Firstly, the good news.

Mick’s police check arrived a few weeks ago with the “All Clear”. That meant we had all the required documentation for our interviews yesterday.

We were at St Martin’s Tower in Market Street in the Sydney CBD about half an hour early but we decided to catch the elevator to Level 26 just to make sure we were in the right place.

Normally I’d include photos to help my post, but security was very tight and I was not prepared to upset the French Consulate by taking photos without permission.

We spoke to a security guard through a glass window in a glass wall. He was standing inside a very small reception area, about two metres wide and one metre deep with a second glass wall separating him from the Consulate Office waiting room.

We showed our appointment letters and he found our names on his list. He said we could come through. We noticed a sign that said only two people were allowed in the waiting area at any time.

Each glass wall had a door that he controlled with a security tag. We walked through the first door and once that was closed, he opened the second one. He explained we had to turn our phones to silent and there were signs asking for silence in the waiting area.

After a few minutes I was called to a window, a bit like a bank clerk window, and spoke with a very nice young French woman.

Now for the bad news.

I’d filled out the wrong online form and therefore had not used the correct checklist for the documentation we were required to provide.

I must admit that I had struggled with the website when I started this process weeks ago. I had even asked Mick to examine the site too to work out which options we should choose. We were both flummoxed and decided to proceed on the one that looked mostly like what we were after.

Very soon into my appointment, the nice French woman told me I had used the wrong form. She said the one I had used was for “young people”.

Okay.

I immediately expected to be told to pick up the rest of the paperwork and leave, but she worked through what I had, and printed off the correct form and a new checklist. She explained that I could send in the three pieces of missing documentation along with the completed form she’d printed for me.

I told her that Mick would be in the “same boat”, but in French I said ” la même chose”. She was impressed I had at least tried.

She took my fingerprints, which took several goes on each hand as the machine could not read them. Apparently I have very faint fingerprints. (Mick took one go only. )

She also took my money €99 ($AUD 159.70) and my passport.

Mick’s meeting with this young lady was much quicker than mine, and we departed to buy an express post bag for the return of our passports.

Now we are slightly worried about getting these back in time for our flight on 10 December. Mainly because there is no way of contacting the Consulate to check how the process is going.

One of the pieces of evidence we have to provide is a signed statement, witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, stating we have no intention of working while in France. That’s easy.

The one that is a little trickier is a signed letter from our host in France stating that we are staying at her place. She has to also provide a copy of her identification and a copy of a bill listing her address, like an electricity bill. The reason this is harder is because our host is in hospital at the moment and we need this done ASAP. Also, she is English and despite having lived in her home for 15 years, she too is going through a process to remain in her home as a result of Brexit.

Fingers crossed we can get this together by the middle of next week and posted to the French Consulate so they can process it and return our passports.

An anxious wait ahead.