The dreaded Visa Application.

I got my official Visa Application Packet emailed to me yesterday. And guess what, its due ten days from now. Wait, what? Yes, TEN DAYS. Thankfully, I started collecting all my Visa ‘goodies’ right after I got my call because I heard the process was terrifically stressful. Rumor has it, people have died of stress because of this Visa business… just kidding… maybe.

Here’s a list of all the things we have to obtain:
- A signed Passport
- A photocopy of every single page of your Passport (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Passport photos
- Three signed electronic Visa application forms
- Photocopy of Driver’s License (Notarized)
- A letter from your local police force stating that you have no criminal record and are of “good conduct for international travel.” (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Religious Education Transcripts (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Religious Education Graduation Certificates (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Two Curriculum Vitaes (Notarized and Authenticated)
- Missionary Information Sheet
- Travisa Permission Letter
- Certified Birth Certificate

Then, after all of that is collected, you have to send all of the things that were notarized to the Secretary of State Office and get them authenticated. This basically tells the Brazilian Consulate that the person who notarized your documents was a legit notary. THEN, you can finally send it all in and pray that everything is correct. I’ve also heard horror stories of missionaries whose applications took too long to process. They got reassigned to a stateside mission for months until their visa went through. Não é bom.

In case you were hadn’t notices, getting a mission visa is extremely tedious. Furthermore, getting a Brazilian mission visa is even more troubling. Did you know that to serve any kind of religious mission in Brazil, you must have at least four years of certified religious education? Good grief. I’m not even the person that has to submit it all to the Brazilian Consulate, the Church does that, thank goodness.