The US Embassy in Santiago, Chile and I go way back. Ever since I got here and a family member had named me the executor of a will and then went and died, and I had to have something notarized by a US notary to pass on that distinction to someone who lived closer, I’ve had a periodic and wallet-clutching relationship with the embassy. Also somewhat frustrating, as when I was poorly informed that they do things like legalize your diploma (which they do not, you have to do that outside of Chile at a Chilean consulate, but this does not prevent everyone from saying you can get it done at the embassy). But that’s not really the embassy’s fault, and it turns out I hadn’t been in a few years, though that all changed yesterday.
Yesterday’s mission was to get the second and final set of extra pages sewn into the old passport (2 sets of extra pages is the limit). And by old, I mean the passport doesn’t scan properly and it doesn’t have a chip, and it’s actually been through the laundry, which I totally do not recommend. And so I went yesterday, and found out the following sad pieces of news:
1. I should have made an appointment (they accept appointments now, you make them online). If you don’t have one, you will still be seen, but you will be the very last person in the room by the time they get to your number (7 C), and you will have waited 2 hours and 20 minutes total (if you are me).
2. I cannot promise that the very nice South Carolinian missionary family will entertain you as they did me, but even so, the 2 hours and 20 minutes was only tolerable, not much fun, even if I did learn the new game “family monster.”
3. The appointment schedule was not well-followed since they were very understaffed at the windows yesterday, and people were huffy, but quiet about it.
4. It now costs $82 to get additional pages in your passport. (it used to be free.) This was the saddest bit of all.
In addition, I would like to remind you that there are no good bike-lockups near the embassy, especially if you use a U-lock. You can finagle it on the one sort of slim-enough post near the booth outside, but across the street would be easier, except for the running across 4 lanes of traffic part. Also, they take anything electronic or suspicious from you and put it in a little pigeon-hole in the outbuilding where you go through the metal detector. Electronic or suspicious includes (this is from past experiences, I did not have all of these things with me yesterday):
cell phone
camera
bike light
electric toothbrush
bike pump
bottle of water
Seriously? Bottle of water? what was I going to do, drown myself if they didn’t serve me in a timely fashion?
Alas. It’s the government. They try to keep things safe. I’m always sad that I can’t take a picture of the rose gardens when I’m there, because they’re so pretty. But not as sad as I was to have to pay $82 for new pages, when a whole new passport only costs $110, but because of (hopeful) upcoming trips, I don’t really have time to wait for a new passport, so I shall consider the new pages a challenge to make the upcoming year extra stampy. Anyone want a visitor?
I’m headed up there today with my receipt to pick up my new phat/fat passport. They offered the people before me (who had the same issue) to come back next week, but something about the fact that I didn’t complain and that I said I was traveling very soon made the woman take pity on me (or maybe she was just happy that I was the last person in the room), and she said they’d have it ready for me today between 3:30 and 4:30 PM.
Where is it? Andres Bello 2800.
How to get there? take the metro to Tobalaba and walk towards the river.
What time are they open to the public?: 8:30 to 11:30, but they want you to make an appointment these days (oops).
rules for Family Monster please
Family monster: mom (or dad) draws a circle, and each family member draws one feature to add to the monster. The son drew eyes, then the daughter put glasses on them, the dad drew arms, the son put armpit hair under (he was about ten). And so on, until you decide it’s done. They were very entertained by the game, and everyone was very psyched to have a turn!
will report back on how it turns out Chez Otto
ooh, please do. Looked like a bunch of fun for the kids, and anything kids like (that doesn’t make a ton of noise) is good for parents!
It rocks! Ended up pleading with me to play it tomorrow night as well.
yay! so glad it was a hit. Shall report back!
Let’s go somewhere! I’m happy to help with passport stamps. We could go to Iguazu Falls and visit all 3 countries – that would fill up a couple pages quickly.
I’ve already been to that corner of the world (and all three countries), but I’m itching to go back to Paraguay for real. I’d also have to get a new Brazil visa since my old one expired. Yay! more bureaucracy! Where else should we go?
I have to do this soon, for my first set of extra pages. Good to know that you need an appointment…I was just planning on showing up. I’ve never been to the embassy before so I’m actually kind of looking forward to it!
you don’t so much “need” an appointment so much as you’d better get one. They still let me in without one, but I was definitely the last one served. I should have gone in with my skates. That would have been fun. Unless they’d have taken them away and made me walk around in my socks. Less fun!
