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| Bureaucracy Eternal? |
In any case, enough of the mediocre medical metaphors, let's move on to the gist. For today I will introduce to the intricacies of the Belgian Bureacracy, the mother of all bureaucracies, the ultimate challenge for an immigrant. Here goes.
Fact 1: In order to make your stay in Belgium legal, you must register at your respective commune (district of Brussels). Each district has its own office, closely modelled after Kafka's Trial, where you can enjoy the pleasures of queuing for hours and hours on end.
Fact 2: After a visit in the above mentioned establishment, a policeman must come by your house, unnannouced, in order to check if you actually live where you boldly claim to live. If the policeman is satisfied with the visit and states that you are not trying to trick the city of Brussels into believing that you live in one place but actually live somewhere else for an obscure reason only known to yourself, you will be issued a paper, which after three months will entitle you to kindly ask for a resident's ID card, please. Yes, the famous carte de sejour is back in the game!
Fact 3: In order to be able to ask for the said ID card, you need: a) a job; b) insurance; c) a lot of patience.
Fact 4: If you ever decide to change flats in Brussels... well, don't. The whole procedure will only start again, featuring a different commune and policemen who never come by and yet are happy to report you don't live under the given address.
I have now been trying to officially change addresses for two months. The first way round, back in October, the policeman didn't manage to get hold of me (I go to work and stuff, instead of just staying at home for a month) and so the commune cancelled my registration. When I went there, furious, I found out from a nice lady that a) I had been issued a wrong number, she could not help me and so I had to wait in a different queue for another hour and b) the whole procedure had to be re-started. I have tried calling the police but was only informed that "if the policeman doesn't find me at home it means I don't live there". What can one say to such twisted Belgian logic?
Fact 1: In order to make your stay in Belgium legal, you must register at your respective commune (district of Brussels). Each district has its own office, closely modelled after Kafka's Trial, where you can enjoy the pleasures of queuing for hours and hours on end.
Fact 2: After a visit in the above mentioned establishment, a policeman must come by your house, unnannouced, in order to check if you actually live where you boldly claim to live. If the policeman is satisfied with the visit and states that you are not trying to trick the city of Brussels into believing that you live in one place but actually live somewhere else for an obscure reason only known to yourself, you will be issued a paper, which after three months will entitle you to kindly ask for a resident's ID card, please. Yes, the famous carte de sejour is back in the game!
Fact 3: In order to be able to ask for the said ID card, you need: a) a job; b) insurance; c) a lot of patience.
Fact 4: If you ever decide to change flats in Brussels... well, don't. The whole procedure will only start again, featuring a different commune and policemen who never come by and yet are happy to report you don't live under the given address.
I have now been trying to officially change addresses for two months. The first way round, back in October, the policeman didn't manage to get hold of me (I go to work and stuff, instead of just staying at home for a month) and so the commune cancelled my registration. When I went there, furious, I found out from a nice lady that a) I had been issued a wrong number, she could not help me and so I had to wait in a different queue for another hour and b) the whole procedure had to be re-started. I have tried calling the police but was only informed that "if the policeman doesn't find me at home it means I don't live there". What can one say to such twisted Belgian logic?
To some up, I am waiting for the police again. Then I only have to be summoned to the commune a couple of times and this should be it. About a year after my arrival in Belgium, I will officially be registered. I will also become a proud owner of a valid electronic ID card. Life can't get much better than this!
Only will you believe me when I say that this is actually more complicated than Gabon?
