So, now that you have my back story, lets talk about what you need to do first. Chances are your military member just told you that you are moving overseas and you have started the mad dash for information. One of the first things you will want to do is get military issued passports and visas for everyone in your family that will be moving with you, with the exception of the military member. (They typically can travel to their next duty station with just their military ID.) Getting your passports and visas can be done by visiting your current base's passport office with a copy of your military orders. If you don't have your orders yet, they may still be able to help but typically they like to have your orders so they can send in everything at once.
The process of getting a passport isn't very difficult as much as it is time consuming. After you complete the paperwork and the passport personnel send it in, it can take up to 6 weeks to get your passport sent to you. Once this is done, you will then need to complete a visa. This visa is processed by Italy to allow you to come here and live. Without the visa, you typically are not allowed to PCS so make sure you do this shortly after getting your military issued passport. The paperwork for the visa should be given to you by the base passport personnel and is a little bit more complex so please make sure to have the base passport personnel help you complete it. Once filled out, they will send it to the Italian Consulate to be reviewed and then issue your visa directly to you by US mail. It will arrive as part of your military issued passport on one of the pages in your passport and should be valid for typically one year. (Once you get to Italy you will be briefed on extending your visa to a "Soggiorno" which will allow you access in and out of the country for as long as your orders are valid in Italy.
Additionally, if you plan to travel while being stationed in Europe, you will need to get regular tourist passports for you and your family, including the military member. These can be completed online at http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html or you can see if your base passport personnel office can help as well. The cost for adult passports is around $136 each and they can take longer than the military ones to be issued so definitely try and get these done early. Without a tourist passport, you will not be able to travel outside of Italy. Though some do travel on personal time using their military issued passport, it is not wise and could cause some hiccups in your future travels. As I am sure many have been briefed on if you have ever watched the Armed Forces Network (AFN) TV broadcasts, when you are on personal time you want to blend in as much as possible and not raise attention to yourself as an affiliate of the US military.
Another helpful note, when you are traveling in Europe it also wise to carry both your military issued and tourist passports along with a copy of your orders. This is so that when you pass through other countries and try to get back to Italy, you won't be questioned on why you are in the country to begin with. When asked to show your passport in another country, always give them your tourist passport first and then if they begin to give you funny looks give them your military issued one as well. Typically this happens when they can't figure out how the heck you got in to Europe in the first place because your military issued passport will carry the stamp of your initial landing into Europe. Also, when showing ID for something while traveling, always give them your stateside license rather than your military ID. My husband has a bad habit of always showing his military ID when asked for proof of age and it drives me crazy. I also had him remove the air force magnet off the back of our car so that we blend in more.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Prepping for Your PCS Before You Get Here
PCSing can be a stressful, sometimes "impossible", endeavor that takes patience, practice, and a positive attitude. Our move to Aviano was our first true PCS, as our previous base at Offutt was where both of us grew up and we had lucked out getting orders to our home state. Needless to say, our PCS was challenging because it was our first and it was for an overseas base; great!
My first reaction to the news of our orders to Aviano was complete terror and worry. Here I was at a great job with great people and now I was going to be uprooted from my family and friends with a life I had grown quite fond of. Being at Offutt for the first seven years of my husband's career became such a staple in our lives that we had started to forget that his career choice may eventually require us to move. Angelic of a thought as it was, I grew accustomed to our life at Offutt and didn't know how or where to begin to accept this fortune cookie opportunity. My husband was so excited to get the chance to live overseas and here I was beginning to ask myself how I was going to survive.
If you are a spouse feeling this way about your new "adventure", embrace it; simply letting your orders slip to the back of your mind will only make it worse when the day comes and you have to start truly leaving. The best way to prepare is to research. Aviano has some great opportunities as well as some discouraging challenges but once you settle in, many find it to be a great place to live and even request to extend their time here. By prepping early, you will make your move here that must easier and your stay here that much more enjoyable. Also, the common answer to the question "How do you like Aviano?" is "It is what you make of it" - I hated when people said this when we got here but unfortunately it is quite true. The more you jump in and do things to make your stay here fun and enjoyable, the more rewarding it will be.
My first reaction to the news of our orders to Aviano was complete terror and worry. Here I was at a great job with great people and now I was going to be uprooted from my family and friends with a life I had grown quite fond of. Being at Offutt for the first seven years of my husband's career became such a staple in our lives that we had started to forget that his career choice may eventually require us to move. Angelic of a thought as it was, I grew accustomed to our life at Offutt and didn't know how or where to begin to accept this fortune cookie opportunity. My husband was so excited to get the chance to live overseas and here I was beginning to ask myself how I was going to survive.
If you are a spouse feeling this way about your new "adventure", embrace it; simply letting your orders slip to the back of your mind will only make it worse when the day comes and you have to start truly leaving. The best way to prepare is to research. Aviano has some great opportunities as well as some discouraging challenges but once you settle in, many find it to be a great place to live and even request to extend their time here. By prepping early, you will make your move here that must easier and your stay here that much more enjoyable. Also, the common answer to the question "How do you like Aviano?" is "It is what you make of it" - I hated when people said this when we got here but unfortunately it is quite true. The more you jump in and do things to make your stay here fun and enjoyable, the more rewarding it will be.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Introduction
Hello everyone in the blogging world that has stumbled across this page. My name is Stephanie and I have started this blog to help future military wives with their PSC to Aviano, Italy. My objective is to cover the basics that many will come across with a simple Google search as well as many of the other challenges and adventures that aren't always so publicized.
Shortly after finding out that my husband and I were issued orders to Aviano, Italy I began to research information about our PCS and how the next four years of our lives were going to dramatically change. Little did I know, there wasn't as much information out there as I had hoped and I began to panic with the limited number of resources on how to prepare and embrace the life before me once we stepped off the plane in Italy. I promised myself that once I got to Italy I would create some kind of how-to guide for future spouses as my way to "pay it forward" and of course, help pass along my time there. Now being in Aviano for a little over a month or so, I am beginning my blogging journey towards helping future spouses. I hope to regularly post helpful tips on what to do before you get here, how to settle in and maintain your home and lifestyle while living in Aviano, as well as fun things to do while having the opportunity to live in Europe.
Best Regards,
Mrs. BlogAboutIt
Shortly after finding out that my husband and I were issued orders to Aviano, Italy I began to research information about our PCS and how the next four years of our lives were going to dramatically change. Little did I know, there wasn't as much information out there as I had hoped and I began to panic with the limited number of resources on how to prepare and embrace the life before me once we stepped off the plane in Italy. I promised myself that once I got to Italy I would create some kind of how-to guide for future spouses as my way to "pay it forward" and of course, help pass along my time there. Now being in Aviano for a little over a month or so, I am beginning my blogging journey towards helping future spouses. I hope to regularly post helpful tips on what to do before you get here, how to settle in and maintain your home and lifestyle while living in Aviano, as well as fun things to do while having the opportunity to live in Europe.
Best Regards,
Mrs. BlogAboutIt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)