The tomato plants finally start giving a little back
Jun 22nd, 2007 by Peter
Our tomato plants’ height one week ago (now one of them is bending of the ceiling)
Tomatoes start growing
Hope at least one is ready to eat before we go on holiday
Oh, and if you ever marry a Chinese woman make sure never to tell her about the existence of tomato plants….. and rabbits now we’re at it….
I am afraid u can’t eat the ripe tomatoes.U just get 7 days left before coming to china,they are just so small,I think it will take about 2wks.
I think you’re right. Someone else will have to eat them then :-)
Hi Peter,
I am so glad for you and C. you made it together Thank you so much for taking the time to share all the details of the process, as this would help people like my boyfriend and me make our dreams of living together come true.
I would like to share my story with you. B., who is Danish, is my boyfriend, he lives in Copenhagen. I am E., Ecuadorian, and live in Quito, and we want very much to be together as we love each other and want to share our lives.
We were planning on start living together from next summer on, when i should move to DK, but we can not wait more, we miss so much each other, so we want to move together in November of this year but from what you tell here, we are right with the exact time on us! Can you please give us some guidance on the exact Department or office my boyfriend should call there in Copenhagen to get the process started? I will do the same here, at the Danish consulate
I hope you and C. are doing great (it truly seems like it!!), I am so happy and glad for you. Congratulations!!
Hi Eliana,
Thank you for reading here.
It depends on whether you are applying for Visa or permanent stay. Both is pretty annoying procedures, but the permanent stay is the worst.
All applications go through either the Danish Embassy in your homeland or the Danish Foreigner Service here in Denmark (depending on what you apply for). You should expect your boyfriend to do all paperwork, as they are pretty horrendous to fill out for a non-Dane. There are some laws that must be read up on first. First of all you should make sure that you are at least 24 years old. If you are below, it will be very very difficult, if not impossible, to get you here. There are exceptions, but I rarely hear about those.
If that’s no issue, then it would be a good thing if your boyfriend has been living in Denmark for 28 years consecutive years. It’s not essential, but will help your case.
I have to say, that I am a bit rusty about the details for the time being, so no matter what I just wrote, you and your boyfriend need to read up on it yourself. These things change from time to time and there are plenty more rules to make sure you both can fulfill
I would advice you to look at this site:
http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/frontpage.htm
It’s the official Danish site for integration. Here you can find forms and information about everything.
Then I would advise you and (especially your boyfriend) to take a look at this site:
http://www.aegteskabudengraenser.dk/
There is a bit about the rules and it’s written in an easier language than you’ll find on the first official site. The bonus is that it’s an independent site with people who knows the procedures on their own body. The Forum is the real gem there, and should be used before and during your application. My experience is that there are tonnes of questions that pop up and you can get all the help you need in there. The homepage is, as you can see, Danish, but if I remember correctly, they also help out English speakers.
I have to underline that it would be best if your boyfriend did most of the paperwork. The rules and laws are simply so strict and the smallest step besides the path may result in longer waiting. Being a Dane he has access to read up on all the Danish stuff easier, which should speed it up and exclude misunderstandings. As it is now, it’s slow enough. When we applied for permanent stay it took 3½ month to get it through and we were lucky with an easy case. Well than and I was politely pushy. Others with more difficult cases have waited up to 11 months. Not to scare you off, but it’s not a “2 weeks and go” task.
About C’s case, I did all the work and gathered the essential papers and answers from C when needed. It was way too difficult to involve her as her English level was low. It may be different for you, now that you have a higher English level :-)
I wish you all the best and good luck.
Dear Peter,
You are so kind to write back to us with all these
explanations! I am copying this message to Brian, so
he can know of you recommendations. In fact I think we
have some good things on our side: He is 33, I am 32.
