Showing posts with label passport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passport. Show all posts

Sunday, 22 November 2015

Signed the Mandates at the Romanian Embassy in Seoul

I don't know what it is about Korea, but the embassies are amazing here! Years ago I had a great experience at the Peruvian Embassy in Seoul. I've also had wonderful experiences at the Romanian Embassy in Seoul. They've gone out of their way to be helpful in my quest for citizenship.

This time was no exception. I went last week and they had the mandates (power of attorney) there since my lawyer had emailed them to the embassy. I was also told that my lawyer needed a certified copy of my passport. I filled out the forms to provide them with information such as my address in Korea, my home address, my personal data, and what I was asking them to do. They then just plugged that info into the mandate, had me double check it, and then it was signed and stamped.

I sent them to Romania and they should be arriving shortly.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Trying to Get Romanian Citizenship Again

In early 2014 I was told that I couldn't get Romanian citizenship by the embassy in Lima. This was confirmed again in summer of 2014 by the consulate in Chicago.

However, about a week ago I was put in contact with a lawyer named Ioan-Luca Vlad (Linked / Facebook) who has been working as an attorney with the Romanian Royal Family for 9 years. He also has a website called Romanian Documents. He has a lot of experience with difficult cases such as mine and was able to help the Royal Family get their Romanian documents even though they had none.

I do have lots of roadblocks. I have had 3 legal names in the US (maiden, marriage, marriage) and 2 legal names in Peru (maiden, marriage) and documents from 3 countries (USA, Peru, Korea). I also found out that the document issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs that I thought said my mom still has citizenship simply says she was a citizen when she left Romania.

If everything goes well I should be able to get a new Romanian birth certificate (with a valid CNP), get my mom a CNP, and get a document saying I'm Romanian. If I'm lucky I might get a Romanian passport. We're not exactly sure how things will go due to all the names I have had and documents from all these countries, but we will see how it goes. In addition, the Romanian Embassy here in Seoul will not let me give Ioan-Luca power of attorney (even though they let me give it to my ex) since I don't speak Romanian. We are trying to find a work-around but that just further complicates things.

I'm very excited about all this and hope things go well. Even if things don't work out I can honestly said I exhausted all possibilities trying to get citizenship.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Took All My Romanian Documents Back to My Parents' House

Since in early 2014 I was told that I couldn't get Romanian citizenship by the embassy in Lima and this was confirmed again in summer of 2014 by the consulate in Chicago, I decided to take my huge folder back to my parents' house in the USA and leave it there. I've have mixed feelings about all this, but I've been given closure so it's ok. 

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Tried the Chicago consulate again

I figure I had to try. I started there years ago and wanted to know if anything had changed. I've written about all the troubles I had with the Chicago consulate before. As luck would have it, the same consul who was there in 2005 was there then. There were lots of people waiting when we got there. We handed over all our info and they said they'd get back to me 20 minutes later.

A little over an hour and a half later they said that in order for me to get my CNP and my passport, my mother would first need her CNP, to register her marriage with Romania, and to get a temporary passport. She could either travel to Romania and do it herself or get a lawyer. I asked how long it would take if she went and they said, it's easy, maybe two weeks. I don't see that happening. Since my mom doesn't speak enough Romanian to deal with legalities, we're looking for another lawyer. Hopefully someone can help us out.

On the positive side, it was a lively place to be. There were about 6 people waiting when we go there. All of them easily switching between English and Romanian. One couple was complaining about the long wait, another complaining about the wrong information the consulate had given them about American citizenship. Later on a family of Roma came in. Their dresses were beautiful and their kids' hair was a pretty reddish brown. The kids weren't wearing shoes. My daughter was jealous. They weren't speaking Romanian at all. It's nice to see diversity.

The person we spoke to was very nice. He asked if I wanted to speak in Romanian or English. I said English. He wasn't condescending at all. 

All in all, it feels good to get closure. If I can make this work, great. If not, no one can say I didn't try. From the USA, to Peru, to Romania, to Korea I've definitely tried.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Friday, 7 February 2014

My work plans for Romania

If things fall into place and I do get my Romanian passport I'd probably move to Romania so that my daughter and I could learn Romania and we could get EU residency. It's been about 14 years since I started trying to get citizenship, but I think I'm really close this time!

