09 August 2010

In which my problems are otherwise than I had heretofore believed them to be

I have an exciting problem: I have a ticket to Moscow on 30. August. This would normally just be exciting, but I don't have a Russian visa. This, in turn, wouldn't be a problem, but I can't obtain a Russian visa in Germany unless I have a German visa. This also really wouldn't be a problem, except that I need to register myself before I can get the visa. Let us discourse upon the German surveillance state:

When you move your household in Germany, you must present yourself within one week to the local registration office. You must give them a form, signed by you and your landlord, which states your address, your previous address, your dependents, the citizenship of you and your dependents, and other information. I'm pretty sure you're also meant to give them a copy of your rental contract. But I don't know. It's unclear.

Now let's go over my current living situation: I'm living in a lovely apartment with a balcony whose occupants are on vacation and will be until the end of September. One of them is my friend Lena, with whom I will be going to Russia on 30. August. The other is a dude I've never met. I'm paying 250 EUR total for this privilege, which is a really great price. I'm getting the great price because I won't be here for much of the time. I agreed to the great price in an email to Lena that was written in Russian, but I'm giving the money to the dude I've never met.

So, in order to register myself, I need to obtain the signature of and maybe a contract from a guy whom I've never met, with whom I have no formal arrangement, and who will be vacation in southern Germany until the end of September. I've sent him an email. He seems like a really nice guy. I'm checking his mail for him.

Anyway, I guess I'm going to the registration office at 8 tomorrow morning!

On the other hand, a letter of acceptance from a university is (quite sensibly) necessary to obtain a student visa. I thought that it might be a hassle to obtain this letter from the Humboldt-Universität. But I just looked through my email inbox, and it turns out they sent me such a letter back at the end of June. Somehow I missed it. So that problem is nonexistent!

5 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. I feel your pain. Good luck tomorrow and onwards!

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  2. Just have Lena sign it -- I had the exact same problem last year.

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  3. Thank you for these advices, Jeremy! Except Lena is also on vacation. But I think I'm getting my problem solved...

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  4. Did you see your next problem....the smoke in Moscow looks like you will need a mask or two if you watch the reports... maybe a great wind will sweep it away..

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  5. Did I violate any of the post policies????

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