents, including my medical exam. The medical exam extended to another week because it turned out that I had UTI at the time of the examination. They had to make sure that I was cleared. Hence this ate up most of the document prepaprtion time: total of 14 days.

1. Actual medical exam - avg of 4 hours at the Timbol-Sanchez clinic in Makati
• Additional test: Ultrasound for Thyroid - 4 hours of waiting and 10 mins on the actual ultrasound at the Makati Medical Center
• Processing of medical Results - 5 days for NZ applicants
• Securing of actual results - it depends if they've actually prepared your medical docs. They made me wait for more than 3 hours since they weren't exactly ready that time despite me calling a day before.
2. NBI Clearance - 2 hours at Robinsons Otis
3. Bgy Clearance and Residence Certificate - 1.5 hours at Parang Barangay Hall in Marikina (these are needed for the Police Clearance)
4. Police Clearance - 2 hours at the Eastern Police District, Marikina - bayan
5. English Certification (school) - Less than 30mins to have it requested, and paid. Document was ready for pick up 3 days after (UST Main Building)
6. English Certification (office) - Our HR did a similar document previously for a UK Visa application. They've sought my help in providing work details since they hoped that immigration won't be calling them anymore to substantiate the claim.
7. NZQA - I already secured this previously which took about 1 week to process. Doc preparation time for this took 2 months.
8. Transcript or records and Diploma - original versions were available since I've secured this previously for the NZQA requirement
9. Bank Certificate - 20 minutes, or maybe even sooner if the lady wasn't too busy multitasking
10. I submitted the docs to NZIHS on May 31, and received update on June 7 that the documents have already been lodged.

Tuesday, July 10, my status changed and according to Ann (of NZIHS office), they're hoping to receive my documents and passport up to Saturday this week. Oh my! I just have to keep myself busy until I hear from Ann again.

This Saturday, hubby and I will be going to the reception venue for my daughter's 1st birthday. We'll probably visit that nearby resort so we can have some options.

And We're Off!

It's been crazy since the original April 27 2012 application date was moved to May 4. So we had to be a little more patient until The Day! Hubby knew the whole thing ahead of me and he thought that I was just stalling by the time I got home. I honestly had no idea that I was already among the 300 SFV applicants. The email came in after I left the office. The whole process was completed in just 5 minutes and me and about a few other batchmates all made it through! I'm really grateful and relieved that this part is over. Next item on my list: secure, update, photocopy and notarize all the required documents.

So now we can finally work on a more detailed plan. I will definitely itemize all the schedules and tasks and maximize the next days. Hubby and I are excited! Thank God!

Day Before Selection

It's the day before the SFV selection. I've been under a lot of pressure lately which shows in the tension in my muscles. My Neurologist advised me to avoid carrying shoulder bags and backpacks. Stick with a tote bag instead he said. Massage is good. Take warm baths. And use a warm compress to help relax the muscles. It's been a week since I had my consultation and so far, I've managed to stick with a tote bag. I will be sitting in our office massage chair later to see how it goes.

I'm really looking forward to the positive turn of events. It's going to be life-changing for our family.