Moving anywhere scares me. Personally I'd rather move to another country than move back home to the US because I left in January 2002. I've never really lived there as an adult and had to deal with rent, insurance, or a job. So better the devil you know than the devil you don't, which is why I'd probably stay abroad.

I'll be honest, education in Korea isn't that good. My daughter speaks Korean and her daycare is absolutely fantastic! But I wouldn't stick her in a Korean school where memorisation and quantity are more important than quality and the ability to think outside the box. Job security isn't very good here either. You usually sign yearly contracts and many places will get rid of you after 1, 3, or 5 years simply because they don't want to pay more into the pension scheme. Or because they can get rid of you, so they do.

Being not married to a Korean means that things are harder for me. I don't have a Korean husband to rely on and some jobs only hire those married to Korean. Expats make it hard for us as well. I get told that if I don't like it I should go home. Yet these same people complain about their mother-in-laws, but according to them, it's ok that they complain since they're married to a Korean.

Another thing is that I'll never fit in here in Korea. Even if I'm fluent in Korean, I will always look different. My daughter already gets special treatment, sweets on the subway, and can get away with a lot. I don't think that's good.

So as it stands I'm contemplating either moving to China, the Middle East, or Romania. Of those places, Romania is the place where I could actually blend in. Not only would I be Romanian by blood, so I'd also look Romanian. But I would also have citizenship, thus giving me the right to live, work, and study there. In addition, the school system seems much better than Asia. In the Middle East, my daughter would have to go to an international school, which are horrendously expensive. One of the reasons for living abroad is for her to learn languages and I don't see any sense paying $20-$25k usd for an American school when they're free back home. No matter where we go, I'd like to hire a tutor for her to keep up her Korean and for her to learn a couple more languages as well.

Jobs are an issue. I can live decently and still save in Korea. In China I might be able to save more since the cost of living is lower. In the Middle East you can save, but as a teacher I'd be pretty low on the ladder amongst the oil expats. In Romania I could probably make about $1500 usd a month teaching at a bilingual school. I'm not sure if I could get into international schools even though I have taught at that level. To be honest, having taught at an international school, my experience wasn't the best so I don't know if I'd go back to one. Teachers at my school were not treated well at all and the parents ran the school. Teachers were treated like household help and the parents seemed to know everything even though they weren't teachers by trade. There was also a lot of useless paperwork and focus on unimportant things like perfect handwriting and underlining titles twice with a ruler. Not an environment I want to be in.

$1500 usd a month isn't much in Bucharest when you consider that to rent a place you'd probably need about 400 euro, about $600 usd. Working more than one job would help and luckily I've been doing that for a while now. I could teach private lessons, but having done that I don't think I'd like to do that. One or two, maybe, but not too many because you lose a lot of travel time.

I became a childbirth educator earlier this year and I must say I really, really enjoy the work. I like teaching highly motivated people and as an English teacher I don't run into people like that too often. More often than not they're in the class because it's a required class. I'm hoping to continue teaching childbirth classes no matter where I go. I enjoy organising info, helping people out, and giving them the tools they need to get the birth they want. I also have lots of useful info on my website (Tender Embrace Birthing) such as doulas, breastfeeding counselors, hospitals, and clinics in Korea that people can access. So while this is a very long winded post, I hope it gives a bit more info about what I'd do if I went to Romania.


Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Power of Attorney for Marriage Cert and CNP

I've given my husband power of attorney to register my marriage and get my CNP at the same time. The Romanian embassy in Seoul says that it can be done and it should be easy. Time varies from one embassy/consulate to the other, but in Korea it only takes 24 hours to register your marriage. I'm assuming Peru is similar since there aren't a lot of Romanians there.

The CNP is a totally different issue. I'm guessing that will probably take 3-6 months since I was born before CNPs were given to embassies/consulates. For children born in the 22st century it's much faster and easier to get them CNPs than for people like me.

Registering my marriage in Peru requires a number of items and documents. Here's what I'll be sending later this week.
  • Anexa 1 (you can get it at www.oficial.ro) and it says that I want to register my marriage.
  • Anexa 8 (you can get it at www.oficial.ro) and it says that there's no legal issues with me registering my marriage (i.e. not already married to someone else)
  • Power of attorney given to me by the Romanian embassy in Seoul that says my husband can apply for my CNP and register our marriage.
  • Our original Peruvian marriage certificate and translation (done by an official translator in Romania, Roxana Cazacu)
  • My husband's original Peruvian birth certification and translation (done by an official translator in Romania, Roxana Cazacu)
  • My Romanian birth certificate (without the CNP)
  • My American passport (because I don't have my Romanian one...yet!)

