Applying for a resident visa is like putting together a puzzle. There are a million little pieces: forms, documents, health exams, etc. that you have to get in order before you can even apply for a visa. It is very confusing and laborious at times. But hey, it’s all part of the journey.

To apply for C and O’s visas, we had to get their birth and vaccination records authenticated, or officially reviewed by a Taiwan consulate. There is an option of applying for the visa and authenticating documents at the same time but with only 2 more months left before we leave, I wanted to get the ball rolling as much as possible.

After 3 years of operating by appointment only, the Taiwan consulate in SF fully opened its doors on April 3rd and was first come, first served. We arrived at the consulate at 8:20am (it opened at 9am) and there was already a group of people waiting.

Once we were inside the office and got a number, the process was smooth and efficient. While waiting for your number to get called, a few consulate workers walked around and proactively assisted people with their documents. This was extremely helpful and they were all so patient and kind! They first spoke to us in rapid fire Chinese but after seeing the confused look on our faces, they switched to English 🤣. This is yet another time I regret not keeping up with my Chinese!

A really sweet girl named Doris helped us get our documents in order. There was an issue with Baba’s name on the kids’ birth certificates (one had his middle name and one did not) so we had to follow up with additional ID verification. But Doris accepted our application for authentication in the meantime, and by 10am, we submitted our documents and paid the fee ($15 for each document). The authentication process takes about 2 weeks.

In other news, the authentication process of our marriage certificate is done! The documents are traveling all the way from South Africa and should take about a week to arrive. I was initially nervous about this process, but the agent we worked with at Wakwazi International was really helpful.

Baba still hasn’t heard back from the Taiwan visa office about his application. In the meantime, he is also trying to apply as my spouse which requires a health exam. But we hit another roadblock. One of the health tests you have to pass is a tuberculosis test, and the radiologist who reviewed Baba’s first chest x-ray has some concerns which means more blood tests and CT scan – which also means a delay and more out of pocket medical expenses.

Baba pushed the CT scan appointment as far back as possible, in hopes that the Taiwan visa office will get back to him before then and he gets approved as an individual. An individual visa will spare him from getting a health exam. I hope this is the case too.

The pieces are slowly coming together yet at the same time everything feels untethered. There is a lot of uncertainty. I suspect it’s going to feel this way for a long, long time so I guess I better get used to it.