A Good Interior Ministry Story

A few weeks ago I had to go to the Interior Ministry to apply for a new ID card since I have a new address.  Everything went fine and I actually managed to do everything in Czech.

Today I had an appointment to go pick up my card.  I was given my new card but noticed that the card had the incorrect address printed on it.  It was neither my old address or the new address.  I explained to the clerk that it wasn't correct and of course she didn't believe me.  She looked at her computer screen and said it was correct.  Again, I said that it wasn't my address.  She pulled out my paperwork and saw that I was correct; they printed the wrong address.  She asked me to wait out in the hallway while she spoke to her colleague.

About five minutes later, the original clerk from a few weeks ago came out and apologised to me.  I'm not sure what was a bigger shock, the fact that she apologised or that all of a sudden she could speak English.

Mistakes do happen and this really wasn't that big of a deal.  Yet she continued to apologise over and over.  She explained that they would correct the mistake and that I would not have to pay for the additional replacement card.  The drawback was that I would need to redo my biometrics and pick up the new card in a couple of weeks.

She then escorted me to the front of the line so that I would not have to queue up for the biometrics.  Wow!!  The Interior Ministry spoke English, was nice and polite, and apologised that a mistake was made.  Wow!!

It was a great but now I'm scared that Hell has frozen over and that I will see pigs fly.  A mate suggested that I should have quickly bought some some lottery tickets before my luck ran out.

Re-register with the Foreign Police

I had hoped when I received my last ID card that it would be a very long time before I had to go back to the Interior Ministry.  That hope was short lived.  I actually needed to make two visits but I just combined them and did everything at once.

1.  Since I have a new passport I needed to give the information to the authorities.
2.  Since I'm moving I need to update my ID card.  I needed to show a copy of my new lease, provide biometric data and buy a 1000 Kč (~$39) stamp.

I'm not 100% on the law but I believe that you need to report a new address within 30 days of moving.

Oh a joyful day of bureaucracy but, all and all, it was't actually too bad.  I did manage to do everything in Czech.  It should take about two weeks before my new ID card is ready.  What's nice is that I got to keep my current card while my new one is in the works. 

Another Visa Approval

My long bus ride from Baku to Tbilisi was pretty uneventful.  It was definitely easier leaving Azerbaijan than it was trying to get in.

The most exciting moment came when I got a call on my mobile from the Czech Interior Ministry.  My visa application was approved.  Yeah!!  I was given an appointment time for next week to have my photograph and biometrics taken for my new Schengen ID card. 

My new visa will allow me to remain in Czech Republic for another two years.  However, in one year I will be eligible to apply for permanent residency which means I won't have to deal with two year extension requests anymore.  However, I will still have to first pass the prerequisite Czech language exam at the A2, or higher, level.

Now it's bed time.  I have to be up in a few hours to catch my flight back home.

Brno Waste Collection Fee

Effective January 1, 2013, there is a new fee in place for foreigners living in Brno.  All Czechs in Brno pay a yearly fee for waste collection.  For some reason, I don't know why not, the only foreigners required to pay it before were those with permanent residency.  I think that most people assumed that it was a part of the monthly utilities paid to the landlord.  With so many expats living in Brno, I suppose the city realized that they were losing lots of money by not having us foreigners pay our fair share.

The new rule says that everyone in Brno, including foreigners (both EU and non-EU citizens), staying over three months must pay the garbage collection fee.  The responsibility to pay is on the individual residents, not the landlord or property owner.  The fee must be paid before May 31st or within 15 days of moving in to a new place.  The fine for not paying is three times the yearly amount and can be enforced by seizure of one's property.

The fee is only 675 Kč (~$34) per year.  Back in Atlanta, I used to pay over four times that amount.  Besides, it looks like I've received free sanitation services for almost four years so 675 Kč seems like a bargain to me.  The fee has to be paid by everyone living in a house or flat.  However, a family does not have to pay for a third or subsequent child under the age of 15, (or under 26 for students living at home). 

For people moving to Brno after May, then a pro-rated amount must be paid.  If you move flats, then you have to apply to the city for a refund for your current place, and pay the appropriate amount for the new place.

I went online and arranged a bank transfer for the fee.  It was very easy.  I've been registered with the foreign police since I moved here, so I only had to provide my birth number as my identification. 

Another Visa Check

I'm on the bus to Vienna to catch my flight to Copenhagen.  As we approached the Austrian border, the bus had to pull off to the side of the road and the Czech police got on as part of a random Schengen inspection.

