Bureaucracy is a Greek Word - kinda.
“Effective process is not bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is senseless process.” — Jeff Bezos
I am now on my third lawyer. The first stopped responding to my emails. The second told me to return to South Africa and change my name. The third is a find in a Facebook post that advertises as an Immigration Lawyer.
This one thinks that the letter from the SA Embassy will cover the problem of my maiden name vs married name and that I will get my blue paper - the holy grail for immigrants - before my visa expires early next month.
You would think that being married to a Greek man for almost thirty would mean it should be quick and easy to get a residence permit. Especially since my children both have Greek identity documents and passports. But, my case is special. So special that when I tell people about it, they just shake their head in sympathy - the equivalent of saying "shame" in SA.
The long and the short of it: My married name is on my passport which is correct given that I got married almost 30 years ago and my name was automatically changed. For all intents and purposes, I have been known as Staci Katsivalis for almost 30 years.
Except in Greece. When we got married in Greece, 29 years ago, my surname wasn't changed. Here, I am known by my maiden name. And I only found this out when my previous application for residence was rejected. This hasn't been an issue since I wasn't living here. Until now.
And now, we are ready to hand over €300 to get all the required papers submitted electronically and hope that this time, they will be assured that I am the same person.