December 2, 2008 (AM)
Before letting you know what's happened in the past three weeks, I need to rant for a second. So, as you might have assumed already, I have yet to receive my receipt for the Carte de Sejour (CdS). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a quick overview:
When issued my visa before coming to France, it was written in my passport that, upon arrival, I should have an apartment contract and CdS receipt available to show to French officials if some problem were to arise. It would basically be necessary to prove that I legally have the right to stay and work here in France. The CdS is an important document for all non-European Union citizens hoping to spend more than three or more consecutive months in France.
When you go to the Prefecture and apply for the CdS, you receive a receipt that is considered just as important as the CdS itself. With the receipt, you can go ahead and apply for social security, medical insurance, CAF (housing refunds), and so on. If you have neither, you can't really do anything. That's where I'm stuck at the moment. Just waiting for my receipt because somehow the lady at the Rectorat who took it upon herself to handle CdS paperwork for ALL non-EU assistants in the Alpes-Maritimes region (~40 people) has accomplished nothing in the past SEVEN weeks. A couple weeks ago I got mail from the Social Security office asking where my CdS receipt was, and I decided that I should email this lady at the Rectorat. No response. So I called her the following week and got some lame excuse about how there were problems with our CdS at the Prefecture. I don't care. I want my CdS receipt.
So today she finally wrote all of the assistants saying we need to meet at the Prefecture next Thursday at 1:30pm, passport in hand, to pick up our receipts. Problem is, I and a lot of other people have class. In her email she also noted that, should we not come to the appointment, we'd have to wait until January to receive the CdS receipt. That means no social security, no medical insurance, no caf (no money!) for a while. And me, being my mother's child, was pissed. I wrote an email (in French) asking what us working people should do.
And then I became even angrier...and wrote a VERY direct (and slightly rude) email telling her it was a bunch of bullcrap. How we handed our paperwork in less than two weeks after our contract started. How we have done everything asked of us. How it is all out of our hands...and most importantly...how I will be illegally living here if she doesn't get her crap together and figure this out. However, I'm not going to wait around for this woman to screw things up more. Following Emily's advice, I'm going into work tomorrow (on my day off!) to ask my Proviseur (high school principal) if I can skip my classes next Thursday so I can go to the Prefecture and get everything sorted out. This paperwork is the pits, and I wish that I could just punch that lady in the face.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is me blowing steam....
When issued my visa before coming to France, it was written in my passport that, upon arrival, I should have an apartment contract and CdS receipt available to show to French officials if some problem were to arise. It would basically be necessary to prove that I legally have the right to stay and work here in France. The CdS is an important document for all non-European Union citizens hoping to spend more than three or more consecutive months in France.
When you go to the Prefecture and apply for the CdS, you receive a receipt that is considered just as important as the CdS itself. With the receipt, you can go ahead and apply for social security, medical insurance, CAF (housing refunds), and so on. If you have neither, you can't really do anything. That's where I'm stuck at the moment. Just waiting for my receipt because somehow the lady at the Rectorat who took it upon herself to handle CdS paperwork for ALL non-EU assistants in the Alpes-Maritimes region (~40 people) has accomplished nothing in the past SEVEN weeks. A couple weeks ago I got mail from the Social Security office asking where my CdS receipt was, and I decided that I should email this lady at the Rectorat. No response. So I called her the following week and got some lame excuse about how there were problems with our CdS at the Prefecture. I don't care. I want my CdS receipt.
So today she finally wrote all of the assistants saying we need to meet at the Prefecture next Thursday at 1:30pm, passport in hand, to pick up our receipts. Problem is, I and a lot of other people have class. In her email she also noted that, should we not come to the appointment, we'd have to wait until January to receive the CdS receipt. That means no social security, no medical insurance, no caf (no money!) for a while. And me, being my mother's child, was pissed. I wrote an email (in French) asking what us working people should do.
And then I became even angrier...and wrote a VERY direct (and slightly rude) email telling her it was a bunch of bullcrap. How we handed our paperwork in less than two weeks after our contract started. How we have done everything asked of us. How it is all out of our hands...and most importantly...how I will be illegally living here if she doesn't get her crap together and figure this out. However, I'm not going to wait around for this woman to screw things up more. Following Emily's advice, I'm going into work tomorrow (on my day off!) to ask my Proviseur (high school principal) if I can skip my classes next Thursday so I can go to the Prefecture and get everything sorted out. This paperwork is the pits, and I wish that I could just punch that lady in the face.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is me blowing steam....
posted by ashley at
8:15 PM
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