One step foreward, ten steps back....

We have now been in Ecuador for just over a month, and despite 3 trips to Quito and numerous trips to the Civil Registry Office in Canoa where we live, we are FARTHER away from getting our paper work in line for our residency visas. On average, it takes about one working week for anyone in any office here to print off a simple form.... and that's only if there are no mistakes in the system. Unfortunately for us, there always seems to be something! Whether it's a double identity or a spelling mistake of his moms last name, Lalo seems to always have many troubles with any and all paperwork that he needs to arrange.  It is for this reason that we are now in Ecuador illegally, and now unable to apply for our residency. So, our options are now limited. With Lalo unable to come to Canada, and an processing wait time of a year and a half for his residency visa, it looks like Luca and I will be spending more time in Ecuador than I originally thought. Because I am now in the country illegally, when I do go back to Canada, I will be barred from re entering Ecuador for 9 months unless I can obtain another visa. The only visa for which we qualify is the 12-9 visa, which is the visa that I had most recently. This visa is valid for a period of 6 months and can only be granted once every year. Considering that my visa expired two days ago, the soonest that I will be able to return to Ecuador if I leave, is in 6 months from now.