Visa Run

Guest post: Mom

It's Megan again, Rupert didn't get to go on this adventure so he can't speak to it.

Marcus's visa is provided by his employer and then he can sponsor his spouse. Lots of things go in to being able to sponsor your spouse here, but before you can start the process, the spouse with the visa has to have a tenancy contract signed, and then an Ejari, which is basically a database of registered tenancy constracts, but to register it, you have to have DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) set up, to set up DEWA, you have to have the signed lease, blah blah blah. Well, we were just able to register our Ejari on Jan 30. Then there is a guy that works for DANS (department of the government that Marcus works for) who processes the visas for spouses. Basically they are nice and do all the paperwork but we still pay. I entered Dubai on Jan 6, and my tourist visa was only good for 30 days, but the guy went of vacation on the 10 and was not going to get back until Feb 7, so since I was only legal until Feb 4, we had to do something. Dubai does give a 10 day grace period, before you have to start paying overstay fees. It was going to be 800 AED to go to the airport and extend it to a 90 day visa, or we could do a visa run.

So on Friday the 5th, we drove to Oman. 



It should have been about a two hour drive, but we made a few wrong turns when we first left. 

 On the road

Cool UAE flag painted on mountain

 

Mainly the drive is desert, and then some mountains, where there are a lot of quarries. Eventually we got to the border. First you exit the UAE, it was 35 AED each for an exit visa. Then you keep driving a little bit and end up at the building where you go in and get your visa for Oman (US is a country that can get a visa on arrival, no need to apply beforehand). So we filled out the form and went to the window and the guy asked where we were going and Marcus said, just a visa run. So when you say that they stamp your your entry and exit all at the same time. Then when you go back in your car and turn around you don't have to come back into the building and get your exit visa. It was 100 AED total. 

 I went to Oman

 

Then you turn around and go back. The line in the UAE border crossing was longer than the one in Oman. From the time we left our house to getting back in the car at the UAE border was about 3 hours. Then we drove back. 

 

I'm legal again now and we will start the process for my residency visa now that the guy at Marcus's work is back. 

 

Love, 

Megan

 

 

  

 

  

Moved In

Guest post - Mom

So we moved in on Monday. The night before we programmed the location of the house into the cars navigation for me since I didn't really know where to go and because it would be the - count it - 4th time driving on the roads, with 1 being a short test drive and 2 occurring that evening. 

So Monday, I woke up, got the rest of the stuff from the AirBnB into the car, then the movers called and told me that they would be be in about 30-40 mnutes...well they called at 8, and they were not supposed to be there until 9:30, so cue me getting nervous. I loaded up Rupert, and left. I start driving and after about 15 it doesn't make sense because I was doing more merging than I thought I needed to and the ETA seemed off, I checked where I was going...somehow the last place of the previous owner was programmed as 'home.' I flipped out. I guess that maybe it paired with Marcus's key? I have no idea. I manage to get Jumeirah Village Triangle into my phone and figure I can maybe find my way from there. I made it, then got lost in the neighborhood, then found a point on the map that was near to where the villa was, so followed that. 

Then 9 comes, no movers, then they still aren't there, then they call me and tell me they can't find it, I don't know how to give them directions, they ask what gate to come in, I say 2, they are at 3, it is a disaster. They ask me to come get them, so I do. Then we come in and the security people stop me and ask if I have filled out a move-in request....I'm like, excuse me? No one told me about any of that, then he gives me some long explanation that I could not really understand and tells me I can call they person in charge and see if they will still let me move in because someone else in moving in in district 2....well I am moving into district 9, and this place is gigantic...you could have 20 people moving in in one day, so I call that person and I am trying to call Marcus but he's at work but at this point I am crying then the person comes and tries to give me another poor explanation and then said I can go and they will bring the form to me. So the movers follow me to the house, well that morning some guys were going around putting the new villa signs up, so we went from being villa 3, to being villa 9I17...well the movers saw the sign and were like you said 3, and I'm like we were 3 until about an hour ago and walked away because I wasn't dealing with it. Then they started to unload, then the guy comes with the form, it has all sorts of ridiculous things on it like passport copies of the movers...I'm like what the hell, Marcus has called them by that point and they said they would drop it off and come back later. The form still sits here 2 days later...and like I said I didn't ask the movers for their freaking passports. They leave. Du comes at 12 to connect the internet, he got lost because of the new villa sings but other than that it was smooth sailing. I start unpacking a few things. A little while later at like 2 the doorbell rings, I think that IKEA is here early, no, it's the movers, they say that the check is no good because Marcus wrote two letters over each other...see exhibit A. Please ignore his misspelling of hundred.

Exhibit A. 

I am like are you serious. He asked me to write another check, I said I don't have them and I can't anyway (I am not on the account yet because I don't have my visa yet) then he said, "so you want to pay cash" and I say I don't have any cash. Then I said I will go get money, he wants to know how long, I say I don't know, 15 minutes? (I don't even know where the closest ATM is). I leave and go park. Marcus will be home at 3, it is clear they won't leave until they get money. I call him, Marcus calls his contact, she calls the office, she calls me back and says it is because of the letters so they won't take it. I say okay well I have to go to an ATM so they have to wait, so said she would call and tell them. It takes me more like 30 or so minutes to get to the closest ATM and back. I pay them, they leave, hopefully to never come back. 

Then IKEA arrives a bit early but that is okay. When they called to say they were on their way Marcus alerted them to the new villa number so there would be no issues. They start bringing stuff up and then Marcus gets home. Phew, I don't have to talk to people anymore. Then right as IKEA finishes the Home Centre people with our dining room table, chairs and side bar come and then that is done. 

So it all got done but it was a long and frustrating day with lost of overwhelmed crying/sobbing. 

Good news is Rupert seems to love his new castle. I will love it too once it is clean, which two lovely ladies are taking are of right now.

 
Now if I can figure out this washing machine...

Love,
Megan