More requirements and info.
  • I'm also required to send my Romanian passport (which I don't have) and write my CNP (which I also don't have). Let's hope that this won't be a problem. The embassy here in Seoul contacted Bucharest and they said that the ONLY place that can register my marriage is the Romanian embassy in Peru. Hopefully they'll agree and not pass the buck and say that it can't be done or that it has to be done in Romania. I guess one thing that I have going for me is that my Romanian birth certificate was issued by them. 
  • The fee to register a marriage in Peru at the Romanian embassy is $286 and the CNP is free!
  • I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks if I'm successful!

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Friday, 13 September 2013

Registering My Marriage at the Romanian Embassy in Peru

My husband called the embassy in Lima the other day and they said that it should be no problem for me to register my marriage at the embassy despite the fact that I have no CNP nor a Romanian passport. They said one of us just has to fill out some forms. I have my doubts.

Last time it was a Catch-22. In order to get a passport you need a CNP and to have registered your marriage. In order to register your marriage you need a CNP and a passport.

They said they would email him the forms. Let's see what happens.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Friday, 23 August 2013

Helpful People at the Romanian Embassy in Seoul

I had problems with the Romanian embassy's email. Their email is now embassy@romania.ollehoffice.net

The man I spoke to on the phone was very nice and polite. He told me to send him copies of my documents and he would see what he could do. I sent him a scan of my Romanian birth cert, my mother's Romanian birth cert, and the letter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs stating that my mother is Romanian. Neither my mother's nor my birth certificates have CNPs.

I just went to the embassy today with my daughter. The woman I spoke to was so incredibly nice. Very polite and wonderful English. She also didn't tell me that I had to speak Romanian in order to get a passport (which is what people usually tell us, though since I'm applying to become Romanian due to birth rights it shouldn't matter. I'm not asking to be naturalised, I'm simply asking to get citizenship through my mother). She said that I need my CNP and that it usually takes 3 months. I told her that I'd been trying to get citizenship since 1999, so another three months isn't that much.

She copied my Romanian birth cert and my mother's Romanian birth cert. As well as my mother's proof of citizenship from the Ministry of the Interior. She says she will contact Sector 1 in Bucharest. After I get my CNP I have to register my marriage and that can either be done in Peru or Romania, so it looks like I might be going back to Romania. After that then I can get my passport. I'm excited, but I know that I've been so close before so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Fingers crossed it will work!

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Saturday, 28 July 2012

Power of attorneys are no longer valid in Romania

My lawyer has been extremely helpful over the years and if it not for him and his wife I would have given up long ago. This spring the Romanian government, made it virtually impossible for people to get anything done using a POA (Power of Attorney). This means that you need to deal with the nearest Romanian embassy or consulate or go to Romania and deal with the authorities in person. Due to this my lawyer will not be accepting any new citizenship cases. In addition, it means that he will be sending me all my documents, which are in a folder about 3 inches thick, for me to apply for my CNP, Passport, and ID card here in Korea.

I called the embassy and there's a catch 22 with all the documents. Nonetheless I'm going to try. According to my lawyer, I'll need to get my marriage cert and possibly my mom's marriage cert from the embassy. I'm hoping that I won't need my parents'. I didn't when I got my birth cert. For some reason I also have to get permission from my mom to apply to become Romanian. Why, I don't know. I'm not underage. With those docs, along with proof that my mom's a citizen and my birth cert I should be able to get the CNP. If I can, then everything else should fall into place. It sounds nice and easy, but it rarely is. I'm always missing one or two docs that are impossible to get.

Although the embassy was very nice, it says I need a lot of other things online, but that seems to be very different from my case. Rather it's more for Romanians who for some reason have let their Romanian passports expire while abroad and are unable to renew them there and therefore cannot leave the country to go to Romania in order to renew them. Or children of Romanian couples who came to live abroad and never registered their children as Romanians. The couples would have had an address in Romania, whereas I don't. It's all very confusing. My case is very different:
  • I don't have immediate family in Romania.
  • I was never a Romanian resident.
  • I've never had a Romanian passport.
  • I have to get a CNP before I can get a passport.
  • I can't get a passport without a CNP.
There doesn't seem to be anything on the MAE for my case.


