Remember this post?
It has been a few months but we have been plugging along to get the proper paperwork to satisfy the Chilean educational system.
First the birth certificates went to Santiago with Pedro, where he took them to the Chilean Department of Exterior for a stamp.
Then they went with my sister Jennifer and her family to the United States where she delivered them into the hands of my father, along with a cover letter for the Department of State.
My dad then mailed everything to the Department of State, only to have the documents returned with instructions that each birth certificate must first be mailed to its respective state of issue for authentication.
After looking up the specific instructions for four different states online, I e-mailed four separate cover letters and my dad once again sent the certificates on their merry way.
Everything was returned quickly and looked good, until Pedro's birth certificate came along. The state of Michigan refused to authenticate his birth certificate because they said the county clerk who signed it back in 1972 was not on record in their office! It wouldn't be such a big deal to order him a new certificate, if his had not already received several of the required stamps (which would cost time and money to replace.) We put the papers on hold while Mom and Dad went away for their 40th anniversary.
Meanwhile, back in Chile I began helping the Spink family go through the paces mentioned in my original post in order to get their kids set up for school. I'm so glad I did, because it resulted in my running into yet another hiccup that could have created a problem for our family when the November deadline rolled around.
It turns out that not only must we have the birth certificates with all four authentications, but we must also turn then in to the Registro Civil (Vital Records) office in exchange for a student id number (and maybe even a Chilean birth certificate of sort sort? I'm not really sure since we didn't make it that far.)
Only, the Registro Civil office requires translations of all the birth certificates, stamped and authenticated by the Department of Exterior in Santiago. Never mind that the Department of Exterior does not require translations of English documents anymore, which is why although we already had translations we did not get them stamped when Pedro was there. Never mind that I can prove this to them from the Department's own website. (All points I argued with the lady in the office yesterday.) The Registro Civil requires it, and that is that.
Aaaargh!!! There is nothing that makes my blood pressure boil than all these paperwork rules and regulations with their ridiculous contradictions. What a waste of time! But here we are again, now having to hurry to get the birth certificates through the US Department of State, back down to Chile, asking someone in Santiago to take the translations to the Chilean Department of Exterior, then mail them to us so we can take them to the Registro Civil in Iquique, who then supposedly will give us the proper documents so we can take it to the Ministry of Education to have our children approved as official students in the Chilean school system.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all ... it couldn't be that "easy!"
(PS - I also called the county in Michigan where Pedro was born, and requested a letter from them certifying that the clerk who signed Pedro's original birth certificate was the real deal. We'll send the letter with his birth certificate back to the state of Michigan and hope for the best!)
It has been a few months but we have been plugging along to get the proper paperwork to satisfy the Chilean educational system.
First the birth certificates went to Santiago with Pedro, where he took them to the Chilean Department of Exterior for a stamp.
Then they went with my sister Jennifer and her family to the United States where she delivered them into the hands of my father, along with a cover letter for the Department of State.
My dad then mailed everything to the Department of State, only to have the documents returned with instructions that each birth certificate must first be mailed to its respective state of issue for authentication.
After looking up the specific instructions for four different states online, I e-mailed four separate cover letters and my dad once again sent the certificates on their merry way.
Everything was returned quickly and looked good, until Pedro's birth certificate came along. The state of Michigan refused to authenticate his birth certificate because they said the county clerk who signed it back in 1972 was not on record in their office! It wouldn't be such a big deal to order him a new certificate, if his had not already received several of the required stamps (which would cost time and money to replace.) We put the papers on hold while Mom and Dad went away for their 40th anniversary.
Meanwhile, back in Chile I began helping the Spink family go through the paces mentioned in my original post in order to get their kids set up for school. I'm so glad I did, because it resulted in my running into yet another hiccup that could have created a problem for our family when the November deadline rolled around.
It turns out that not only must we have the birth certificates with all four authentications, but we must also turn then in to the Registro Civil (Vital Records) office in exchange for a student id number (and maybe even a Chilean birth certificate of sort sort? I'm not really sure since we didn't make it that far.)
Only, the Registro Civil office requires translations of all the birth certificates, stamped and authenticated by the Department of Exterior in Santiago. Never mind that the Department of Exterior does not require translations of English documents anymore, which is why although we already had translations we did not get them stamped when Pedro was there. Never mind that I can prove this to them from the Department's own website. (All points I argued with the lady in the office yesterday.) The Registro Civil requires it, and that is that.
Aaaargh!!! There is nothing that makes my blood pressure boil than all these paperwork rules and regulations with their ridiculous contradictions. What a waste of time! But here we are again, now having to hurry to get the birth certificates through the US Department of State, back down to Chile, asking someone in Santiago to take the translations to the Chilean Department of Exterior, then mail them to us so we can take them to the Registro Civil in Iquique, who then supposedly will give us the proper documents so we can take it to the Ministry of Education to have our children approved as official students in the Chilean school system.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all ... it couldn't be that "easy!"
(PS - I also called the county in Michigan where Pedro was born, and requested a letter from them certifying that the clerk who signed Pedro's original birth certificate was the real deal. We'll send the letter with his birth certificate back to the state of Michigan and hope for the best!)
2 comments:
Maybe Pedro isn't who he says he is :) he he!
Oh Steph, I would say that you should write a handbook for missionaries or other foreigners in Chile, but it sounds like things change all the time and it wouldn't matter. :) Praying for it all to work out.
Ok, so your paperwork shuffle trumps ours! I know the teeth grinding, hair pulling, heavy sighing stress that goes along with the paper chase. Praying for your frustrations.
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