We met in April, stayed together for close to 2 weeks
in total and he is coming back to Ecuador in August. I
have been in Europe several times (never in DK) for
the last couple of years for business, so I have a
tourist Schengen visa, but it is going to expire on
Sept. I have an economics background (international
commerce undergraduate degree and a master degree on
agribusiness) so I might be able to apply for a job,
given that according to the positive list job card
scheme, DK is in shortage of professionals with
economics background. What do you think of me applying
to this kind of visa? Do you think I will have any
chance?
THanks a lot again for writing, we really appreciate
your help. Will keep you posted, and give my regards
to your wife.
Eliana
From what I can read, I can’t see why you are not valid for visa (vacation/permanent stay), but there are some things you need to clear up and decide together.
You should note the whole business with a locked bank (guarantee) account with about 55.000Dkr for 7 years. That’s for the permanent stay, but also for vacation visas. If you get a vacation visa, these money are freed after you provide proof that you have returned to Ecuador, but I guess that’s not interesting, eh?
In our case C came here on a 3 month visa (I had to make a 55.000Dkr gurantee) and then we got married. After 3 months, she had to return home, or else the state would have taken the 55.000Dkr. Then she was back in China for 3 months and returned here afterwards. As we were now married, I didn’t have to make a visa guarantee again. However I did have to make a guarantee for 55.000Dkr for her permanent stay. These are now locked for 7 years.
Before you do anything else, you should decide which path you’ll follow first.
As I see it you have 3 options:
1) Work permit/Visa here for you
2) Vacation visa (3 months only) which will give you both some time to decide.
3) Permanent stay (requires marriage or living together long time before applying)
Number 1: Would be cool, as it would give you both time to settle and decide for your common future. Maybe you’ll hate it here after a while. Some things just can’t be planned. This will give you more freedom to decide and it won’t involve money for bank guarantees and similar. Well, not until you decide to apply for permanent stay.
Number 2: Obviously the best solution if you are looking for a fast move. However this is also emotionally the hardest in the long run if you do it like we did. That’s my experience. Most people do it like this: Get a vacation visa/55.000Dkr bank guarantee, Stay in Denmark for 3 months and get married meanwhile, Then you go back home for 3 months and come back on a new vacation visa. Then you file for permanent stay with your boyfriend/husband. This solution will have you spend 55.000Dkr x 2, BUT the first 55i.000 will be returned when you go home. Next time you come here, you still have to make a permanent stay guarantee, and these money will be frozen for 7 years.
The sneaky version of this solution would be if you got married in Ecuador and then applied for vacation visa here. Then afterwards apply for permanent stay here. This will reduce the money you have in play to the 55.000Dkr for the permanent stay.
If your boyfriend has plenty of money and don’t care about loosing 55.000Dkr, then it’s cool. Then you could pick solution number 2 where you apply for vacation visa for you here. Then he’d have to pay the 55.000Dkr and when the 2½ months is gone, you had to marry and apply for permanent stay. This solution means you can come here fast, but you will loose the 55.000Dkr for the vacation visa and need to come up with 55.000Dkr more for the permanent stay. The good thing about this is that you can come here fast, you don’t have to go home again and be separated for 3 months again. The downside is loosing the money.
If I could do it all over again, I would probably go for the “sneaky” version where both of you got married abroad and came to Denmark together on vacation Visa. This way you’ll be married, and won’t have to provide a bank guarantee for the vacation visa. You will have to come up with an extra flight ticket for your boyfriend to go to Ecuador, and still need the 55.000Dkr for the permanent stay. So you could say it’s a kind of compromise.
You should keep in mind, that no matter what you’d end up having to provide 55.000Dkr in the end for permanent stay. Only way out of this is you having work here with work permit. That will probably be too difficult in the long run, but may prove a good solution right now and for a year or 2.
There may be other options, but I’m not aware of them. As I wrote earlier, I’m getting rusty in these things. My wife is here, and I’ve forgotten everything else :-)
Hej Peter!
Just wanted to thank you again, and to tell you that I have become a fan of your blog. I am reading all the chapters, so keep writing it, it is great!
Have a great time in China, and give my regards to your wife.
Hi Eliana,
Thanks a lot. Much appreciated. :-)