Just because we ♥ bureaucracy... here we go again!

Now that we are all sorted and everyone is allowed to both stay in this country as well as leave it, we are slowly going to start looking into getting a permanent residence permit in Sweden for Shaena. Not that we need it right now, but it could be good have ready, just as a preparation for the future, in case we would want to go down that route.

Since we are considered an EU/EEA family, me being Swedish and all, and since Ethan is a Swedish citizen from birth, Shaena not having the permanent residence permit would not really pose an issue for us if we wanted to move from the UK to Sweden – we would just have to apply for it once we get to Sweden, at some point.

The really sticky situation would occur if we, as an example, ever wanted to do a year in the US whilst Shaena is still on a UK visa, as the UK would probably not let her back into the country after that year. Therefore, with a Swedish permanent residence permit up our sleeve, we would have a great contingency plan for getting back into Europe without hassle. Also, it would be a great thing to have, just in case we at some point also wanted to apply for a Swedish citizenship for Shaena.

Unfortunately, the application has to be submitted in person at the consulate here in Edinburgh, and an interview in person would follow, also at the consulate. Our last experience with the General Consul was fruitful but irksome. He wasn't a spoon full of sugar as we were expecting, and after having watched the movie ‘Up’ I see a lot of similarities between the fictional Mr. Carl Fredrickson and the General Consul. (However he did warm up after he found out Shaena was born in Edmonton! Go Oilers!):