This happened once before when I went to Vienna to catch my flight to Sofia.

Same as before, I just had to show my biometric ID card.  Everyone's documents were fine and we were allowed to cross in to Austria.

Next stop:  Denmark!

Visa Check

My biometric ID finally worked. It hasn't worked at airport security and it didn't work at the DMV.

My bus from Brno to the Vienna Airport was supposed to leave at 3:20 AM. Right before it was time to depart three Brno police officers got on the bus and said that this was a random spot check.

Everyone had to show their passports. I gave the officer my ID card, he scanned it, handed it back to me and that was it. Everyone must have passed the inspection because by 3:30 we were on our way. This was the first time I've ever had my papers checked by the police. I guess this was the Czech version of an INS raid. Oh well, the important thing is that I passed and I'm now at the airport waiting for my flight to Sofia. Let the adventure begin.

No License Yet

Well, no license yet. So I took my paperwork and my passport photo down to the Brno Magistrát (city hall) in order to get my driver's license. I was so looking forward to having my license and putting this ordeal to rest. Yeah...no such luck.

Typical Czech bureaucracy. I went to the office first thing in the morning. I selected the option for a driver's license (řidičských průkazů) from the 'take a number' machine and waited less than five minutes to be called.

The clerk asked for my paperwork, my photo and my passport. I thought that this would be a good chance to try out my new biometric ID card. Nope. She would only accept my passport because she needed to see the stamp showing that I was registered with the foreign police for a minimum of six months. Never mind that my new ID card shows that I am registered. This defeats the purpose of not having to carry around my passport. Fortunately, I had a feeling that something like this would happen so I had brought my passport along, just in case.

I then signed her forms and she told me to come back in two week and not to forget to bring in 50 Kč (~$3). What!?!? Two weeks? Yes, come back in two weeks. The ČR is not like the USA where the DMV takes your picture and you get your license in a few minutes. Here you bring in your own picture and pick up your license at least two weeks later.

I asked if there was any sort of paper that shows I have a driver's license but I am simply waiting on the permanent card to be issued. She looked at me like I had three heads. I don't have a driver's license because I haven't been issued it yet because it hasn't been two weeks yet. Ugh!!! Sometimes I wonder how things ever get done around here. Oh well, I guess the saga will continue for another couple of weeks.

I'm Legal Again

Finally!! I'm legal again. I received a phone call from the Interior Ministry that my new long-term visa was ready and I went to pick it up this past Monday. I've been legal all along but now I have proof.

Czech bureaucracy is an odd thing. The clerk showed me that I'm legal in the system until 2013. However, the new visa sticker in my passport is only valid until this December. Apparently, I will get a phone call in October to return to the Interior Ministry for a biometric identity card.

I'm actually glad to be getting the ID card so that I don't always have to carry my passport around. What I don't know is if I will get a new visa sticker for my passport when I get my ID card. Since I'm not an EU citizen I don't want to have any problems traveling in and out of the Schengen Zone. I'm not sure if this ID card will work outside of the ČR. When I flew from England to Germany earlier this year, the officials in Hannover held my passport for 5 minutes. They took a magnifying glass to my visa to verify that that it was legitimate. I guess they were confused by an American passport with a Czech EU visa. Who knows?

I don't know why I had to provide the government with a new photograph because they used the same picture I gave them last year. This visa, and my temporary visa, also included my Czech birth number. But at this point I don't care. I'm just happy to be legal for another 2 years.

Temporary Visa

Well, it turns out I had to go back to the Interior Ministry to get a temporary extension to my visa. My current visa expires this Saturday but that's OK. Rather...OK, as long as I stay in the ČR because if I were stopped for some reason by the foreign police, then they could verify that my new two-year visa is pending.

The catch is that I just found out I have to participate in an IBM seminar in Bratislava next week. Since both countries are part of the Schengen area there are no passport checks when traveling from one to the other. However, what if something were to happen while I was in Slovakia? Not too sure if the Slovak officials would contact the Czech Interior Ministry to make sure that I'm legal.

I was able to go to the ministry yesterday but had to wait for 4 hours because there were no appointments available. I explained that I needed a short-term extension on my visa to cover me until my new long-term visa is ready. After my 4 hours in line, it was a quick 15 minutes to get everything sorted. The clerk printed off a new visa sticker that is identical to the one I received last year except that my new expiration date is 1 July 2011. I didn't even have to pay anything for the temporary visa since the delay on my new permanent visa is due to the backlog generated by the recent change in application procedures. Hopefully, I'll get my new visa sometime in May.

