I was very excited to return to Catalunya last week for many reasons, amongst them that I had tickets to a show called “Bona Gent” (“Good People” in English). The show is more or less a stage version or extension of a Catalan television program called “El Foraster” (“The Stranger” in English). In the TV show, the television presenter, Quim Masferrer, visits small towns in Catalunya where he spends 48 hours talking with residents and learning all about the town. Then, with many of the townspeople in attendance in a local auditorium, he presents and comments on what he’s learned and talks with members of the audience. I would describe him as a Jimmy Fallon-type entertainer – lots of energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity. I’ve only watched a few episodes, but it’s hard not to like him and be drawn into the action.
When I found out that the stage show was coming to Palamòs, a town near me, I bought tickets. I was really looking forward to it. I thought it would be an immersion into Catalan culture that would be fun and informative for me. I knew I would not understand everything, and I was praying I wouldn’t be one of the people in the audience that he interviewed (!!), but I thought it would make a great story for my blog – especially if I was interviewed and made a total fool of myself on TV!! Unfortunately, my radiation treatments and delayed return to Begur meant that I missed the show. Maybe I’ll have another opportunity. He looks goofy in this picture, and he is, but it’s all in good fun!
Just watch a few minutes of the show and tell me it doesn’t look like fun!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHIuAPaIKG0
This week I picked up my renewed residency card, but I’m in a bit of trouble about my future residency status. I’ll explain. My first step in the residency process was to apply at the Spanish Consulate in the US for a temporary visa in Spain. I applied for a “non-lucrative visa,” meaning I can support myself financially. I had to prove that I carry local, private Spanish health insurance, I have no communicable disease, and I’m not a threat according to an FBI background check. Once approved, the next step was to visit one of the national police stations in Spain to show my paperwork and pick up my residency card, which was good for one year. It could be renewed for two years twice, both times by preparing and providing the same documents updated. I just received my second two-year card. After this period of temporary residency is completed, I can make an application for five-year permanent residency. It’s actually more complicated than it sounds. Clear instructions are difficult to find online, and very little help is provided by the bureaucrats. The national police are scary, unhelpful, and wear guns. I think they’re hired based on their ability to intimidate. Last time I was there, an officer literally yelled at me for not filling out the form correctly. In Spanish it’s very unnerving, but I held my own!
I’ve made other mistakes along the way, such as letting my first visa expire without renewing it timely. I thought at the time that the process was so burdensome I’d just visit Spain for three months at a time as any tourist can. Boy that was a big mistake, because the first three months I was here, the Pandemic struck. I’m not going into all that again and how I had to find a dual national to help me get the dogs home (quite a few blog posts chronicle that nightmare!), but I had to start the whole process over when I decided three months at a time wouldn’t work for me. I needed to be here for longer stretches. I needed to be here on a more permanent basis.
My second mistake was when I lost my residency card. I had to go to the local Police station to make an official report, then take that paper to the National Police to get another piece of paper that would hopefully allow me to exit and enter Spain. When I made my most recent trip, no one asked me diddly-squat, so it was cool and now I have the renewed card.
My latest mistake, it turns out, was bigger. Just like I don’t read the instructions for any new appliance or constructing a piece of furniture from IKEA, I didn’t read the fine print somewhere in the materials that says in order to apply for the five-year permanent residency, you cannot have been out of Spain for more than 300 days during the five previous years of residency. Whoops!! When I discovered this, I was already at the limit of the 300 days and I was embarking on my cancer tour in Houston. Even if I could claim a medical exception (which I was told by an immigration lawyer might be possible), I’m not willing to forego visits to the US to see my children and grandchildren for the next two years in order to stop the counting of the 300 days! I’ve been told that I may be able to apply for a “second chance” visa, but who knows… As Scarlett said in Gone with the Wind, tomorrow is another day. I can be here legally until December 2026. I’ll worry about it next year. Maybe I’ll get married in order to get my “green card”!!! HA HA HA…that would be the absolute LAST resort!
Just to keep you up to date, the Russian is still at it – different cars in and out of the garage. A new one with Spanish plates and the Hungarian one that’s been here before.
Susie's Senior Year Abroad 