After all that

After all that running around to make sure I had my PDis prior to departure from Italy, it was never asked for. I came back to Italy on a one way ticket and was never asked if I had permission to stay in Italy. When I arrived in Belgium the customs guy only asked if I was travelling for business or pleasure. Sometimes I wonder if its because I am carrying a Canadian passport. Thankfully there was no troubles for me coming back into Italy.

Stay FAB!

hooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

finally, picked up my PDis. I waited about 15mins and was asked only one question, "are you married to an Italian"? strange thing to ask but I am assuming it was because he was interested....lol. The PDis has an expiry date in September which gives me time to renew if need be and also came came with a protective card holder.
Lots of luck to those in the process of applying or those patiently waiting.

Stay FAB!

7 months almost to the day

how weird is tha? I mailed out the application kit for the PDis on October 24th and I checked the website on May 23rd and guess what? its ready for pick up. So from start to finish it took about 7 months to receive the PDis. Its funny because the student visa that I have expires in one month so I am curious to see when the PDis will expire. For all of you that have a applied or going to apply note that it ain't no speedy process.

Stay FAB!

45 days is up

It is less than 45 days but I thought for some reason it would be ready early. Surprise, surprise, its not ready for pick up as yet. The waiting continues my friends.


Stay FAB

come back in 45 days

After waiting six months for my interview for my PdiS, I was told to come back in 45 days. Oh yes my friends, when you go for your PdiS appointment you don't leave with it in hand. After early wake up, the waiting outside in the cold, the pushing and shoving, the multiply questions, the finger printing and the police officer chewing on tobacco while serving us, we were asked to return to pick up my PdiS. Overall, the time spent at the Questura was shorter than I expected. The BF did all of the talking and the fact that we had proof of my flight for early that afternoon things went fast and smooth.

Italy is still FAB. The weather is warming up with the odd day of rain here and there. A few nights ago was the first night I heard thunder, it was lovely. Happily I was at home during the rain fall.

Stay FAB!

Finally, Legal....

well not quite. Ladies and gentlemen, my Pdis appointment is tomorrow at 11:03am. I hear we must arrive early so we are going for 8am (thing that's early enough, damn it). Shortly there after (240pm) I am on a flight to the UK (Manchester). We are hoping to expedite the process due to the fact I have to get to the airport an hour before departure. Another concern I have is if I will have documents in hand (Pdis) so that I am able to reenter Italia. We will see, I still HEART ITALIA!

Stay FAB!

Unexpected SMS....

and yes in deed it was unexpected. We got the SMS this morning from the Questura for my PdiS appointment. When my BF asked me to guess the date I laughinhly guessed November 19 (my birthday) and of course he laughed back and me. My appointment is for March 5 2008, yes you read correctly. I mailed out the kit on September 21, received the SMS on November 1 and will be interviewed on March 5 2008. If that ain't BS bureaucracy, I don't know what is. I am just happy I was not given an appointment after the expiration date of my VISA.
Further update on this topic, March 2008.

Ciao a tutti

Stop pushing....

Damn it! This are the words I spoke the day I visited the Questura and had to wait in line for 1 hour. I decided that I wanted to visit the Questura 2 weeks after my arrival as I wanted to get a head start on applying for my PdiS (Permesso di Soggiorno).
Well we arrived at 730 am to a decent line of about 20 ppl, we counted that we were 20th in line so we were happy. At the blink of an eye (no lie) swarms of people arrived. Families with all their children and belongings in tow. Woman who appeared to have just returned from a late night out and the men who looked like they had somewhere to go. I kept a close on the arrivals after us to make sure we did not loose our place in line. Well, low and behold, we did as few people managed to push their way in front of us. As time approached for the gates to open I felt my body being pushed forward and it wasn't a good feeling. Anyway, the feeling was nothing compared to when the gates actually opened and the police arrived to randomly pick only 20 people to enter. As he spoke in Italian, none of which I understood all I could see is people's hands raising to get his attention. My BF and I decided not to raise our hands and wait patiently and it worked out in our favour. The police officer spoke to my BF, took my passport and allowed us to enter. Once we arrived into the office with the rest of the immigrants we had to wait another 30minutes before they attended to us. The police officer was polite and answered all our questions and was also able to direct us to the right places; post office for the kit (which I already knew but my BF wanted to see if he could receive the kit for free) and the post office to send the payment for the insurance. Prior to being served I watched how other people were spoken to by some of the officers. I can tell by the facial expressions and the hand gestures of the officers that they were not being polite and this was later confirmed when I asked my BF to translate what they were saying. I think because my BF is Italian we were treated differently. So after a day or two of running around with the kit and filing out the many required pages we are patiently waiting for something, anything to arrive in the mail.

Stay tuned!