How to Buy a Guinea-Bissau ID Card (Step-by-Step Guide for You)

Well, let me tell you, this Guinea-Bissau ID card thing, it ain’t as easy as pie. You need one, you gotta jump through some hoops. First off, you gotta have a reason, right? Can’t just waltz in and say, “Gimme an ID card!” They gonna look at you like you got two heads.

I hear tell you gotta go to some big shot office place. Like a consulate. Or is it an embassy? Shoot, I always get those mixed up. It’s like the big house where they do all the important papers and stuff. You gotta go there, I reckon, during their work hours. Can’t go on Sunday when you are done with church, gotta go when they are open for business.

And they ain’t gonna just hand it over. You gotta show ’em some proof. Like your passport maybe. I reckon a passport is like a key to getting other important papers. Kinda shows who you are and where you’re from. They want to make sure you’re not some kind of a… a hooligan, you know? Just trying to get a Guinea-Bissau ID card for no good reason.

• Passport, that’s a big one. Gotta have that.
• Maybe a visa? That is for going to a different country.
• Some folks said something about a yellow fever shot paper.

Now, this whole ID card business, it can be a real headache. I heard from Bessie, you know, she’s got family over there. She said it took her boy near ’bout a month to get his. He had to fill out a mountain of forms, this and that, all kinds of questions. And then the waiting! Oh, the waiting is the worst part.

They got different kinds of ID, too. Like, there’s one for folks who are just visiting, and another for folks who are gonna stay a spell. And then there is this Shengen thing. That is like a group of places, if you got that, you can go all around, or something like that. Like a free pass or something to travel in those places. You gotta figure out which one you need before you even start.

And don’t think you can just show up empty-handed. They want you to have all your ducks in a row. Like, they might ask where you’re gonna be staying. You gotta have a paper from the hotel or wherever you are planting your feet. They call it a confirmation. Fancy word for saying, “Yep, this person’s got a bed here.”

Then there is this “return ticket” thing. They want to make sure you ain’t planning on staying forever, I guess. Gotta show ’em you got a way back home. It’s all about making sure everything is on the up and up, you see. And you gotta have insurance. Like a safety net. In case you get sick or something. It is better to have it.

They say the best way to get through it all is to be prepared. Have all your papers in order, know what you need, and be patient. It is like making a quilt, you need all your pieces ready before you start sewing. And it takes time to make a good one. Then pay the money. It is like 1 or something. It is not very expensive, I think.

Oh, and this whole thing is for Guinea-Bissau. I want to make sure it’s clear. This little country. This Guinea-Bissau ID card ain’t gonna be no good in, say, China. Each place has their own rules, you know.

• Short term stay, like a vacation.
• Long term stay, like living there.
• Guinea-Bissau ID card is only for Guinea-Bissau.

So, if you are thinking about getting a Guinea-Bissau ID card, just know it ain’t a walk in the park. But it ain’t climbing Mount Everest either. Just gotta be prepared, patient, and have all your papers straight. And maybe say a little prayer, wouldn’t hurt. The process is like planting seeds. You plant it, but you don’t know if it will grow and when it will grow. It takes time to see the results. The process is annoying, but it is necessary, I think.

There is one special visa too. I think it is called Courtesy Visa. I don’t know what it is about. But I guess there is a process for that, too. You need to apply and submit documents, or something like that. And Americans, they can go to Senegal to do this ID card application, I think. They have an office there. An embassy. It is in the capital, Dakar. And they can do this immigrant and nonimmigrant things, whatever that means. But they can do that there for people from Guinea-Bissau.

This whole thing is like a big pot of stew. Lots of ingredients, lots of steps, and it takes time to cook it just right. But if you follow the recipe, you’ll get there eventually. Just don’t be surprised if it takes a while, and you gotta stir the pot a few times to make sure it all cooks evenly. It is not easy to understand, but I think if you try, you can get it. It’s like when you learn to ride a bike. At first it is difficult, but then it is easy.