The bureacracy begins
Well, that's probably overstating things slightly. But France does have a certain reputation for a very inflexible way of doing things, and we'd been warned to bring every last scrap of paperwork with us. Of course, we've stuffed ourselves slightly by losing our marriage certificate. I applied for a new one two months ago, and found out today that our application was never received. I fussed and muttered, and they are attempting to generate one in the next two weeks, which will hopefully be sufficient...
The other piece of we-haven't-even-got-to-France-yet incompetence comes from the British Home Office. Kirstin had applied for UK citizenship last November, but we found out in May that when they returned our passports in January, it hadn't actually been in response to my request for them - it was the rejection of the entire application because we hadn't provided documentation that Kirstin was competent in English. Nevermind the master's degree in Canada, nor the PhD studies in Scotland, nor the two statements by men of the cloth that she was fluent in the tongue. So we had to get our MP involved, and resubmit all over again with a stroppy letter asking that they hurry things up a bit. And send the passports back sharpish as we had a small trip in the beginnning of August that we were going to make. Of course, they didn't send the passports back, so the MP's office had to ring them again (special MP hotline they have) and beg for them. They have arrived, at least.
But the signs of impending French bureacracy? A request from my new employer that I should bring my birth certificate complete with parents names, in French, with me on the first day at work. Of course, Canadian certificates don't acknowledge the responsibility of anyone in the birth of this child, so that's not going to work. And I'm not sure, apart from the phrase "Birth Certificate", what else on the card could be translated into other languages.
Oh, and she also asked for our marriage certificate. We'll see if the Canadian paperpushers can produce in time for the French ones...
The other piece of we-haven't-even-got-to-France-yet incompetence comes from the British Home Office. Kirstin had applied for UK citizenship last November, but we found out in May that when they returned our passports in January, it hadn't actually been in response to my request for them - it was the rejection of the entire application because we hadn't provided documentation that Kirstin was competent in English. Nevermind the master's degree in Canada, nor the PhD studies in Scotland, nor the two statements by men of the cloth that she was fluent in the tongue. So we had to get our MP involved, and resubmit all over again with a stroppy letter asking that they hurry things up a bit. And send the passports back sharpish as we had a small trip in the beginnning of August that we were going to make. Of course, they didn't send the passports back, so the MP's office had to ring them again (special MP hotline they have) and beg for them. They have arrived, at least.
But the signs of impending French bureacracy? A request from my new employer that I should bring my birth certificate complete with parents names, in French, with me on the first day at work. Of course, Canadian certificates don't acknowledge the responsibility of anyone in the birth of this child, so that's not going to work. And I'm not sure, apart from the phrase "Birth Certificate", what else on the card could be translated into other languages.
Oh, and she also asked for our marriage certificate. We'll see if the Canadian paperpushers can produce in time for the French ones...
posted by Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson at 8:45 pm
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