So the next Wednesday, 24th June (my 7th visit, but with no translator) I went back to the Nat.Police Station to hopefully collect my 6 month visa. The Police officer looked at my papers and there was note on there written by someone else saying I needed one particular document.

Here we go again

This particular document was actually the one I had already collected from the Cartorio do Registo on my return to Sal a few weeks earlier ‘Direccao Do Registo de Firmas’ The officer holding my paperwork and reading the note looked through the papers as she knew I had this document, she then took all my papers back to the Police Officer who was processing it to tell him it was there, after about 15 mins of waiting the other officer comes out, spends another 5mins going through my papers and then decides he probably can’t find anything else wrong so starts to print off the forms that I need to take to a bank to pay for 6 month visa, same process as before, either pay at the bank or Vint4 at station. So off I went with another 5 forms after being told to take them to bank, pay 5.100cve and then come back with two of the forms, which I did. I was then told ‘come back Friday’……. Give me strength!

INPS or no INPS

Now, there is just one other main outstanding obstacle once I eventually get my 6 month visa, how to get my INPS sorted. I returned to the INPS office while I was in Espargos and managed to explain to Katia, the lady I dealt with last time, using my very limited creole, that the Police said that they may not accept my application for Residency until I had my INPS, Katia once again phoned the main office in Praia and after about 5 minutes or more she said that I should return at the end of the 30 days to see her and she would give me another letter for another 30days as the ‘Fiscal’ visit could not be carried out until August or September (2015), as that is when someone from Praia on the island of Santiago or someone from Sao Vicente would come to Sal. I think I will ask her to add something on the next letter to state when the Fiscal may be carried out if and when they do come to Sal. When I go back to the Nat. Police Station in Espargos on Friday I will ask her what will happen, hopefully the lady officer will be on the desk …….. My concern is, that any other documents that have a time limit on them, including documents obtained here on Sal and my Police Disclosure from UK, could expire before my INPS is sorted, but it may not matter if I have my 6month visa….we shall see :)

Santa Maria to Espargos

The cost of visits to Espargos by taxi 6 times has not been cheap (2000cve return each time), but that was a choice I made due to needing an interpreter to be with me in S.Maria and Espargos, reducing the amount of wasted time traveling from one place to another, or waiting for an aluger etc etc. On top of this there are additional costs for documents.

Hopefully my experience which I am sharing will help others who have yet or have started the process of applying for Residency….however; I haven’t completed the process yet!

Some others have ‘ given up’ with this process and I don’t blame them!!! I have a Residency list with additional documents I had to obtain and added my own comments on it if anyone is interested they can have a look at it.

If you have read all of the above, well done, you can now go and take a paracetamol and have a lie down, because I am!

Cheryl

Visa Update

25.6.15 - Returned to Nat.PS with my payment receipt for 6 month visa (with a translator). I had translator explain about situation with INPS. My paperwork and passport were still at Police Station from last Wednesday. A visa stamp was stamped in my passport. I was asked for photo copies of a number of documents from my paperwork, I thought I had them all, but I didn't, I was given the papers needed for copying. I returned with the copies, then as soon as I returned with the copies the same person said I needed to go and photo copy two other things from my paperwork and copy my visa stamp in passport and bring them back........... it's not as if it was two different people that told me, it was the same person!

I have my 6month visa now, hooray. As for my Residency, I have to go back next Friday to see if they have accepted all my paperwork for my Residency (including INPS statement for 30 days) and that nothing else is required!!! I shall make sure I return there with more copies of my paperwork, as they kept the originals and my passport.

January 2016: My visa has run out and the Police say that my Residence is not back from Praia so I have to go back to the bank with new slips to pay for another 6 month visa. I had met with the Fiscal in Sept but was not sure what to say about earnings or income as I am self employed and work isn't regular, I tried explain this and they sort of understood but I still had to register for INPS. I ended up paying one month at a higher rate than I should, but it was wrong as I had declared I had earned that much every month, however a few weeks later, I received a call from the IMPS officer that had interviewed me and he said he's seen I had paid one amount but that if I was not working I needn't pay anything, not until I was working again. He also said I could write a letter explaining that I didn't earn that much a month and declare a lesser amount, or explain that earnings were not monthly. I thought that was fair! So I stopped paying INPS. I still need to do the letter to INPS though (in Portuguese), I have already done one for Finanza saying something similar, but that is for tax purposes, the rules keep changing each year with that too, but that is another matter!

Now, as for my Residence I am still not sure whether they will process it as I am not paying INPS at the moment........next update, coming in a while!

Finally my Residence - May 2016

In May 2016 a few other expats informed me there were some residence visa's being handed out at the Police Station in Espargos. As soon as I could I went to see if mine was there. At last, after the long wait but with an added surprise, they had back-dated my residence to February 2016 but instead of it being for 12months, they had issued it for 2 years.

More info, click here:

My Application for Residence - Part 1

My Application for Residence - Part 2

Why YD are not going to renew their Residence