Residence Permit Issues Continue

So the registration period on my records in Maastricht have been changed.

Dear Adelina

I checked the on-line form and printed PDF, and it was indicated that she would be here for two semesters…. So that is how she got registered for a whole year, not one semester. Seeing as this was not the intention we will have the registration changed. Note that the semester runs officially from 1 September to 23 January 2009, and these will be the dates on the enrolment certificate and for the residence permit.

But apparently their official semester is until January 23 mean I still need to send more money (374 Euros).

Dear Adelina,

We have contacted your faculty and they confirm that you are registered from 1-9-2008 until 23-1-2009. This means, however, that you have to prove €3875 (5 x €775). Since you have only transferred €3501, you still need to transfer an amount of €374 to complete your application.

GAHHH! When will this END?! I had originally sent them an email asking exactly how many Euros I needed to send and they had said 3100 Euros.

Dear Adelina,

You will have to deposit 3100 Euro if you are staying form September till December (four months). There is no specific deadline for transferring the deposit but we do advise you to do this as soon as possible.

Now they're saying another number! It's ridiculous! I'll need to spend extra money to send more money for a time period that I'm not even going to be in the country for! This exchange is giving me a serious headache. I'm so fed up.

At My Wits End with the Visa Office!

I am SO frustrated by the Visa Office in Maastricht (and the university itself too...). I finally was able to send my money over there a couple days ago. This morning, I woke up to this email.

Dear Adie,

We hereby confirm that we have received the correct and complete documents and payments for the residence permit application. Please refer to the enclosure for information on the further residence permit process and additional procedures.

Please inform us as soon as possible when you will arrive in the Netherlands so we can then schedule you for a meeting to complete the residence permit application.

Kind regards

Everything is good. They got the money, they knew that I sent it. That was a good sign. Then, seven minutes later, this comes in:

Dear Adie,

Unfortunately we have just sent you the wrong email. While looking at your registration period we discovered that you will be registered as a student from 1-9-2008 until 10-7-2009. This is over 10 months, so you will have to prove that you have at least 7982.50 Euro.

You have only transferred 3501 Euro. Can you please transfer the rest of the amount to our account?

Kind regards

WHAT?!?!?! No way! So I emailed the exchange coordinator at UVic and she is going to look into it. Hopefully things will work out. I'm only going to be there from Sept to Dec, 4 months, so 3100 Euros. I had talked to others and that was what they were sending or have already sent. I am SO frustrated with them!

Annoyed at the Visa Office

The visa office that issues the residence permit is starting to get rather annoying. I still haven't sent the funds for the permit, so I can understand that. They sent a reminder a couple days ago about sending the funds and I replied stating that I was having some difficulties collecting the money together as my parents are out of town and very difficult to reach. They replied saying that they understand that collecting the large sum can be difficult and suggested that I can submit the consent form and scanned passport first. So I followed their instructions and did that. They replied the next day saying that I need to physically fill in the form (I did it electronically first). At this point I was getting annoyed at all their rules (and their English isn't all that great and is difficult to understand). I did what they wanted and sent it back, only to have them reply asking where my money is.

UGH! I'm getting frustrated with them. I read the email first thing this morning and definitely was not a good start to the day. I replied with a rather curt response detailing the past couple days of emails, so hopefully they'll leave me alone and I can send them the stupid money on Monday.

Residence Permit

I received an email from the Visa Office at UM telling me about the process of applying for a permit. Canadians are allowed to be in the Netherlands for 3 months without one, but any longer, it is a requirement. As I'll be there for 4 months, their office is offering their assistance in the application process. The document they sent wasn't all that clear and was very difficult to understand. It seems to be a long and complicated process.

Past exchange students have recommended not getting a permit because a) its expensive (433 Euros or about $685 CAD - not cheap), b) no one requested to see it and c) some went on their exchange without it and did not get caught. I've decided to get it just in case. My parents feel a lot better knowing that I won't be an illegal alien and subject to fines after the first three months. I feel more comfortable knowing that nothing can happen as a result of a lack of a permit. Some past exchange students have done it and no one has gotten caught, but its really up to how each person feels I guess... I'm just not willing to chance it.

They give you a bunch of options, but essentially they want proof that you have the necessary funds to support yourself during your stay in the Netherlands. The easiest way and what they recommend is to wire transfer money into their account. In addition to the permit fee, I'm suppose to wire 775 Euros per month or 3100 Euros total for the four months. Thats about $4900 CAD... Thats a lot of money all at once... I dunno - I'm talking to my parents about it and trying to figure out the best way to do this. So complicated.