If push comes to shove and it doesn't work, I'm entertaining the idea of moving to Romania for a year or so in order to get everything done. I won't save as much as Korea, but I can already read and it shouldn't take too long to learn how to speak Romanian. Plus, I have a list of schools and TEFL institutes that I could work at. Though I'm risking moving to Romania and being told that I can't get the documents in Romania and that I have to go to the US, Korea, Peru, etc in order to get them. It's so much easier to fob people off than to actually help them.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Friday, 25 May 2012

No CNP, No ID card: No Passport

I can't believe how helpful the embassy here is in Seoul. I've been to the consulate in Chicago, the embassy in Lima, the Sector 1 Centre in Bucharest, and the Social Security Office in Bucharest, and I felt like me going there was an imposition.

Here, however, they actually seem to want to help me get a passport. The big problem I have now is that I have no CNP and according to the MAE they won't give out passports to people without CNPs.

I need to do these things:
  1. Get my CNP (ID number)
  2. Get my ID card
  3. Register my marriage
  4. Get my passport
Basically I need these docs:
  • CNP
  • ID card
  • Civil status doc
  • Marriage cert registered in Romania 
  • Someone to swear I am who I say I am
  • Husband's birth cert legalised at the embassy in Peru
  • Proof of address in Romania. Don't have one
  • Old RO passport! Don't have one
I think the CNP will be the easiest since I just need my marriage cert. But in order to register my marriage I need an ID. And in order to get an ID I need a Romanian address. So it's all a catch-22. Hopefully my lawyer will be able to get my CNP and my marriage cert registered, but that still means I need proof of a Romanian address in order to get my ID, which I don't have. I wonder how I'm going to deal with that.

1. Here's what I need to get a CNP according to the Consulate General in LA.
I must say my reading comprehension of Romanian is getting better and better. I can't really understand people when they speak, but I can fill out docs. I'm missing the docs in purple.
  1. Cetatenii români care nu au atribuit un cod numeric personal vor depune o cerere scrisa pentru atribuirea CNP la structura de stare civila din cadrul oricarui serviciu public comunitar judetean de evidenta a persoanelor, indiferent de locul nasterii sau al ultimului domiciliu avut în Romania. (It says I have to apply at the Community Centre for the People. Now I'm not actually sure if that means I have to go back to Romania again after Sector 1 Community Centre said they couldn't help us. Or if I can do it from here. Or maybe my lawyer can do it since I signed paperwork giving him permission to get my CNP.)
  2. La depunerea cererii cetatenii români vor prezenta la structura de stare civila din cadrul oricarui serviciu public comunitar judetean de evidenta a persoanelor în original si fotocopie urmatoarele documente:
    • Certificatele de stare civila eliberate de autoritatile române; (I don't have this. My marriage cert is from Peru. It has been apostillised by the MFA in Peru though)
    • Documentul de identificare valabil: act de identitate sau pasaport eliberat de autoritatile straine; (Ta-da! I have this. A foreign passport.)
    • Documentul care face dovada cetateniei române; (Ta-da! Have this: a Romanian birth cert)
    • Timbru fiscal în valoare de 4 lei. (And lastly I have to pay the fee of about $1.)


2. Here's what I need to get a Romanian ID card for those over 18 according to MAE. I'm missing the docs in purple and the docs in orange I'm not sure about and the blue is a loophole.

Misiunile diplomatice ÅŸi oficiile consulare nu eliberează cărÅ£i de identitate, cu excepÅ£ia primei cărÅ£i de identitate. Cartea de identitate se eliberează doar în România. Persoanele interesate pot solicita autentificarea de către ambasadă a unei procuri speciale prin care să împuternicească pe cineva din România pentru depunerea tuturor documentelor necesare eliberarii cărÅ£ii de identitate. Pentru detalii click AICI. (They need to be issued in Romania. Hopefully the doc I signed will allow my lawyer to do it on my behalf, though I think he can just get my CNP. However, first things first: the CNP).