Interior Ministry

There have been some changes this year when it comes to visas. The Czech Interior Ministry has taken over, from the Foreign Police, the administration of long-term residence permits (green cards).

Brno used to have two foreign police branches. The smaller office was for EU citizens. But you also got to use this office if you were an American, Canadian or Croatian. Then there was the large office when everyone else had to go to. The smaller office was so much better.

This year I had to submit all of my documents to the regional Interior Ministry office. Fortunately, the lady in charge of visas at IBM made an appointment for me so I didn't have to wait in a massive queue. It seems that not many people know you can actually make an appointment.

Beginning in May 2011, non-EU citizens will be issued biometric residence permit cards. I would much rather have a biometric permit card than have to carry my passport around with me all of the time. Unfortunately, I miss the May date because I had to submit my application in April. So I'll get the card the next time I renew my visa...in another two years.

The Interior Ministry has taken over visa processing as of January 1st and they are still working out some of the kinks in the system. I'm told that it now takes 3 to 5 weeks to receive the new visa. They will send me a text message when my visa is ready. They will not give you the current status over the telephone.

My current visa expires at the end of April. If I'm stopped by the police after my visa expires then I'm still OK because they will call to verify that my application is pending. If something comes up and I need to leave the ČR then the Interior Ministry will issue me a 2-month visa as a hold over until my 2-year visa is ready. After my trip to the Balkans I don't have anything planned until Paris in May so I shouldn't need a temporary visa.

Time For a New Work Permit

It's time to start the paper work needed to extend my stay here in the ČR. The first step is to request a new work permit. Here's a copy of my original work permit which was good for two years. It will take about a month to receive my new work permit, which will allow me to legally work in the ČR for another two years. But that won't let me live here. I know...it's crazy.

As soon as I receive my new work permit, then I will apply for a new long-term visa (Schengen visa) that will allow me to live in Europe. This time, I'm going to apply for a two year visa so that I won't have to go through all of this next year. This year there has been a change where the Foreign Police no longer have responsibility for handling visas. It has been taken over by the Czech Interior Ministry. But more on that later.

Now back to the work permit. Luckily, IBM has a department that helps out with some of this stuff. In order to apply for the new work permit I had to supply a photo, a copy of my passport, a copy of my current work permit, a copy of my current visa, a copy of my highest university degree and a signed power of attorney for the Bureau of Labor. The paperwork will get submitted next week and in 30 days I should have a new work permit.

Visa Renewed

Woo-Hoo!!! I'z legal for another year!

I guess all of that running around last month paid off. I went back to the foreign police office today to see if my new visa was ready and it was. And just three weeks to the the day from when I submitted my application.

I was proud of myself too because I did everything at the office in Czech. But that's also because no one spoke English, German, French or Spanish.

Regardless, I can now stay in the ČR for another year. I don't have access here to a color scanner so the black & white picture will have to do. This one doesn't look anything like my original visa. From what I understand it's because the first one was a visa issued by a Czech embassy outside of the country and this one was a residency permit issued from within the country. So from now on they will look like this.

The only small problem is that this permit takes up a whole page in my passport. Pretty soon, I'll have to visit the American embassy in either Prague, Bratislava or Vienna, and pay to have extra blank pages added to my passport. Sounds like a really boring day trip.

Visa Extension Application

Well today I went to the Foreign Police office and submitted all of my paperwork to request an extension on my long-term visa. Again, since I'm not an EU citizen I have a lot more hoops to jump through.

My original work permit is good through April 28, 2011. So I have permission to work in the country until then. However, my original long-term visa, which allows me to live in the country, expires at the end of next month. Go figure...so here's what I had to submit.

1. A copy of my original lease.
2. An notarized amendment to my lease extending it from August until April 28, 2011.
3. Since my building is a co-op (Družstvo) I needed a notarized document showing that my landlord was allowed to rent the apartment to me.
4. Land registry statement
5. Business registry statement for the družstvo - 140 Kč (~$7.40)
6. Copy of my original work permit
7. Copy of my passport
8. Copy of my original visa
9. A new passport photo
10. Copy of my health insurance card
11. 4-page application form with a 1000 Kč (~$53) stamp that IBM provided

There are two foreign police offices in town. Fortunately, citizens of the EU, Americans, Canadians and Croatians get to use the smaller office at Cejl. Everyone else has to use the main office. I've been there before and it is crazy busy. I was told to come back in a couple of weeks to check on my application. I'm not expecting any problems so I should have my new visa by mid-April.

