Getting a Visa

If you are a world traveler, you know that not every trip you take contains getting a visa. If you are in a country for 30 days or less, a visa application is not necessary. However, most countries require one if you plan on staying for longer than that. In order for me to continuously live in Chile for 5 months, I have to get a visa, but it has not been the easiest process to go through. Seriously though, it has been one of the most stressful situations I have been in. I have been trying to apply for a visa since I found out I was going to study abroad, so since about April. It started off with research of how I go about applying. The next step was the preparation. I had to get an FBI background check, go get a health checkup, and I had to jump through a bunch of other hoops. Once that was all finished, I sent off the application through express mail with a feeling of relief. That relief came to a halt the next day when the Consulate of Chile called me telling me some of my documents were insufficient. I had to get the university in Valparaiso send me my official acceptance letter via email and redo the money order that they poorly explained so I could overnight the updated documents to the Consulate. I felt a little bit relieved as I sent the updated documents off, but I was still uneasy.

The consulate received my documents, and began making a decision on my application. This process, for students in my region, takes about 2 weeks. I waited and waited for about 2 weeks to let them make a decision and get in touch with me, but I had not received any sort of notion that they had made a decision on my application. So I emailed them and had to get them to send my documents from Miami to the “honorary consulate” in Atlanta. I was finally approved for a visa, and am all set to go. However, it took the main office of the consulate such a long time to get my documents from Miami to Atlanta, and that was with overnight shipping! The whole situation was an utter mess. But now here I am, five days before my trip, finally ready to go to Chile.

My advice for anyone that needs to get a visa: keep on top of the consulate and pester them until they get things done.