În situaţia în care eliberarea primului act de identitate este solicitată după împlinirea vârstei de 18 ani, de o persoană care nu se poate deplasa în ţară, din motive obiective, (se află la studii, urmează un tratament care nu permite întreruperea acestuia ş.a.) şi are domiciliul în România, aceasta va depune la misiunea diplomatică a României următoarele documente:
  • „cererea pentru eliberarea actului de identitate” (anexa nr. 4); (Application form: check, but the link doesn't work)
  • documentul  eliberat de autorităţile statului ori de alte instituÅ£ii din statul în care se află temporar solicitantul, din care să rezulte motivul pentru care nu se poate deplasa în Å£ară; (Proof that you live legally in that country: check)
  • certificatul de naÅŸtere, cu care se face dovada cetăţeniei române, original ÅŸi copie; (RO birth cert: check. But it has no CNP, so it's a maybe.)
  • documentul cu care se face dovada adresei de domiciliu din România, original ÅŸi copie; (Proof of home address in Romania: nope)
  • declaraÅ£ia unuia dintre părinÅ£i ori a unei terÅ£e persoane, din care să rezulte faptul că identitatea declarată în cererea de eliberare a actului de identitate, coroborată cu imaginea preluată ori cu fotografia ataÅŸată cererii, aparÅ£ine solicitantului; (Declaration by a third person saying you are who you say you are: nope)
  • fiÅŸa cu impresiunile decadactilare ale solicitantului realizată numai de unitatea de poliÅ£ie din localitatea în care locuieÅŸte solicitantul în statul respectiv; (Fingerprints: check)
  • două fotografii mărimea 3/4 cm având la bază o bandă albă de 7mm; (Photos: check)
  • contravaloarea cărÅ£ii de identitate; (Fee for the card itself: check)
  • timbru fiscal ori contravaloarea taxei extrajudiciare de timbru. (Fee for the paperwork (stamp fee): check)

În cazul în care solicitantul nu poate indica o persoană de contact din România, va contacta Serviciul public comunitar local de evidenţă a persoanelor pe raza căruia părinţii au domiciliul şi va solicita numărul contului în care poate plăti taxele legale precum şi cuantumul acestora. Plata taxelor se va putea face prin transfer bancar, urmând ca la dosar să depună documentul eliberat de bancă prin care se confirmă efectuarea transferului, tradus în limba română. (You can contact someone in Romania to help you pay the fees).

Atunci când solicitantul nu poate prezenta toate documentele necesare pentru eliberarea cărţii de identitate, art.19 din O.U.G. nr.97/2005 prevede eliberarea unei cărţi de identitate provizorii. În această situaţie, solicitantul va prezenta trei fotografii mărimea 3/4cm, având la bază o bandă albă de 7mm. (If you don't have all the docs you can get a temporary ID card! if you submit photos.)

3. Here's what I need to register my marriage according to the MAE.
If I have to register my marriage it's going to be a pain because it would mean having to pay someone to deal with the Romanian embassy there. I'm missing the docs in purple and the docs in orange I'm not sure about.

Înscrierea căsătoriilor se poate solicita la misiunea diplomatică sau oficiile consulare ale României din statul unde s-a încheiat căsătoria. (May be required at the embassy in the country you got married in)


Documente necesare: (Required documents)

  • extrasul actului de căsătorie străin, apostilat sau legalizat de autorităţile locale Ã®n original ÅŸi copie; (Foreign marriage cert: check)
  • declaraÅ£ia pe proprie răspundere privind inexistenÅ£a altei transcrieri în România sau la altă misiune diplomatică a României (formularul se primeÅŸte la misiunea diplomatică); (Declaration that there is no other marriage: check)
  • declaraÅ£ia pe proprie răspundere privind inexistenÅ£a altor căsătorii anterioare ale cetăţeanului român (formularul se primeÅŸte la misiunea diplomatică) (sau, după caz, certificatul de naÅŸtere eliberat de autorităţile române cu toate menÅ£iunile de căsătorie ÅŸi de divorÅ£); (Declaration of never having been married to a Romanian: check)
  • paÅŸapoartele soÅ£ilor (primele 4 pagini), în original ÅŸi copie (Spouse's passport: check)
  • certificatele de naÅŸtere ale soÅ£ilor, în original ÅŸi copie; în cazul în care unul din soÅ£i este cetăţean străin, se va prezenta extrasul de naÅŸtere al acestuia; (Spouse's birth cert: maybe. It's been apostillised in Peru, not sure if they'll accept it)
  • buletinul/cartea de identitate din România, în original ÅŸi copie (ID card: nope)
  • taxa consulară (Fee: check)
Cererea poate fi depusă de unul din soÅ£i (cetăţean român), care se va prezenta ÅŸi la eliberarea certificatului. Ambasadele ÅŸi oficiile consulare ale României sunt în măsură să ofere informaÅ£ii suplimentare, în funcÅ£ie de practica locală. De asemenea, informaÅ£ii generale despre procedura de obÅ£inere a certificatelor de căsătorie pot fi accesate la DirecÅ£ia pentru EvidenÅ£a Persoanelor ÅŸi Administrarea Bazelor de Date. (Only the Romanian citizen has to go to the embassy. The embassy might be able to help with local marriage customs / docs. You can also see the website.

