Met with Our Lawyer

Thursday February 12

Juan the gardener came over. The other worker didn’t. It could be because he thought it would rain or that the doctor told him he needs an operation now. Anyhow, we know that he is good worker and he will come in when he can.

Jayne and I left for Quito about 10.30am. We got to Maria’s office early but she was still able to see us.

Maria then showed us the bill for all her work in getting the visa. This also included the many receipts that she got from the government offices. She explained what each receipt was and said that she put some money out of her pocket.

The total now comes to $602.39!

Maria said we can go with her assistant today to go to one office where could get her new Censos (one form of ID). This way there will be less to do tomorrow (as we have to go to another office to get the other ID called the Cedular. We agreed to meet at 3.00pm later today.

In the meantime, we got something to eat at The Magic Bean. Then we went to an Internet café. From there we went to my bank so I could get some money out.

At the bank I withdrew 1,000 Euros and told the girl that I would like that changed into dollars. After signing the check and telling me to wait 10 minutes I found out when I got back that my name is not what they have on their records. So I had to write another check withdraw slip. Why didn’t she tell me when I was still at the window? The last time I was there I signed the name that was printed on my checks and it was ok, now it’s now!

On my check just has my first and last name but on their records it has my middle name, too.

After writing out another check, I had to wait nearly 10 minutes more before I got my dollars. Anyhow, I did get about three points more than the other place I went to last week, which comes to about $30.

We were late in meeting Sofia, Maria’s worker. From the office we went to where Jayne was to get her Censos. They had a sign on the door saying that they were closed (changed office). Why Sofia did take us to the right one, I don’t know. It must be an Ecuadorian thing! Her lawyer knew it had moved and since her assistant does this all the time she should know, too.

This ride cost me over $3 for the taxi. Plus I had lost $5 in the taxi! I looked all over in the seat that I was sitting and didn’t find it.

While at the old office we went to a store nearby where a copy of some form was made that Sofia needed. While there, I had her make a copy of the bill that Maria gave. Since leaving Maria’s office in the morning, I thought how strange her system of adding things up was. I wanted to go over this before I paid her.

At the other government office there was a room full of people there, so it was decided that we’d meet tomorrow morning at 8am – before the crowd. (Ugg, I hate the thought of getting up early but it looks like we have to do it.)

After Sofia left, Jayne and I had some coffee at a café nearby. I pulled out the copy of the bill that Maria gave me and I went over it with Jayne.

Let me try to explain in writing how Maria accounting is. For a lawyer, I don’t know where she got such a system but I’m sure her system must be common in Ecuador. Oh, this is funny and strange – you’ll like this…

First, all of this is in one column. To the left is the description of what it is and the small block to the right is the amount.

The first section has the bills of what different things were and the cost on the far right – so far, so good. Maria showed Jayne and I the bills and checked it off as she went down the list. The total came to $535.

There as a space, then a description of the kind of visa with a cost of $500.

Another space and on the left was ‘Total’ and $500. Under that is the government tax of $60 12%) and ‘Total’ of $560.

There is another line space then on one line is $100 I had paid for something back in January. Under that is $350 I paid just last week. This total came to $450. (This is my credit. This part is understood and correct.)

Another space and a total of $645 and some change. This is what I was to pay. If you could see what I have in front of me you would see this better or if you wrote this down you’ll get a better idea.

(What I wrote above is what was printed and given to us. However she made some notations on the side as one bill was not included, which gives a different total, but you get the picture.)

This is what struck Jayne and me as stupid bookkeeping work:

Where in the hell does this $500 come from. It’s on the list but it’s not added or subtracted from the above list. I see that the tax is added to the $500 but that’s it. We were not told that the visa itself cost $500, just that there is tax for a visa. So this is something entirely new to us.

The two rows of what I paid already are not subtracted from the bills in the top list. Then Maria throws up the figure that I owe over $600 more? What is this!#@

Jayne said, “Bull shit baffles brains!” This is an old saying which means basically, that if you throw out enough BS the brain will get confused!

