(See earlier post) for the chronology of the first 6 visits)
Visit #7 to the city offices to get a license: I show up, and all of my paperwork is accepted! It is miraculous! I am almost disappointed that I won't get to blog about this anymore! I am told to wait for the letter to arrive which tells me to pick up the license. A couple weeks later, the letter arrives - however, it tells me that my application is incomplete, and I neglected to give a copy of my health certification. I had given it during visit 6, but apparently they forgot to photocopy it. No problem, I don't mind going in for ...
Visit #8: I drop off the appropriate form, after waiting in the requisite line. NOW I can wait for the letter informing me to pick up my license. A couple weeks later, I get a message from the post office that I have to come in from across town and pick up a letter. I bike in, wait in line, pick up the letter. It is a denial from the state, saying that the RDW, the government agency that issues a license, cannot issue me a license since the computer at the RDW does not show that I have a long-term residency permit. Which I do have, but the main problem is that the RDW computer does not recognize my residency. We have gone around and around with this problem. And there apparantly is no way to fix this problem. APPLICATION DENIED.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
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6 comments:
(This commenter is rolling on the floor laughing...)
(...now commenter is getting up, sitting down and straining to put on a straight face...)
Ok, so the law requires you to get a drivers license. But you can't get one. I thought those dutch were all techie and computerized and all what-not. They can't arrest you for not having a drivers license, right? You've got a passport, and documentation that allows you to be in the country. As long as you document all the steps you did, and put it in writing, I can't imagine things can get too bad if they question you.
I'm pretty sure that if the Dutch had the equivalent of Guantanamo, I'd end up there after a routine traffic stop.
Funny, the Dutch tax authorities will have no problem verifying my residency.
Oh dear! I'm about to face this in triplicate in Zurich. Sigh.
On the bright side, the next time you come to the US you can go to AAA and they will give you an international driver's license. !! Then you can tell the Dutch policemen they can stick it... !
actually, I already have the intnl license. turns out the international drivers license is not valid after you have been living in urup for some period of time, i think 6 mos. they really want you to get the local license. good try tho. good luck with the swiss license.
I think the Dutch policeman wouldn't know what to do with a comment like that. It would be completely foreign to them- they'd say something equally strange to us in response,like 'I'm afraid that's not possible, sir" And then you'd be stuck trying to explain what the concept of sticking it is, and it would devolve into utter confusion.
I would recommend sending a long, outraged and detailed letter to the Mayor of Den Haag, and ccing every Dutch official you can think of.
Include copious attachments, complaining about the sheer incompetence of the officials responsible for this, and requesting his or her assitance.
Jeff
That would work well in the states, and would be fun to do there also. but here it would be seen as one more example of the stereotype of us here, the uncouth, easily angered American - so, instead, I let it be known through channels that I am blogging about my experience including the number of visits, all with a gentle sense of humor. and it worked! In last week's post I received a signed, hardcopy letter from the IND regretting the mistake and that it will be ok now. Well, we'll see. I'll try again on MOnday.
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