4. Here's what I need to get a Passport according to the MAE.
Puteţi beneficia de paşaport CRDS dacă sunteţi cetăţean român care are atribuit un Cod Numeric Personal şi dacă : (The bullet points below say that you need to have lived in that country legally for a year). I'm missing the docs in purple and the docs in orange I'm not sure about.
  • aÅ£i dobândit drept de ÅŸedere pentru o perioadă de cel puÅ£in un an sau, după caz, aveÅ£i prelungit succesiv dreptul de ÅŸedere , în decurs de un an, pe teritoriul statului respectiv;
  • aÅ£i dobândit un drept de ÅŸedere pe teritoriul statului respectiv în scopul reunificării familiale cu o persoană care are domiciliul în statul respectiv;
  • aÅ£i dobândit drept de lungă ÅŸedere sau drept de ÅŸedere permanentă;
  • aÅ£i dobândit cetăţenia statului respectiv;
  • aveÅ£i drept de muncă;
  • sunteÅ£i înscris la o instituÅ£ie privată sau publică pentru studii sau formare profesională;
  • sunteÅ£i posesorul unui certificat de înregistrare ori al unui document care atestă rezidenÅ£a într-un stat membru UE sau al SpaÅ£iului Economic European.
Cererea pentru eliberarea paşaportuli trebuie depusă personal. (Must be done in person)

Documente necesare: (Required docs)
a) cererea de obţinere a paşaportului: furnizată de sistemul informatic la consulat; (Application form: check)
b) dovada achitării taxelor şi tarifelor de emitere a paşaportului; (Pay the fee: check)
c) permisul de şedere original sau atestatul de înscriere în registrul de populaţie rezidentă de la autoritatea ţării de domiciliu sau orice alt document care atestă dreptul de şedere legală (ex: certificat de rezidenţă eliberat de primăria locală, paşaportul emis de autorităţile ţării de reşedinţă în cazul în care aveţi cetăţenia acesteia, etc.) în original ; (Proof of legal residence: check)
d) cartea de identitate emisă de autorităţile statului de reÅŸedinţă în original – permisul de conducere care menÅ£ionează domiciliul pentru statele care nu eliberează străinilor cărÅ£i de identitate sau certificat de rezidenţă emis de primăria locală; (ID or license: check)
e) certificatul de naÅŸtere romanesc in original; (RO birth cert: maybe since it has no CNP)
f) certificatul de căsătorie romanesc in original (pentru cei căsătoriţi şi pentru cei văduvi); RO marriage cert: nope, have the Peruvian one)
g) sentinţa de divorţ rămasă definitivă în original (pentru cei divorţaţi); (Divorce cert, N/A)
h) certificatul deces romanesc al soţului/soţiei, in original (pentru cei văduvi); (Death cert of spouse: N/A)
i) paÅŸaportul vechi in original; (Old RO passport: nope)
j) buletinele sau cărţile de identitate româneşti in original. (RO identity papers or ID card: nope)

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Monday, 26 March 2012

New English school and legal advice in Bucharest

Key English has just opened up in Bucharest. Run by Mike Waters, an Irish expat who's lived in Romania for a number of years, the company aims to provide high-quality English training to the Romanian market. An Irish-qualified lawyer, Mike has been in teaching and training for over 20 years, and he has worked extensively in both the Middle East and Europe.

In addition to language training, Mike’s company, Celtic Consulting, offers Romanian citizenship services in partnership with a Romanian lawyer. Anyone with a Romanian grandparent is entitled to apply for a Romanian passport, and while the process can take some time, it is an option well worth considering for anyone of Romanian origins who wishes to live and work in the EU.