Maria can speak in several languages and she has an Ecuadorian law degree, but one thing that Jayne and I know is that if she had to work in Europe in some company she would be fired with bookkeeping like that! So, all her education would not help at all. If this bookkeeping was taught to her in Ecuador – no wonder they are in the ‘Turd’ World.

From the café Jayne and I went home.

When I was at our lawyer’s office I told her that you don’t have this much trouble getting a visa to live in Russia and Cyprus. I said this is not about her but about the government. She said that she disagrees as Ecuador the easiest country to get a visa and live here.

The nerve of her saying this! What a lie!

I told Maria about Cyprus that if you want someone else to do it costs $160 (converting the Cy pounds to dollars) and that it’s easy. I said the only paperwork that you need is a bank statement showing you have enough money to live there for one year. You need a copy of your rental contract, health insurance, a copy of your passport and a picture. That’s it.

She responded saying that the cost to get a visa is a onetime fee and it’s good for the rest of your life.

Anyhow, I told her I disagree. I thought about this later and just looking on the surface, it would seem that it’s cheaper to get a visa in Ecuador – IF you intend to live here the rest of your life or for a long time. That’s a BIG ‘IF’!

When people shoot off their mouth, and they might be sincere, they could still be wrong and that’s because they don’t know all the facts, just like Maria. Well, here are the facts. She knows of what I had to go through here and she also knows that I lived in Cyprus but she doesn’t know the visa process there. So, by logic she should agree with what I said as ‘I’ve been on both sides of the fence,’ as it were.

In Cyprus and Russia (Russia cost more than Cyprus by the way) you have the flexibility to move if you want to without incurring the ‘life time’ cost of a visa. It’s like buying a subscription to a magazine that only offers a ‘life time subscription’. But if you move and you want to get a subscription to your new address you’d have to pay a large price. (I know magazines don’t work this way but it’s a good analogy.)

So, you want to live in Cyprus for say, 2 years, it would cost $320 for two years (or $80 if you do it yourself). If you move back, you pay the yearly fee. It’s not costing you a ‘life time visa’ as in Ecuador.

What is more aggravating is all the paperwork that goes with getting a visa in Ecuador. This takes a lot of time, running around, taxi fares, lawyer expenses and additional fees, such as paying to have a medical checkup, etc.

Other countries secure their borders without all this crap, but Ecuador got to make it difficult. The tax of $350 would not be too bad but all the paperwork – wow!

What Maria and the director of visa in Ecuador ignore (as he lied saying Ecuador is an easy country to get a visa in) is in Cyprus if you are a member of the EU you don’t even have to go through the above. I just mentioned the above as I’m an American. Now that I’m married to Jayne who is an EU member I can live there as an EU member.

Another thing that I did not get a change to say to Maria is that this renewal of a visa is for only five years – if you are a non-EU member – and after that your visa becomes permeate. In 10 years – as a non-EU member – you can get a Cypriot passport! So, you don’t have to pay ‘all your life’ as Maria said.

Still another thing I didn’t not get a change to tell Maria is, that the cost of 80 Cy pounds is if you have a company do it for you. If you do it yourself it costs only 20 Cy pounds, or about $40. So even if you are a non-EU member – which means your cost is higher – it’s still a lot cheaper than what it cost in Ecuador. Not to mention other side costs and the great amount of time to get this all done.

Now, living in the US is compared it’s a lot easier. In fact, it’s too easy and should be made much harder. If they did this the US would not have the problems of all these Third World People. There, if you can get your sorry ass across the border and not get caught you are home free (thought it’s not your home). Every so many years the sick President declares that, ‘Anyone who came to the US before xxxx (date) is now an American citizen.’ And of course, they get all kinds of government services at European American taxpayers’ expense!

That’s my thoughts on the real situation of the cost of an Ecuadorian visa compared to another country.