This same day two months ago I arrived here in Martinique island (Antilles Francaises) yet I haven't blogged about my whole experience in getting here yet because I admit, I don't know where to start.
So I left my job as a bank advisor in mid April and spent my free days changing my last name (from single to married) in different government offices. My husband arrived on the first day of May for our quick vacation since I wasn't able to follow him yet as we planned.
We spent a great vacation in Cebu. It didn't feel so quick because in a short span of time we were able to spend days in Bantayan, days with the family and days in Manila for the paper works. As previously noted in my blog, we've been waiting for our "livret de famille"...without this document I couldn't get a visa and the wait has been longer than what we were told so we weren't smiling anymore. We've been keeping in contact with the embassy and we've set appointments to meet them during our vacation. We were told to call back again and again and again until we got fed up and decided to see them.
At the beginning of the vacation we were in the hopes of going back to France together but as days go by and we still didn't have any good news for our papers then we just sort of "dropped the thought" already, it couldn't be possible anymore and we were very sad about the possibility of being apart for maybe months again. It's very frustrating.
So we went to the embassy and met the man who received our files. We thought we were seeing a new staff but he said he's still the one who handles our case (it's a good sign). Fingers crossed, we followed him to his office and he explained why the process had been delayed but normally "it should be ready, it just lacks one more signature". My hands were so cold, we were very stressed as he called some people and after a few minutes he left to check if it's done and voila!!! We got the "livret de famille" after five months and ten days of waiting instead of two to three months or even four! Imagine that! After receiving the "livret de famille" the releasing officer told us that we can process the long-stay visa application that same day as well even without the air tickets yet. We were a bit doubtful but since we were already there I went ahead and filled out the visa application form that they gave us. Thankfully we brought all our documents with us so we had all the requirements for the visa application.
Here's a list of the required documents:
We then went to see the visa issuing officer and my husband explained our situation. The officer confirmed we indeed could apply for the visa that day (seven days before my husband's departure back to France) and that it'll be released in five business days instead of ten and it was free because we're married. IT WAS A LOT OF GREAT SURPRISES IN A DAY! Great things really come to those who wait, indeed!!!
Though we almost got everything ready for my departure we're still thinking it's not possible to leave Cebu together anymore, we didn't have that much time left. But the more we think about it the more we consider the possibility again. We had a lot of stressful nights and days just trying to figure out what is the best thing to do. Then we decided to check if there were still tickets available same with my husband's flight schedules and indeed there were, which was very unlikely because he bought his tickets two months ago. We felt a miracle happening but we were still very afraid of making the wrong decision. However, we head on and trusted our gut feeling and decided to buy my tickets Cebu-Paris, Paris-Fort de France having my departure right after the day of the issuance of my visa. We couldn't take any delays due to anything at that!!! It was not an easy decision, we were very very stressed about it but then again we gave it a shot (that was six days before my husband's departure). We then went to Cathay Pacific's office and changed my husband's flight to the next day (thankfully he had one more day before his authorised entry to the Philippines expires). It costed us one-hundred and fifty euros but there's no price for love, is there? With that new sched we could be on the same flights from Cebu to Martinique, a dream in the making...we were holding our breaths.
A day before "our" departure for France we had to claim my visa so we got up so early and took the second plane to Manila, went directly to the embassy, thankfully we got the visa without any issues and then we went back to the airport right away. We had to be in Cebu before offices close because I needed to have a CFO (Commission on Filipino Overseas) sticker on my passport. We couldn't do it any sooner because they won't give the sticker unless you have the visa. In God's grace we arrived in Cebu on time and thankfully got at the CFO office at around four in the afternoon. I thought it'll only take about ten minutes to get that sticker (like they told me) but they surprised me again with additional requirements and thankfully I always have my papers with me as usual so everything went well and the next few things we needed that day were a long shower, a good dinner and a long sigh of relief!
Then the day came. My brothers and my sister-in-law sent us to the airport. We intended to keep it like that, we didn't want to say goodbye to a lot of them at the airport, it could've been twice as hard.
It was a very long trip, twenty-three hours in the sky plus the airport wait times and airport transfers! Yet, my husband did it four times to be with me, only a few good men can do it and I am one helluva proud wife!
Arriving in Martinique together was indeed a miracle. Sometimes things don't happen the way we want them because Someone up there Knows better. We thank the Almighty for these priceless blessings. Life is beautiful!
So I left my job as a bank advisor in mid April and spent my free days changing my last name (from single to married) in different government offices. My husband arrived on the first day of May for our quick vacation since I wasn't able to follow him yet as we planned.
