The Process Continues

The last piece of the puzzle to complete the requirements for the Residence Permit is a trip to the police station. I am not sure if I have ever been to a police station in Canada, not even on a school field trip, let alone China. Thankfully Christie is once again in charge. First we go and pick up the results from the medical, everything came back normal by the way and then off we go to the police station. This is a very busy place with lots of people doing lots of things and that adds up to lots of noise. Since I am an expat I get taken upstairs to a special section and avoid the lineups downstairs.

This is serious business and my file is given to the first officer who goes through everything with a fine tooth comb. There are a couple of places where my signature has been missed, I sign and then my file is passed to the next constable who also goes through everything with a fine tooth comb. There is a little kerfluffle because my names do not match on the certificates. They do not know that a woman can change her name to her husband’s name when they get married. Luckily, because we have provided my birth certificate and the actual original marrriage certificate (good thing we keep it) and a Authentication Certificate that states that the marriage certificate is original, it is accepted. Just a note about the Authentication Certificate. David has to go to Edmonton to get this certificate. He had to take a notarized copy of the marriage certificate to Edmonton to get it validated by the provincial government. This involved checking the records, confirming that the notary was registered in Alberta and in return he got a certificate sealed with wax and a red seal.  Then David took these documents to the Chinese Visa Office in Calgary to have our validation validated. All very official!

Alas, I was not quite done yet. I had to have my picture taken again, oh yay, and then I was  asked a few questions. David did not have to answer any questions by the way.  It went something like this…was I working? No. So you are a housewife? Yes (I cringed a little at that one) and the last one…what does your husband do? He’s an engineer. That seemed to please them immensely and my file was quickly stamped. I had to give up my passport and will get it back in about ten days along with my Residence Permit. I am not sure how I will fill my time now that all these appointments are done!