Without Mike’s assistance on my citizenship case, I would have given up years ago. His practical demeanour and knowledge of Romania has greatly helped me. I'd highly recommend him.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Friday, 9 March 2012

Documents are in Romania

All the documents my husband, my mother, and I signed are in Romania. In theory, everything should go ok since my lawyer had all the documents checked before he sent them to us to be signed. Let's hope nothing changes and I get my passport this year.

We had issues with DHL. Last time, with FedEx, they decided NOT to notify my lawyer that the docs were there, so we tried DHL. Unfortunately, they did the same thing. They refused to call explaining that phone calls cost money, so I guess you have to call DHL and see if your docs have arrived. Oh, and if they go to your house and you're not there, they don't leave a note.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Monday, 6 February 2012

Apostillised permission to change my name and register my marriage

Ta-da! It cost about $5.50 to get all 6 docs apostillised. I got everything done just in case. And it only took a day, plus two trips to Seoul, which takes about 1.5 hours each way. Here's what's going to be DHLed to Romania.
  • Permission to change my name from my husband in English and Romanian.
  • Permission to change my name from my husband only in English. 
  • Permission to register our marriage from my husband in English and Romanian. 
  • Permission to register our marriage from my husband only in English.
  • Power of attorney from me.
  • Power of translation from me.
  • A new Peruvian marriage cert that's been apostillised.

My mom has gotten a copy of her US passport notarised as well as a power of attorney and power of translation. They've been sent to the apostillise and she's waiting to get them back.

I've got a good feeling about this. I'm hoping all this hardwork will pay off this year and we'll be able to move to Romania soon!

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Saturday, 28 January 2012

FAQ: Do you still want to be Romanian?

Yes, I do. I realise that there are issues with Romania, such as government offices and the lack of caring for things such as the buildlings and streets. However, I feel that being a Romanian citizen outweights all that. There are a couple reasons why I still want to be Romanian.

First, I honestly feel that it's owed to our family. They went through so much and I would like some retribution for all their suffering.

Second, we've been at it so long, it would be horrible to give up now.

Third, I believe there's real potential for myself and my husband in Romania.

Fourth, it would give our daughter the chance to live, work, or study in Europe if she wanted to.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Fingers crossed this will be the year!

2012 sounds like a good year to get citizenship! Hopefully we can get the few docs we need and I'll have my passport before the end of the year.

I'm still waiting for the docs from my husband that will allow me to change my name and register my marriage and then I should be ready to apply for the passport.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Wednesday, 28 December 2011

FAQ: Are you collecting citizenships

It might seem like that, but no. I started all this in the fall of 1999 when I called the five embassies. My father is half Russian and a quarter Irish and Scottish. My mother is half Romanian and half German.

I called all five of these embassies and found out that if my father had become Irish before I was born, I could become Irish. Since that didn't happen, I was out of luck. The Russian, UK, and German one were all out as well, because my great grandparents were born there.

However, I saw a light due to my mom and grandfather being born in Romania. My grandmother lived there for over 20 years. At that time, she was considered to be a Romanian citizen because she married a Romanian. My grandmother left on a Romanian passport and my aunt and my mom were on her passport.

In 1999, I didn't know about the EU or anything like that. I just wanted to get citizenship because it was part of my heritage.

The issues with Romanian citizenship have come and gone over the years, but I'd still like to get Romanian citizenship. The other citizenship are far removed, as far as my great grandparents. However, Romanian citizenship comes from my mom and I'd like it to continue with me. I'm not sure that I could move to Romania and work there, but it's nice that the option is there for me and my husband to go there. We'd like to go to the EU, but I think my husband would need to live in Romania first. I think the best thing is that I'd be able to give my children the chance to live, work, or study in the EU. The EU Freedom of Movement has made it easier as well. If you're married to an EU citizen, you can live, work, or study just about anywhere in the EU.

Peruvian citizenship came about due to marriage.



Anyways, the long and short of it is that I'm not collecting citizenships. Things have just happened this way.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Saturday, 15 October 2011

FAQ: How much longer is it going to take you?

The long and short of it is I don't know. We can guess, but they're always asking us for more paperwork. As of now, supposedly we're almost done, we just need the following documents:

  • A letter from my husband giving me permission to change my name from my maiden name to my married name.
  • A letter from my husband giving me permission to register our marriage in Peru.
  • For my name to be changed in Romania.
  • For our marriage to be registered in Romania.
  • For my CNP to be issued.
  • For my passport to be issued (supposedly I can apply here at the Korean embassy).

