I can't believe the day is here!! This morning the lawyer finally submitted our NLV Visa application packet via e-mail to the LA Consulate! For those of you just joining the party (no fun), you need to go read all the craziness that got us here to enjoy this moment fully. I decided that for my loyal readers to feel like they get to celebrate with us, I will add the song we have been jumping around the house singing in celebration. Luckily my child is obsessed with Dora the Explorer because it's kind of catchy! So get ready to start jumping!!

Health Insurance Paperwork

Back to business (you can thank me for the song being stuck in your head later)! Okie Dokie! As we continue to celebrate, I will go over some of the other items we submitted that I hadn't discussed yet. The health insurance wasn't too difficult, but we did have a lawyer who did most of the coordinating. We were given two choices DKV or Sanitas. I opted for Sanitas because they had slightly better maternity benefits (we're hoping to add another turd to this s**t show in the future, haha). Sanitas provided us the forms to fill out once we decided, and it was pretty easy (minus needing to learn how to convert lbs into kg and inch into cm, thanks for that, USA).

The insurance cost us about $2700 for the three of us, for 1 year, which is a huge difference from $1000 a month in the states (hmmm, wonder why we are moving). DKV was cheaper, costing around $2000, but didn't have the maternity benefits like we were looking for. We don't have any pre-existing conditions, but I heard Adeslas works with pre-existing conditions for those of you who do. Here is a link to a comprehensive explanation of everything health insurance from my fellow author, Expatriator at Spain Expat https://www.spainexpat.com/information/health-insurance-spain.

Once we were approved and paid, we were given a letter for each of us, stating we were covered by Sanitas and a brief explanation of the benefits. Sanitas also provided us with a receipt showing proof of payment. We luckily had our Spanish lawyer helping, so it was already in Spanish, which meant we didn't have to pay for translations, which leads us to the next section translations.

Translations

The mighty translations. This is definitely a confusing part of the process! So the deal is you have to have all of your paperwork that is not in Spanish translated by a Sworn Spanish Translator. I've heard many people wondering if they wait until they receive the apostille to get it translated, or can you do it before? Our lawyer did not submit our paperwork to the translator until we had collected it all and had the apostille paperwork translated. The translator they use is approved and part of their law firm, Paola at Carbray.

The translator took care of it all in a few days and for about 588 euro, $720 (stupid American Dollar). It would have been cheaper if I could have paid with a Mastercard, which I don't have, so a 5% fee was added to it to use Paypal. That obviously sounds like a lot of money, but we are talking 20+ pages (if you're not married or don't have kids, it's a lot less paperwork). That would roughly be about $25 a page, if not cheaper, which is a great deal (I've heard some people quoted $75 a page). This is why the more you can fill out in Spanish from the beginning, the more money it will save you from having it translated. Here is the list of approved translators provided by the LA Spanish Consulate http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/LOSANGELES/es/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Documents/Traductores_jurado_Ingles_Espanol_2019.pdf#page=17

Now What?!

All that's left now, besides all the stuff to get to Spain, is waiting to hear back on our Visa. From what I have heard LA Consulate will review the copies and let us know if we need to add anything or change anything. We should hear back in the next few days, and if we are good, we will FedEx all our original paperwork in. We will also be waiting to get out translations sent from Spain. Hopefully, our Visa is approved as we scheduled our plan ticket for July 12 ahhhh (but we can change it if needed). We have about 3 more weeks until we are homeless and will be road tripping around the California Coast for a month, saying goodbye to family, and maybe putting some fun videos and pics up for you as well!

It's so crazy. I feel like we have run a marathon, and there is still so much to do! For all my pet people, I have a whole other blog category specifically for you, or if you want a good laugh because our dogs are just as crazy as we are. In our next Chapter, our heroine (not to be confused with heroin which I almost put) encounters a new Villain...Booking Plane Tickets! This will be a crossover episode that includes her band of merry men, aka the dogs! Although she is bruised and beaten from her last battle with the Apostille, she is as resolute as ever!

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