Red Tape Hot Box on the foreigners' office

The Oddział do spraw Cudzoziemców Mazowieckiego Urzędu Wojewódzkiego (Foreigners Service Office of Mazowiecki Voivodship), better known simply as the foreigners' office, is another institution which will have to change drastically after we join the European Union. But no matter what the outcome of June's referendum, EU citizens will still have to put up with the bundle of documents the office requires as well as its long lines for most likely more than another year.

Many of us have only heard stories of the difficulties that await those who apply for visas or residency permits. But people who have actually experienced the office's dreadful procedures can attest to the unpleasant and inefficient experience.

The number of people lining up every morning outside the foreigners' office on the corner of ul. Andersa and ul. Stawki in Warsaw before opening hours is always longer than the number of those whose paperwork can be processed that same day. This is extremely unnerving for those who are denied entrance.

To prevent the unnecessary lines and waiting, an observant clerk should immediately notify those who arrived too late that they will not be served that day. Or perhaps the office should purchase a machine that automatically dispenses printed numbers for service, similar to those found in post offices.

While the hapless foreigners are in the office waiting in the corridors for their turns, they will notice that certain people are permitted to jump the line and go straight into the rooms to see clerks who certainly appear to be their friends. These are the professional permit obtainers who command very large fees for their services and are willing to share the wealth with the clerks for faster service. Thus, right on the threshold of the first governmental building that many foreigners come into contact with during their stays here, they get a perfect chance to witness how many clerks don't think twice about accepting bribes.

Finally, to add a last black rose to our bouquet, the office has two doors - door A and door B. Sometimes the clerks open door A first, and other times door B. So if you are risk averse, you better go with a friend to secure both possible entries. Then you'll have the satisfaction that for once you have outsmarted the bureaucrats, not the other way around as is usually the case.

Red Tape bugging you? Tell Mateusz about it at matdem@poczta.onet.pl.