The two letters will take at least a month to get done since they need to be legalised and apostillised and therefore will have to be sent to Peru.
The name change and registration of our marriage should take about 4 months.
The CNP is probably another 4 months.
The passport is up to 6 months.

Now this is IF everything goes according to plan. Keep in mind that while I was in Romania for nearly a month, no office accepted any of my documents. Best case senario I can apply for my passport in June of next year and have my Romanian passport in my hot little hands by Christmas. My lawyer is optimistic, though having finally seen first hand what things are like in Romania, I'm really not sure what to think anymore.

By who really knows? They might say I'm missing some paperwork, or offices might not take my documents, or they might keep odd hours.

Fingers crossed I'll have my passport ASAP, but no matter what I'm going to keep trying until they say no.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

Day 8 in Romania: celebrating my birthday in Bucharest

← Day 7 in Romania

Happy Birthday to me! I never imagined that I'd spend my birthday in Romania. It kind of stinks to be alone though. I'm 29 now and the baby is 28 weeks along. I didn't exactly have the best birthday though since I had to deal with Romanian bureaucracy.

We went to the Registry Office for Sector 1. It was supposed to open at 9am. So around 9am they opened the door and quickly closed it. Then opened it again and closed it. No one had been in or out yet. They did that about 4 more times before they actually opening the door and let the avalanche of people in.

Once you got in you had to tell the guy who was blocking the stairs where you wanted to go. So he sent us up to the 5th floor. No elevators either. We get there and the office is empty. We wait and some woman finally shows up. She looks like she's about to go clubbing with fake eyelashes and long, fake nails. We talk to her and she tells us to go back to the other registry office that Yolanda went to on Monday (that registry office sent us here). We tell her that and she offers to call them. She picks up her phone and it doesn't work. It's probably not even connected.

My lawyer's wife says it's typical of Romania. That people don't want to really do anything, so they just send you to someone else or to another office. It probably has something to do with the fact that government salaries were just cut by 25% and taxes went up to 25% from 19%.

So this woman tells us to go down to the basement and push our way to the front of the line. So we do and the security guard won't let us in. Since they won't see us at this registry office, we're going to have to go to the passport office, where they know her and they're nice to her. She says there is a special place for foreigners and that's where she goes with my applicaton. We lug my huge 5 inch file folder out and arrange to meet later.

Of all the countries I've lived and worked in, I've never seen anything like the mess at the registry office. Government offices in Peru are even better than that. And I'm not one to speak highly of Peru.

Since I still had most of the day ahead of me, I decided to visit the 3rd St Nicolas Church near Lipscani, but it was closed. Ironically, it had a government office nearby with tons of people. Nearby Doamnei Church was a Peruvian store. I couldn't believe it. I went in to talk to the owner. He was Peruvian. he says there are only about 40 Peruvians in Romania. He's studying to be a doctor. He's rather old, about middle age, and imports things such as Peruvian chess sets and alpaca clothing to Romania. He complained about the tax hike as well. His shop is called Inca Land. He started off small, selling earrings on the street near Bucharest University and now has his own shop and has to pay 1000 euro a month just for rent.

After talking to him I went to the Romanian History Museum which was nearby, but again, hot, with no AC, and closed windows. It's like they don't want people to actually visit the museums.

I tried to find a good book to read since I had already finished mine on the trip over. Anthony Frost Bookstore was way too expensive and the one next door had cheaper books, but they were all in Romanian.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Monday, 30 May 2011

Going to Romania

It's finally happening! I'll be visiting Romania for nearly a month this summer in hopes of getting my Romanian passport. I'll be there from 27 July to 19 August and probably be spending the whole time in Bucharest. I'd like to travel around, but the main reason I'm going is to get my paperwork in order. And if that means spending the whole time in Bucharest, then so be it.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

Disclaimer:

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Passport problems

Darn it! My lawyer has told me that I have to present the paperwork for my passport myself, in person. There's also the issue that Romania doesn't accept foreign marriage certs. Mine is from Peru, my mom's is from the US.

Good news is that my lawyer CAN register our marriages in Romania and send us all the documentation. Then I will take that and try to apply here in Seoul. My only worry is that my birth cert doesn't have the Romania ID number on it, so I don't know how I can prove that I'm Romanian.

Worse comes to worse, they say no and we try to do it in Romania when I go this summer.

Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.

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