We had a 20 hour layover in Toronto before heading on to Sydney (which we originally considered a nightmare but ended up being a blessing in disguise) so we went to the airport and rebooked ourselves for flights leaving the next afternoon (with time to catch our original connection) then headed back to Miami to a hotel near the British Consulate so we could be there first thing on Wednesday, which was amazingly (and thankfully) the only day of the week they take walk-ins without an appointment. We were there when they opened at 9am and everyone was incredibly helpful and efficient in issuing him an emergency passport. The drama doesn’t end there though because our visas are tied to our passport number and it is clearly stated that if you get a new passport, your visa is invalid and won’t work.
We maintained our optimism despite the situation and headed back to the airport. At the Air Canada desk, they were only able to print Alex’s ticket to Toronto because Australia requires proof of entry before you can get on any flights and Alex no longer had a visa tied to his new passport… We sent an email to the Australian visa office but it was 3am in Sydney so there was nothing we could do but sit on the flight to Toronto and wait, hoping we’d be able to get everything worked out in time to get on the Sydney flight at 8:25pm. At the Toronto airport, we encountered the same problems as in Miami, no record of Alex’s new passport number being granted a visa to enter Australia so they couldn’t put him on a flight. By some miracle, the Visa office updated his records, based on the earlier email we’d sent, while we were speaking with the ticketing agent and his ticket was finally able to be processed. So, with just over an hour to spare, everything had worked out.
All that and we ended up still making our original flight! Seriously?! It was one hell of a way to begin our trip but it’s behind us now and WE’RE HERE!! It cost Alex a few drinks, a little pride and we’ve both agreed, I’m in charge of the passports from now on ;)
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