Foreign Police

The foreign police is basically Czech immigration. The relocation agent from IBS, Iva, who handled my work permits here, met me at the foreign police office yesterday. Thank goodness, I had someone there who could speak Czech because the place was very confusing. For a place that deals with foreigners I would think that things would be posted in other languages. Especially since most people there were applying for work visas. Nope. I saw lots of people holding Ukrainian and Vietnamese passports waiting to apply. Our appointment was for 9 AM but at about 9:05 we found out that as of July 1, the department we needed was at another building. We jumped in Iva's car, went in, walked right up to the window, presented my approved visa and that was it. Not quite sure what I expected. Iva said that it's really just a formality because my work permit/green card had already been approved by the government. I do have to update the police when I find a permanent place to live. In one year, I have to apply for a visa renewal. I can apply for a 1 or 2 year renewal but I have to show a lease that is for 1 or 2 years respectively.

Since the foreign police took so little time I decided to get a haircut. Again, I have got to learn Czech. The whole sign language thing really didn't work out too well. It's not a bad cut but it is very Euro short. My heart sank a bit at first but it will grow back out. Let's just say that my hair hasn't been this short since my Air Force days. Oh well...scalped for about $8.

Czechs Don't Write Checks

I now have a Czech bank account with Raiffeisenbank. I have my main debit account which IBM will set up for direct deposit and then a savings account that earns interest. But it's weird as an American to open a bank account without checking. If you set up direct deposit over 25.000 Kč (Czech crowns) then there are no monthly maintenance fees -- 25.000 Kč is about $1,200 USD. Europeans use periods for thousands and commas for decimals. 

A few things were kind of different about opening the account. Besides showing my passport and Czech work visa (green card), you have to have a cell phone to open an account because a temporary PIN code gets texted to you in order to activate the account. Good thing I still have service on my U.S. cell phone for a few more weeks. I was able to set up a dual currency account for both crowns and dollars. I'm getting a Visa debit card in 7 days but it's not mailed to you. You have to go back to the opening branch to pick it up. Extra security I guess. 

I get two free withdrawals from my bank's ATMs per month. Then it's 9,90 kč (about 50 cents) per transaction. It's also 9,90 Kč everytime you use another bank's ATM. 

Here's the kicker for my Equifax friends...despite having worked in the credit industry for the last nine years, I have no Czech credit history. LOL!!! Once I have collected 3 monthly pay statements from IBM then I'll go back to my branch to apply for a credit card. I'll need a Czech credit card over here because everytime I use a U.S. card, I get charged a 2%-3% foreign transaction fee by the U.S. banks. Bastards!

At least the bank agent had some basic English which helped. But it still took a couple of hours to get everything set up. When I go back to apply for a credit card I'll also open an investment account. Well enough about banking. Tomorrow's adventure begins with my 9 AM appointment at the foreign police (immigration control) and possibly a haircut.  More to follow later...

I's Legal Now!

Woo-Hoo!!! I received my green card (povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu) from the Czech Embassy. I can now legally enter the EU and stay more than 90 days without getting deported. And the cool thing is that I got my visa about 8 weeks ahead of schedule.

As I said in an earlier post, you can apply for your green card before you receive your work permit, as long as, you can prove that you have applied for a work permit (povolení k zaměstnání). The relocation company in Prague wanted me to wait for my work permit before even applying for my visa. In other words, they were going to have me apply for my visa this week and wait 3-4 months for it to process. Instead I applied about 5 weeks ago. IBS delivered my work permit to the foreign police on Wednesday, they approved my pending application on Thursday and I received my visa from the Washington Embassy on Friday. YEAH!!!!!

I can actually book flights now. I hope to leave Atlanta in about 3 weeks which will allow me to visit my family in California for about a week. I can then fly from L.A. the first week in July, register with the foreign police once I get to Brno and start working July 6th. Good grief! Move to Europe in 3 weeks!?! I have to get busy with packing up my stuff and figure out where I'm going to stay.

Work Permit Was Approved

OK....now I'm one step closer to Brno. IBS e-mailed to let me know they received my approved work permit and that it was delivered to the Czech foreign police today. Now I just have to wait on the foreign police to approve my 1-year long-term residency permit (green card) so I can get my passport back from the embassy in DC. Hopefully, I'll get my green card within the next 8 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!