Today the first thing I did when I woke up was pray (again) that the letter of employment would arrive. This afternoon I was busy in the kitchen when Daniel came through with a big envelope with airmail stamps on it, saying, "There's something for Daddy."
I immediately knew what it was and freaked out and opened it. When I saw the letter of employment I was overwhelmed by a rush of relief and a slew of mixed emotions and burst into tears.
This long-awaited letter, this answer to our prayers, this life-altering piece of paper ... it's finally arrived after 17 long months.
Of course, this prompts the question, "What now?"
Okay, the next step is to drive down to London and lodge our application at New Zealand House. We could mail it in but we want to be sure it gets there and be there when they check it over. We're planning on going down in two weeks' time (he already has leave booked), or sooner if Grant can get leave or swap shifts with someone.
Once our application is lodged they are currently taking between three weeks and three months to be processed. But Grant's letter of employment states that he has to give notice at his current job by 4th May latest. We need our permanent residency before he does that, but they do take dates into account when processing, so we should be fine.
Once we have PR they will let Grant know when he is to start in NZ.
ONWARD! AT LAST!
