Passports...
Today, I went to the Ekeren district house[1] to get me a passport, in order to be able to fly to Argentina in about a month. As I was queueing at the desk, I realized that I'd forgotten some pictures of myself, so I left the queue, found the closest photo shop, and had them take some pictures of me. When I returned to the district house, gave them my new pictures and my identity card, with the request to furnish me a passport, the lady behind the desk told me that I apparently still had a passport. While no longer valid, I still need to hand that in before I can be given a new passport. Or, alternatively, I could go to the police office, tell them that I cannot find the passport anymore, and use the document they'd give me to get me a new passport. That, too, would work.
So that's the option I decided to take. I quickly went to the police office, which is rather close to the district house; luckily nobody was queueing before me there. By the time I got back to the district house, it was about 14:50, while they close at 15:00. So I went ahead and started queueing again.
Suddenly, I notice that my pictures were gone. For some reason, the idiots at the photo shop have deviced an "envelope" that does not hold the pictures -- they have three places where they can easily leave the "envelope". And that's exactly what had happened: no more pictures. So I ask the lady behind the desk whether she'd be willing to wait a few more minutes after their official closing time, so that I'd be able to go and look for them. She didn't mind.
Unfortunately, I only found one picture. The other five were nowhere to be found... and with only one picture, the district office can't help me; they need two of them.
So, now, I've not only lost an hour of my life, but I've also lost €8.00 for pictures that are now no longer useful to me. And I'll have to do all of this again, some time next week.
Dammit.
[1] although I don't live in Ekeren anymore, officially I do: the apartment where I live does not exist according to the Mechelen city administration. Before I can officially move there, the landlord needs to deal with that, which apparently involves quite some bureaucracy. For one thing, he needs 6—yes, six—copies of the building plans, along with a particular form with a particular number. Probably needs to jump through a number of hoops, too—I wouldn't be surprised.
Welcome to the wonderful world of bureaucracy. I was born in Slovakia but now live in the United States. I kept my Certificate of Citizenship, my passport, and my Social Security card in one folder, which was a big mistake (they say you shouldn't leave all your eggs in one basket, and now I know why). During a recent move, I lost or misplaced the folder. I couldn't find any of those documents. I am starting a new job and need a second form of ID with my driver's license to fill out the tax forms (specifically, either a Social Security card, passport, birth certificate [or in my case, Citizenship paper], military ID, or something along those lines). If I can't prove my right to work, I can't fill out the tax forms, and I can't work.
So I go to the Social Security Administration office. It says online that you only need to fill out a form and bring a driver's license, and you'll get a new card in 2 weeks. Well, that's for native-born citizens. I'm foreign born, and it turns out I'm still listed in their system as a "Permanent Resident -- Allowed to Work," not a citizen. I got my citizenship in 1988, but that was before the internets and mass cross-referencing of databases. Their system was simply never updated.
So how do I prove I'm a citizen? I need the certificate. That takes 9-15 months to process, depending on which random source on the internet you use. The alternative is I'd need the Permanent Alien card that I was issued as I child when I entered the United States. I don't have that. Got rid of it long ago when I got the citizenship paper.
How about a passport? I need a current passport (but it's lost, remember), a birth certificate, or a citizenship paper to get that, too. Alternatively, I could use a foreign birth certificate, my parents' citizenship papers, and proof of entry into the United States -- which would have been the Permanent Alien card that I don't have.
So I'm up shit creek without a paddle. After a lot of pleading, I got somebody at the SSA office to contact the Department of State and confirm that I am a citizen, not a Permanent Resident, and I also found out that as a citizen, even foreign-born, I only need a driver's license to get a new SS card.
So after days of wrangling with bureaucrats, my SS card is in the mail and I will be able to start work on time.