We were never 100% sure that Bobby would be able to secure a residency visa, but we had logical reasons to be fairly confident. I was working in the country, we were on a notarized lease together, he and I both have clean background checks, and he has the required amount of money in savings to show that he isn’t planning on moving to Albania and becoming a “drain on society” (I hate that term, but that’s not the point of this post). However, when it comes to living overseas, you have to be prepared for anything.
Bobby was ultimately denied his visa three weeks ago, so he left last weekend. He’ll be back in three months, once he’s able to legally. He smartly left a week earlier than he had to, so he has a week to play with if he has to come back in case of an emergency. Now, I know many people make mention of how easy it is to get around visa issues in Albania, and I’m sure many people have been able to stay many months, or even years, over the three months in six months official stance. However, we want to respect the stated laws of the country (even if many do not, and even if it’s easy to get around). The fact that US citizens don’t need a visa to be here for three months is already a huge privilege.
Since Bobby is also recently looking for work, it seemed propitious, in a way, that he can go back to America and send out his resume, interview, and hopefully land something else. In the meantime, things at work are in a nice even routine, I’m learning more Albanian by the day, and I have a great support system here. Nothing can ever replace Bobby being here, but I lived in Japan alone at the age of 22 with far less support than I have here almost a decade later. That definitely helps.
I’m not one for showy, emotional displays in public, so while this is usually the place to end by waxing poetic about love and how great one’s significant other is, and how perfect they are, I’ll just say I miss him every day and can’t wait for him to come home. Take my word for it that I have more reasons than I could put in a simple blog post for why I think he’s fantastic. Three months will fly by, if the last three are any indication.
Originally published November 22nd, 2012, on Blogger.
