Permission to Arrive
How uncertainty, paperwork, and careful planning opened my first road into Europe.
Some journeys begin at airports.
Mine began with uncertainty.
My UK visa was approaching its end. I was already trying to extend it, but anyone who has lived inside immigration timelines understands this feeling — hope and doubt sharing the same chair, neither willing to leave.
Time becomes sharper.
Opportunities feel temporary.
So in November, during a simple conversation with my friend, a decision quietly formed:
If Europe is possible, we should go now.
Not luxury.
Not extravagance.
Just something affordable, responsible, and memorable.
Barcelona becomes the doorway
From Newcastle upon Tyne, Barcelona was the most logical entry. The flights were cheap, the connections strong, the city rich with history and coastline.
We planned five days.
We booked through Ryanair and chose refundable accommodation. Even in excitement, we respected uncertainty.
We were dreaming.
But we were also managing risk.
The ritual of the refresh button
Then came the appointment hunt.
Every morning, before anything else, I checked for visa slots.
Refresh. Nothing.
At night, my friend checked again.
Refresh. Still nothing.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Until around December 2nd, when availability suddenly appeared.
We did not debate.
We booked the earliest Monday.
The journey had moved from imagination to administration.
Building more than required
Three months of bank statements were mandatory.
But minimum felt fragile.
I wanted the person reviewing my file to see a life in order, not a gamble. So I added payslips, credit card records, supporting confirmations.
By the end, the stack reached almost forty pages.
It was documentation, yes.
But it was also character.
The mistake that almost came with me
I believed insurance was solved.
Flights had been purchased with my American Express Gold card, and I assumed the benefit would satisfy requirements.
Two days before the appointment, I checked again.
One sentence undid my confidence.
Coverage needed to extend across Europe.
Mine did not.
Panic arrived instantly.
But preparation had given me time. I purchased a compliant policy, printed it, inserted it into the file.
Problem resolved — quietly, thankfully.
Appointment day in Edinburgh
We travelled early, wondering how the process would unfold once we walked inside.
Our scheduling strategy was simple: my friend first, me next, giving him a chance to report surprises.
There were none.
Visa Fees came to around £130–£140 with added services.
They kept our passports.
Walking out without mine felt unnatural.
For immigrants, a passport is not a booklet.
It is permission, history, and future combined.
The train home, and dreaming again
With submission complete, excitement returned.
We opened Skyscanner.
Barcelona would remain the anchor.
But could we stretch further?
Cities began appearing, priced like invitations.
The Christmas notification
Two days before Christmas, a message arrived.
Passport out for delivery.
I was at work. My friend received it.
Seven days granted.
We had applied for five.
It felt generous — a little breathing space from the system.
I bought pizza and went straight to his place.
Now we were not asking if.
We were deciding how.
Using the extra days
A tempting thought emerged.
If we had seven days, should we use them?
We were not breaking rules. We were simply accepting flexibility.
Still, we knew: more days mean more risk. Delays, costs, complications.
We changed flights anyway.
Loss: £50.
Worth it.
Designing sleep for future us
Accommodation became a two-day marathon.
Maps zoomed in and out. Reviews contradicted each other. Walking distances at midnight suddenly felt very real.
We were booking for people we had not yet met — the tired versions of ourselves.
🇪🇸 Barcelona – start light
Budget hostel. Energy would carry us outside.
🇵🇹 Lisbon – modest upgrade
Still a hostel, but private room and balcony. Shared bathrooms, acceptable trade.
🇮🇹 Milan – plan for exhaustion
A private apartment. Close the door, reorganise, breathe.
🇪🇸 Barcelona – the return mindset
The final stretch would require kindness.
The last night
Using points transferred from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy, we booked Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Airport.
Finish strong.
When it became irreversible
By January, everything was paid.
Barcelona → Lisbon → Milan → Barcelona → home.
No more edits.
No more improvements.
Only departure remained.
The invisible side of travel
From outside, trips look spontaneous.
Inside, they are built from discipline — checking, correcting, budgeting, predicting failure before it happens.
Every calm moment rests on hidden effort.
A thought I carried forward
We say five elements keep humans alive.
Air.
Water.
Fire.
Earth.
Space.
Yet modern life seems devoted to a sixth.
Money.
Perhaps we chase it because we believe it can unlock the other five.
And somewhere between approvals, spreadsheets, and courage, I realised:
The visa did not just allow me into Europe.
It allowed me to step into a larger version of myself.