Congrats on the extra set of pages!
And all things bureaucratic considered, 2 hours 20 without an appointment REALLY isn’t all that bad!
I suppose you’re right. I also helped the woman behind the counter by reminding her not to tell people to come back on Friday, since it’s a holiday. It wasn’t that bad, but I was less than pleased to part with the 40 plus lukas for something that used to be free. I’m so lucky I happened to stuff a bunch of money in my pocket before I left!
Glad it was a success! Your passport page count is inspiring! As for Embassy stories, I spent two months (yes, two months) trying to register us with STEP via the U.S. Embassy in Santiago so we could get those citizens-abroad email alerts. They didn’t even want me to make an appointment for this one — it HAD to be online. Well, I registered us three times and it never worked until a very nice woman at the Embassy finally took my information over the phone (I think I was just squeaky enough of a wheel…). Apparently, something in the system can go wonky with Macs, FYI. I now get the alerts. But oftentimes I get them from twitter faster. Ah, the bureaucratic irony!
I have tried to sign up and have never gotten a single report. Maybe now I know why. Let me know if there’s anything urgent, ok? See you soon!
My wife is not American, and my past experience with the US embassy tells me that if some calamity were to happen that required immediate evacuation, they would probably ask me to abandon my family. Also, have you ever noticed how wholesome State Department employees are? It’s like they swept up an entire town of tall blond people from Minnesota and gave them Mormon-esk hair cuts and taught them how to be creepily cheery while simultaneously treating you like a suicide bomber.
I would like to “like” this comment. You’re a funny dude, Peter.
Ugh. Don’t even get me started on the problems I’ve had with the STEP registration. I luckily did it for myself back in 2007 so I’m all set, but I have to register students for work and it NEVER works. I’ve called, emailed, etc and no one wants to help me for “security” reasons. Annoying.
then I also deputize you to tell me if there’s anything important I need to know. Please don’t let me perish here while all of my countrymen are on a boat or plane somewhere. (just kidding, don’t think we’ll ever need it!)
I wanted to visit the Embassy back in July, but I couldn’t enter because I had both my camera and laptop with me. Also, good to know it is highly recommended to make an appointment. Gotta love America.
well, they held my cam for me, I don’t know what they would do with your laptop. I think you have to have a reason to visit as well, you can’t just go in. But maybe I’m wrong. I just go to the “consular services” section. I tried to talk on the phone today in the little security room and got ushered outside!
ALSO also, the life lesson I learned from trying to get a consular report of birth abroad for my son is that however bad you think Chilean tramites can be, gringo tramites can be infinitely worse. Unless you’re Chevron and you need some help with international lobbying, in which case come on in, and can I get you a cup of coffee or a tax break or something?
I like your term ‘extra stampy’ Nice to know about the $82. I had pages inserted a couple years back when it was still free. Look forward to reading about ‘Eileen’s Passport Challenge’ over the coming year.
any time with the neologisms or close, Anna, any time! oy passport challenge. Am tired just thinking about it!
I was gonna ask, “Where’s the US Embassy?”, but you answered that one for me! Hope I never need them for anything, seriously.
It used to be in the beautiful building on Merced and Estados Unidos, near your ‘hood (before I moved here), but now it’s up in a fortress near Vitacura/Isidora Goyonochea, under that new monstrously tall building they’re building up there. (security! they’re building a giant building over my embassy!).
Can they do that with British passports, stick in extra pages? Don’t think so, luck you!
I think my daughter and I were among the last people to get our British passports from the embassy in Santiago. Now all British passport applications from Chile have to be done in Washington DC, USA.
And I thought it was stressful sending my forms and old passport to Santiago, next time I will have to send it all to the US! Yikes!
I hate filling out passport forms and worry about everything, which countries don’t mind if you have two passports? (my daughters have two). Because I was born in Canada my Chilean born daughter was told she couldn’t have a British passport. Does that make sense, that a daughter can’t have the same passport as her mother? At one point they said she could get it using her Chilean father’s UK visa, (?!?). In the end they accepted my passport, what a relief.
Passports applications, – uncontrollable nervous shaking! 🙂
I have no idea about British passports and extra pages. I also don’t know about which countries don’t allow you to have two passports. I know the US didn’t for a while, but now does if it’s granted automatically by the second country. In the case where it’s not automatically granted, they won’t prevent you from having two passports, but you lose your US passport if it is your intention to give up your US citizenship. But I don’t know how they determine that intention. I’d like to get a Chilean passport (I’m eligible to apply), but do not have any interest in losing my US citizenship, long waits at the embassy be darned.
