Well, as of this morning I have my official permit to stay in Italy – notwithstanding the supposedly free European labour market, there’s still a three-month wait to get the paperwork done. As far as I can tell, a lot of people from western Europe just don’t bother, and no-one particularly cares. It’s if you’re from eastern Europe, or outside the EU, that you really need one of these things. The immigration office is crazy – it’s open 9-1, three days a week. You have to go in person. The bloke behind me in the queue was going to be late for work, but couldn’t do anything sensible like, say, make an appointment or send a letter. And all he needed was a replacement photo on his permit. Another man was having his application loudly turned down because his partner’s permit had, apparently, run out. ‘The two of you need to come back on Wednesday,’ said the woman behind the counter, cheerfully ignoring the fact that, perhaps, they might need to work. I’ve always read stories back home about how bad the immigration system is, but doing it in person you really see the double standards.
-
- 2005-12-30 @ 14:30:23
Germany's rules (and the bureaucracy) are very similar. A problem when getting my residence permit was the fact that no-one seems to be aware that Britain is a member of the EU...
In Britain you don't need a residence permit as an "EU-foreigner", do you? Sometimes I get the impression (also based on talking to other people working in other EU states) that - bizarrely - the British governments often actually interpret the letter of European directives exactly as was intended - and a lot of governments do what they like.
Every few years I get a letter telling me I have the right to vote in local and European elections. It has a very begrudging tone - "it's not our fault, some European law's to blame" - and of course, at the polling station they look very confused, give me too many ballot papers, then demand most of them back and look at them in a very confused manner when they see I'd spoilt them all anyway.
In many parts of Germany, the moment someone from the rest of the EU loses their job their residence permit is cancelled (and the worker is even sometimes deported). Work here, pay taxes, yes. Sign on? Forget it. Away with you!