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Expat Life: Renewing Your U.S. Passport When Living Abroad

Edd:  Thinking about your passport usually only happens when you’re about to go on a trip abroad. It’s amazing you remembered that ours needed renewing.

Cynthia:  I must have been daydreaming about exotic travel destinations when I realized our passports expire in about nine months. We advise in our Program that most countries’ entry requirement is at least six months remaining on a passport. It was definitely time to take our own advice, especially since we don’t have an out-of-country trip planned at the moment.

E:  And how lucky was it that I just happened to see a notification online that representatives from the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil were going to be in town specifically to accept applications for passport renewals. I made an appointment for us immediately.

C:  Or maybe the universe coming to our rescue! We didn’t know if we were going to have to drive or fly to Guayaquil to retrieve the new passports, but what a blessing to initiate the process here in Cuenca.

E:  Agreed. Plus our one visit to the Consulate offices there a few years ago to have more pages added to our passports wasn’t very pleasant. Security to get into the building made post-911 procedures look like a picnic. By the time we found where we were supposed to go it was one o'clock and everyone had gone to lunch, so we sat there for an hour waiting.

C:  Yep, every single employee minus the two security guards. Next we’re told they wouldn’t accept cash, and the credit card you were trying to use wasn’t being accepted for some reason. Our cell phones didn’t work inside the building so you had to go outside to call the credit card company.

E:  Then go back through security once I got things straightened out. Thinking back it was actually kind of a nightmare, so we went to our appointment with low expectations.

C:  Being punctual gringos, we arrive on time. There’s a lady with a clipboard to greet us and check off our names. Then we’re immediately escorted to a table where the applications are being processed.

E:  I’m thinking, “Wait a minute, what’s going on? This is Ecuador, where waiting is the national pastime!”

C:  Then a pleasant young man reviews our paperwork and says everything is in order except the photos we brought are too small. We’re directed to a photo shop a few blocks away, and ten minutes and $10 later we’re back and the process is over.

E:  And an agreement had already been set up with DHL for our new passports to be delivered to us from Guayaquil for only $15. We just had to go by the office, which conveniently is only a few minutes walk from our place, and pay. Schweet! We were back home an hour after we arrived for the appointment.

C:  We were like, “What just happened??” Everything involving bureaucracy here tends to be frustrating, and that taste of U.S. efficiency was really refreshing.

E:  Ah, if the magic could only have lasted a little longer. Our dermatology appointments that afternoon brought living in Ecuador back in a flash.

C:  You’re so right, seems the spell had been broken. We arrive at the hospital, find the doctor’s name and suite number on the directory, but can’t find his office. A lady notices our confusion and asks if she can help us.

E:  Turns out she works with all the dermatologists on the floor, but she has bad news—the doctor is out of the country for two weeks! No one had bothered to inform us and reschedule. (SIGH)

C:  Flora felt so bad for us that she took matters into her own hands. She bypassed the “computerized system” and made us new appointments on his calendar later this month when he returns. Ah, the magic is back!

E:  And that, my friends, is the real Ecuador. A little messy sometimes, but in the end things almost always work out. Were we upset? Nah. What good would that do? To thrive in a foreign country you learn to go with the flow.

C:  That’s great advice no matter where you live. Hey, you’re renewing your Ecuadorian driver’s license next week. Let’s see how that goes.

E:  I’ve gotta retake the written test in Spanish so it will be “interesting.” Readers may wonder why I have a local driver’s license with no car. I’ll explain next time. Talk again soon.


Note ~ Here are the informational links that were provided by the ACS Outreach Services in Cuenca. If you need passport renewal services but missed this opportunity, contact The U.S. Consulate General in Guayaquil and ask if they have another date scheduled.

https://ec.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/

https://ec.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/fees/

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