Took a leave yesterday to settle my maid's passport expiring in Aug 2011. What an experience! Reached the embassy nearly 11 am, there was a long queue for photo taking. 
So i quickly asked my maid to queue while i went to get the number...2268. At that point, i didn't know how bad it could get. After getting the number i passed by the forms counter and i overheard the forms for renewing passport are out of stock for that day. Luckily i've had mine since last year!
There were lots of people but i still remained cool because sometimes who knows luck might be on your side and things may not be as bad as i would have thought. The waiting area in front of the counter was full with people. I looked around for empty seats and luckily i got one.
And so we started to wait. The number at that time was 2068. 200 more to go! I killed the time by reading Impiana mag, Cosway catalogue that i brought. It still didn't come to my head until i started to feel uneasy/uncomfortable after an hour because the number still hadn't reach 2100. Then i started to do the math.... If the counters opens at 9.00, overall the counters processed about 30/35 forms per hour (9.00 to 11.00 is 2 hours then divide with 68). Taking the lower side, i should expect my number will be called at about 268/30= 8/9 hours after 9am which is around 6pm (after deducting 1 hour lunch break)... only then it started to hit my head that i would be there waiting for the whole of the day!
Then i started to feel emotional... i wanted to blame my husband for getting up late. I positively think if we got there at the opening time, things would not be this bad. Has my husband ever consider of my well being since i got pregnant? Negative thoughts kicked in and i started to get teary. And once i shed a tear, it would not stop. Negative thoughts all the way and i kept wiping away the tears with my tudung.
Until now, i didn't know how did i manage to wait and sit for 8 hours. We didn't go out for lunch, i just didn't have the mood to. It was true, my number was called at about 6.17pm. Then came the next obstacle....
My worry was i don't have enough documentation and i would have to come back. I had background reading via blogs and visited the KBRI website and seemed i should be fine. Until the officer requested for surat nikah since the majikan's IC (my hubby) has different address with my IC! I said i don't have one now so he asked us to fax it to the offfice, now. Errmmm, but he's not at home.... 'then how should i verify that you are married?' We don't have kad nikah....Gosh! Allah! Help me!....
I don't want to come back here and go through this all over again! Then i remembered i brought a file with all the documents since we applied to get a maid. There was an application form written 'suami/isteri' with our names on it....The officer seemed considerate since he noticed that i'm pregnant (he was rather strict previously). He seek for opinion and accepted the form as supporting document. Alhamdulillah!.. He also forwarded our application to the fast track counter (for elderly, sick, pregnant and with children applicants). The time taken at the counter was rather short, about 20 mins. Then we have to wait at the counter outside the building to collect the passports.I expected the waiting time is about 1 hour and it was exactly. I was also being emotional while waiting. How could my husband do this me...Why i felt being abandoned....Again, tears were falling and i used my tudung to cover the unwanted tears.
Once the passport collected, I felt so relieved that everything was settled.
Then i had to wait for another hour for my husband to fetch us. We left the embassy at 8.30pm
I hate to wait but this time i managed to wait for 9 1/5 hours. This is a long time since we couldn't do anything except to wait. Actually we could go and take a stroll outside but what is there to see? So my advice is:
1. Come to the embassy early as in 9.00am. If too early, the embassy still hasn't open the gate and you'll have to wait. After 10am is already considered late.
2. Prepare your docs beforehand just in case they have run out of forms. Drop by early and get the forms prior to the real visit. Or forms can be downloaded from the KBRI website. (Formulir_blue form and 3 copies of contracts). They should accept downloaded forms, shouldn't they since all are from their website? I'm not entirely sure because who knows the officers might want to show their authority and still want original forms?
3. It is a requirement now to get an insurance coverage for the maid. I did mine with the Post Office at RM60 for a year coverage. They accept proof of purchase (not necessarily the cover letter)
4. The employer to be present should be the same as the photocopied IC. All this while my hubby has always been the employer. I didn't expect that i can actually put myself as the employer (if my hubby is not present) and save the hassle of proof of marriage. Or you can just bring in marriage cert/baby birth cert/kad nikah etc.
4. Prepare the photocopies beforehand, the line can get very long (if you arrive late):
- Passport (with pic & signature page)
- Valid permit
- Employer's IC (2 copies)
5. The contract period follows the permit not the passport (1 year). The date of
contract should be date you come to embassy for the renewal.
6. Be polite because in this case, they are the authority! And they can be quite
authoritarian and you might lose your case if you're impolite.
7. Do background reading from people's experience (blogs) and the KBRI website to give you rough idea what you day at the embassy would be like :-)
This will save you valuable time of 3-4 hours!
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