Hope you can find a cure for those shakes! I dislike bureaucracy as much as the next person, for sure!
No need for extra pages in a Canadian Passport, they are only good for 5 years, so I get to pay for a new reciprocity tag for my half full passport every 5 years and it never gets full as the US doesn’t stamp it anymore they just scan it ;(
It depends where you live and what you do, I guess. My passport was issued in 2002, I’ve lived here since 2004 and first had to get new pages in 2006. Now that I have my carnet, I can come and go to Argentina without using up stamps, which is great, though Argentina did take up a whole page in my passport with their reciprocity thing. As did Brazil, visa, Bolivia visa, and a couple of other places.
Lee, I have a question for you. Do you have to pay the reciprocity fee again even with definitive residency here? It’s the million (or 131, in my case) dollar question!
Oh no! I’m about to embark myself in the renew-your-passport-adventure. Only, in my case, I have to do this for both my passports (actually, now that I think about it, it would be a good challenge to start both processes at the same time and see which country is less bureaucratic – I’ll let you now the winner)
BTW you don’t have to pay reciprocity fee if you have a definite residency.
Well, from the perspective of somebody not living in Chile and being a chilean citizen outside Chile I have to consider myself lucky. Last time I needed to renew my passport I just booked an appointment at the consulate here in Oslo, went there for the picture, filled out a form and two weeks later I had a new shiny passport sent directly from Chile to my place!
Eileen, afaik Chile has no problems with you having multiple passports either, but I’m not familiar with the rules. Have you asked in Extranjeria about how can you get a chilean passport? I know a lot of people that have a chilean and another (and sometimes more than two) passports.
The bit that I do know is that, once you are chilean, you can “temporarily quit” your citizenship in order to get another one and then “recover” your citizenship. A very neat trick that was made explicit after the last citizenship law changes (app 2002).
Just so you know:
http://www.investorchile.com/esp/index.php/ciudadania
It does not say that you need to give up your US citizenship.
Thanks Carlos, I read on the US gov’t pages (which I would trust over investor website) and it’s just not entirely clear. I might ask for an appointment with the consulate just to make sure. I know Chile has no problem with me having both passports, and to be honest, I don’t even know that the US would notice, since I’d keep entering the US on that passport, and there are so many of us. I’m not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, just feel like, after seven years, come on, it’s time to get a little passport love!
Loved your passport renewal story. I guess I could do mine by mail as well, but where’s the fun in that?! Will keep you updated on new developments, and thanks for dropping by, it’s been a while!
Well, I finally got curious about your blog and found Matador. I am enjoying reading some of your stuff.Glad I asked! I read a couple of things before I read your embassy take. We laughed at our mention. Glad we entertained you. It was a long wait wasn’t it?! If you ever do the dunes, feel free to stop in to wash up at our house. Just pop me an email. Never did tell you our names. Very Chilean I suppose. Husband is Roger, two little kids Hudson and Suzy.
Well, you surprised me by popping by the blog, welcome! Your family is charming, and your son’s got quite a sense of humor. Tell everyone I say hello, and would love to check out your dunes and dust off and say hello for a bit. But first I have to use those extra pages for the big trip, and come back safely!
I hope Ottosrock (or however his name is spelled) can report on the success of family monster with his kids. I hope I didn’t give away any trade secrets!
Hope you are well, and that the car behaved well on the way home! Thanks for dropping a line!
We are well. The car was an amazing story. It broke down but amazingly enough our friends´ son came home from work after 8 pm and fixed the thing. It was the long goodbyes that kept us talking until after 10 and then we were on our way back to the coast. We were only delayed about 8 hours, unheard of in Chile for car fixing. We are so grateful!
I hope the Otto family will enjoy the family monster game. Someone once said, “Your kids are really good at doing nothing.” Hmm.
Have fun filling those pages!
Well, when I asked your daughter about school and she told me you guys homeschool, I thought, ohhhhhh, that’s why they’re so comfy together as a family, they know how to do that! I don’t think they’re doing nothing, they’re observing very carefully. Maybe someone will grow up to be a writer. Worse things could happen, I suppose!
Glad you made it home ok!