Back on Track

Just a quick postscript to the visa saga of the past ten days: the replacement documents with fresh dates arrived in just two days, thanks to FedEx (and the $92 fee), in time for my abogado (lawyer) to make copies and notarize each page. We revisited the Tourism Institute on Friday, and all the documents were declared to be worthy, and after a few signatures and a last inventory, my application for residence was accepted. I have a receipt that will enable me to receive additional 3-month tourist visas until I receive the residence visa; the process can take six to nine months, and will include an interview to be conducted with me at my home in La Boquita.

Attracting retirees to Nicaragua is the job of the Instituto de Turismo, and it must have seemed logical to someone to attach  responsibility of visa applications for this particular demographic to InTur as well. But it invites an additional level of red tape, as the Immigration Office is still involved in the process. I will say that the line for service at Inmigración is long, and there is no line at InTur, so I'm happy to go where I'm told. I live for hoops.






Afterward, I went with Ivan and Noel to La Plancha (The Iron), where steak is served sizzling on a hot iron plate, and we had some nice Chilean wine with our lunch to celebrate.