To be or not to be………? 
For most humans on our dear planet Earth obtaining a current legal copy of their birth certificate is simple. For me it has been an ongoing odyssey like an arcade game where you might have many lives, but the dreadful GAME OVER keeps filling your screen because of one silly move. In my case that silly move was something my parents did when I was born and the months following that happy occasion.
It has been more than 3 years since I started my quest to obtain a letter of marriageability from the Dutch Embassy. The Embassy needs from me, in addition to a valid passport and an permanent residency confirmation (both I have), a current legal birth certificate. This is where my odyssey begins.
The only evidence I have that I was ever born to the human population is a flimsy tissue like paper legalized by the Belgian Embassy in Taiwan. That was no typo! The Belgian Embassy put their chop and signature on the document to legalize it.
The Netherlands still do not recognize Taiwan as a country. For the Dutch and many other countries Taiwan is considered part of China. Funny though because Chinese need visas if they wish to travel to Taiwan.
Ok so my original birth certificate – now wondering if I can even consider this document a birth certificate – was issued by Dr. Lee (RIP), legalized by the Belgians and used to apply for my very first passport from The Netherlands Embassy in Hong Kong.
Did I lose everyone there? Perplexed? You are not alone!
To be continued………………………………….
Yikes!! You should make multiple copies of that and put one in a safe!! On a more serious note… I hope you get through this situation alright! Sounds like a very frustrating process. 😦