We spent a great vacation in Cebu. It didn't feel so quick because in a short span of time we were able to spend days in Bantayan, days with the family and days in Manila for the paper works. As previously noted in my blog, we've been waiting for our "livret de famille"...without this document I couldn't get a visa and the wait has been longer than what we were told so we weren't smiling anymore. We've been keeping in contact with the embassy and we've set appointments to meet them during our vacation. We were told to call back again and again and again until we got fed up and decided to see them.
At the beginning of the vacation we were in the hopes of going back to France together but as days go by and we still didn't have any good news for our papers then we just sort of "dropped the thought" already, it couldn't be possible anymore and we were very sad about the possibility of being apart for maybe months again. It's very frustrating.
So we went to the embassy and met the man who received our files. We thought we were seeing a new staff but he said he's still the one who handles our case (it's a good sign). Fingers crossed, we followed him to his office and he explained why the process had been delayed but normally "it should be ready, it just lacks one more signature". My hands were so cold, we were very stressed as he called some people and after a few minutes he left to check if it's done and voila!!! We got the "livret de famille" after five months and ten days of waiting instead of two to three months or even four! Imagine that! After receiving the "livret de famille" the releasing officer told us that we can process the long-stay visa application that same day as well even without the air tickets yet. We were a bit doubtful but since we were already there I went ahead and filled out the visa application form that they gave us. Thankfully we brought all our documents with us so we had all the requirements for the visa application.
Here's a list of the required documents:
- Valid passport with photocopy on the identity and validity page
- A recent passport size photo
- Filled-out long-stay visa application form (available at the embassy)
- Filled-out OFII form (available at the embassy)
- Livret de Famille + photocopy
- French marriage certificate issued by the embassy (acte de mariage) of less than 2 months + photocopy
- Proof of French nationality of spouse (National ID card or Passport)
We then went to see the visa issuing officer and my husband explained our situation. The officer confirmed we indeed could apply for the visa that day (seven days before my husband's departure back to France) and that it'll be released in five business days instead of ten and it was free because we're married. IT WAS A LOT OF GREAT SURPRISES IN A DAY! Great things really come to those who wait, indeed!!!
Though we almost got everything ready for my departure we're still thinking it's not possible to leave Cebu together anymore, we didn't have that much time left. But the more we think about it the more we consider the possibility again. We had a lot of stressful nights and days just trying to figure out what is the best thing to do. Then we decided to check if there were still tickets available same with my husband's flight schedules and indeed there were, which was very unlikely because he bought his tickets two months ago. We felt a miracle happening but we were still very afraid of making the wrong decision. However, we head on and trusted our gut feeling and decided to buy my tickets Cebu-Paris, Paris-Fort de France having my departure right after the day of the issuance of my visa. We couldn't take any delays due to anything at that!!! It was not an easy decision, we were very very stressed about it but then again we gave it a shot (that was six days before my husband's departure). We then went to Cathay Pacific's office and changed my husband's flight to the next day (thankfully he had one more day before his authorised entry to the Philippines expires). It costed us one-hundred and fifty euros but there's no price for love, is there? With that new sched we could be on the same flights from Cebu to Martinique, a dream in the making...we were holding our breaths.
A day before "our" departure for France we had to claim my visa so we got up so early and took the second plane to Manila, went directly to the embassy, thankfully we got the visa without any issues and then we went back to the airport right away. We had to be in Cebu before offices close because I needed to have a CFO (Commission on Filipino Overseas) sticker on my passport. We couldn't do it any sooner because they won't give the sticker unless you have the visa. In God's grace we arrived in Cebu on time and thankfully got at the CFO office at around four in the afternoon. I thought it'll only take about ten minutes to get that sticker (like they told me) but they surprised me again with additional requirements and thankfully I always have my papers with me as usual so everything went well and the next few things we needed that day were a long shower, a good dinner and a long sigh of relief!
Then the day came. My brothers and my sister-in-law sent us to the airport. We intended to keep it like that, we didn't want to say goodbye to a lot of them at the airport, it could've been twice as hard.
It was a very long trip, twenty-three hours in the sky plus the airport wait times and airport transfers! Yet, my husband did it four times to be with me, only a few good men can do it and I am one helluva proud wife!
Arriving in Martinique together was indeed a miracle. Sometimes things don't happen the way we want them because Someone up there Knows better. We thank the Almighty for these priceless blessings. Life is beautiful!
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The first flight.
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| The nine-hour stop over in Hong Kong |
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| Arrival in Paris. |
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| Bibliotheque Schoelcher in Martinique. |
IMPORTANT UPDATE! The French embassy is now directing all visa applications to a third party company. They no longer accepts direct visa applications at the embassy. For more information click HERE
