I created a Skype account simply to call NZ immigration from Thailand. I called them and I was assured that I could apply for my working holiday scheme visa online, and then land in the country and finish my application there by handing in my medical certificates in person. I was assured that I did not need a ticket out of the country if I showed proof that I had enough money in my bank account to purchase such a ticket.
It should have been so easy.
For a start, my taxi driver didn't turn up to take me to the airport. I called him to see where he was and in doing so woke him up. It was 5 in the morning. I had a plane to catch. Right there and then I realised that this was going to be a loooong journey.
I got to Singapore without too much difficulty and then went to the Early Check in counter to get my boarding pass for the leg to Melbourne. ?Oh? said the man at the desk, ?there has been a change to your itinerary.?
I now was no longer getting a flight straight from Singapore to Melbourne. Oh no, now I had to stop at Bali inbetween.
Bali. I frickin hate Bali.
Upon arriving at Bali we were subjected to 45 minutes of searching. I went through 4 scanners, got frisked twice and had somebody go through the entire contents of my hand baggage before I was turned around and told to get on the very same plane I had just been told to get off.
I was tired by this point. I'd managed to get aisle seats on the two flights before and so was in some desperate need of sleep. I got back on the plane, back into yet another aisle seat and looked forward to the next 5 hours of insomnia.
I finally landed at Melbourne after almost 24 hours of being on the move and catching no winks. I went to the next check in desk to get my boarding pass for New Zealand.
And now it gets a bit tricky.
Now they tell me that I do need a return ticket or I'm not allowed to travel to the country. I explain the bank account thing. They say it doesnt matter. They call NZ Immigration for me. I explain to the guy on the phone my predicament and he says don't worry about it. He says that my Working Holiday Visa has been accepted so all I have to do is buy a ticket leaving NZ at any point and then just never use it as I'll have a years visa.
It's a drag I think to myself, and it's more money I'm having to spend, but hey, these things happen. So I buy a ticket leaving NZ at some point in the future and get on the plane.
I'm a bit gutted that I spent loads of money on a medical in Bangkok but I'm happy to finally be on my way to NZ so I don't let it bother me too much.
I land in NZ, tell the lady at immigration the story, she checks on the system and my visa has not been approved. But I talked to a guy not 3 hours ago I tell her, and he said it had been. Please step this way sir she tells me. Yes, I'm taken to the side at immigration.
I've watched Airport.
I'm screwed.
I explain once again to a lady what has happened. By this point I'm pretty aware of the fact that I'm completely at the mercy of somebody behind a desk. I'm on thin ice. They take all my paperwork, go into an office and chat for a bit. They come back and say they'll give me a one month visitors visa to sort myself out.
One month. If I'd have simply landed and said nothing I could have gotten a 6 month visa simply for being British. This one month visa is quite simply immigration taking the piss out of me. But it's your fault this has happened I tell them, I did everything I was told to, I went and got a medical, I bought a ticket, I have all my paper work on me. You have to apply for the Working Holiday Scheme from outside the country they tell me. I did I tell them, I applied from Thailand. I was told to bring the paper work here and I would be able to hand it in myself. I tell them that when I phoned from Melbourne I was told I'd been approved which is why I asked. I tell them that if I'd have said nothing I could have gotten a 6 month visa. You have a one month visa they tell me, take it or leave it, and by leave it they mean leave the country.
I take it.
This means I'm now in the country with only a one month visitors visa. I'm going to the office tomorrow to try and sort this whole mess out. I've spent a fucking fortune trying to get this visa sorted. What with the whole mess Thailand managed to make out of it, to get to civilisation and still get dicked around is what can only be described as slightly annoying.
This could end up being a very short trip for me.
I've put so much money into this visa now, I literally cant afford to not get it. If I don't then it's home time for me. If I cant earn over here then I've got to leave basically straight away. I don't have the resources to holiday here as I've got to buy a ticket to the other side of the world to get home.
I'm so pissed off right now it's just not funny. How hard can it be for something to go right.
Ps ? the mountains are beautiful, the snow is ace, I've already been boarding, the people are superb, my accommodation is lovely and my landlady is cool as school.