as some of you already know (cause I wouldn’t stop fucking complaining about it), the second half of my 2011 was marked by the rather unpleasant experience of dealing with the Home Office.
now that this is done with and I have the yellow piece of paper with my image and information on it, I am ready to roll. meaning, I am ready to consult with an European lawyer (those who engage with cases of discrimination, political correctness and such in the European union) about the legality of the whole process of getting the work permit issued (call it the way you want it, it’s still a fucking work permit).
I was already asked by several people wasn’t I overreacting since obviously all Bulgarians and Romanians who want to work in the UK have gone through this process, and the short answer is ‘no’. the long answer is as following:
yes, of course all Bulgarians and Romanians have to get this yellow piece of shit certificate done but here’s the thing, this applies only for citizens of the said two countries. and would be perfectly fine since the governments of both signed the safeguard clauses before joining the EU that could be applied until 2013, including such over working freely in other EU countries. good.
now let me tell you some of the documents I was asked to send over the post to Sheffield. my original passport (or ID) and my original European health insurance card. basically, the two things I sort of might need at any given point. and to make things even better, I sent them away mid-August. do you know when I got them back? December 19th. At some point in November I gave them a call and they told me my case went in on September 27th. more than a month after I sent my documents. I was further told they could hold my documents for up to 6 months. six. fucking. months. they had mine for five, and I’m a student. does this make me more suspicious than the rest of the Bulgarians and Romanians who apply for such a certificate?
(wait, here’s more) by the time I went back to Bulgaria for the holidays I hadn’t had my documents back meaning I didn’t have my passport and had to fly with my ID instead. here’s my question to all British officials out there: let’s just presume I didn’t have a passport. I don’t actually need one to enter the UK. so, I send away my ID and become a prisoner of this country. literally. I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere abroad as I wouldn’t have the documents required to leave. this is in a direct violation of my right of free movement in the borders of the EU. and I wouldn’t be able to go back home which would’ve pissed me off a lot. and even I did have an ID, I wouldn’t be able to travel overseas.
and by the way, according to probably several European laws, holding anyone’s original passport by anyone is quite illegal anyway.
(just hold on) on the certificate itself it says it was issued on December 5th. so what the fuck were you doing with it for two weeks before you decided to send it back? and how exactly are those “many” Bulgarians and Romanians who apply for this certificate that it takes fucking ages to get issued?
so, to sum it all up, I will get a legal advice on this matter and decide what to do about it next, cause the past few months have been fucking ridiculous. sometimes I really am the worst person you could decide to piss off.
