Brrrr!!! It is SO cold here!!! I thought it was cold in the Midi-Pyrenees, but the wailing winter winds that sweep across the East Anglian landscape simply take your breath away. Last night we stood at the back sliding door onto the deck and watched as big fat snowflakes fell softly in the inky darkness.

Pictures may be spare for the next few days. We have settling in ‘stuff’ to do. We did part of it today when we drove up to Norwich to get our eyes checked and order new glasses for each of us.

And did you think I’d left my issues with ‘les papiers’ for immigration behind? Nope — no such luck!!!

I will need to get my residency-as-a-UK-spouse sorted out and and I can now share there were a few moments in the last 48 hours that caused us rather a lot of stress. We consulted a firm of immigration attorneys to do all of the paperwork for us and the original feedback was that I would have to leave the country to get the paperwork done and THEN come back in while Mark stayed here, settled in, and started work. And the processing could have taken 6-10 months whilst we were living apart. That would be a dreadful thing for us!

Then today we were informed that there was a loophole — courtesy of (who would have guessed) our life in France! According to this ruling by the UK government which addresses regarding British citizens as EEU (European Economic Union) citizens, I am able to live with my EEU citizen spouse when coming to the UK because he was working in another EEU country prior to coming here! Tomorrow I have to compile a rather large dossier of paperwork, get photos taken, and send everything off for my laminated residency card — just like the one I had in France. How cool is that? The worst part will be the wait for the actual card to come back with my documents.

Regarding documents, that actually is my only bit of moderate anxiety — that I have to send our ORIGINAL birth certificates, marriage certificate, and passports to the processing department in Liverpool. (gulp!) They don’t allow certified copies — only originals. So I am sending it all on via registered courier with lots of blessings bestowed on the envelope.

I’ll continue to keep you all in the loop. And in the meantime, thank heavens for long-john style winter underwear. Brrrr!!!

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.