Bureaucratic countries make it hell to change any sort of living situation, and moving countries is such a massive change that they seem utterly unable to cope with it. This means having to make loads of phone calls, the least pleasant/most annoying ones to Government organizations.
My issues of the day have to do with my subsidies. Being a poor student in a country with an extensive social system allows me to have loads of subsidies, and since I've grown used to them I'd love to take them all with me when I go abroad.
This morning, I called the organization that deals with study finance, the IB-Groep (though they're now called DUO - Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs), and asked them about my change of address. I got to talk to a very pleasant young man, who had studied English Literature and Culture and who wished me loads of fun. Changing your info with DUO isn't that hard, they're used to students going abroad. Basically, at least three months in advance you have to go to the website, download the "aanvraag buitenland" form and fill this out. It asks for your address abroad, but few already know that at that point of course, so you're allowed to leave it blank. I did. It's a fairly simple procedure, because - well, this is routine for them. But be on time. Anyway, I called them today because I've known my address for a while now and I figured now's the time to change it. I asked the pleasant young man whether I had to do so via the internet, and he confirmed that I had to, and basically advised me to wait until I had ended my registration with the municipality (uitschrijven GBA) and then manually change my address because DUO does not have any access to whatever British files there are concerning addresses. He also advised me to fill out a form for authorization - meaning that he's advising me to authorize my father (or anyone, but I'm going to authorize my father, I think) to act on my behalf in dealing with DUO if something happens to me. Good advice, helpful, easy.
Then I called the Tax Service, and that was far less pleasant, though my waiting time was only a third of what it was for DUO. See, when you study in Britain for more than six months, you're eligible for registration and insurance with the NHS, and so I figured that I'd cancel my Dutch health insurance and end my health insurance subsidy. Stoopid to make such assumptions, but reasonably stoopid, not very badly. Right, so my health insurer returned my request for cancellation last week, saying that since I was going to study, but not work, abroad, I was still obliged (cos in the Netherlands you're obliged to have health insurance) to keep my insurance. Well, fuck. So I called the Tax Service asking whether I still had any right to my insurance subsidy. At first, I talked to a grumpy lady who needed me to tell my story three times, then had to transfer me to a colleague, who also had to transfer me. Honestly, this can't be such an outlandish question, can it? Anyway, the third person was able to help me - basically she told me that yes, I still have that right and that as soon as I have moved, I am to fill out a new request for my subsidy. Straightforward answer, half helpful, but too grumpy and annoyed. Sorry that I was stupid enough to make assumptions, guys, I didn't mean to ruin your day or anything...
Other things: all other insurances. Best to keep your Dutch post address, because then you can have your parents deal with them. They're not going to send you much mail anyway, and besides, you can arrange pretty much everything via the internet anyway. I only have my travel insurance left, which costs me a whopping 2.50 euros a month, so I'm not going to be bothered with that.
Phone: I have a subscription and a number that most people know. What I'm going to do is buy a top-up Sim and transfer my number. Hema lets me do this for cheap - as in, the Sim is cheap, the number transfer free. Put this new Sim in my phone. In this way, I'll keep my Dutch phone number for people who don't have my UK number and so I can still use it whenever I'm in the Netherlands. Once I'm across the channel, I'm going to get a UK subscription (or maybe even only a top-up, too) and a UK phone.
My registration with the social housing company: Since the age of 19, I've been registered with the local social housing company for when I'll return to the Netherlands and can't get a student room. It's been maintained through all my moves, and I want it to be maintained over next year too. I'll visit them tomorrow and report then on how it went.
Others: Yes, geez. I'm going to keep my registration with my GP and dentist here, because dentist's appointments can easily be cancelled and the GP is always useful in case I get sick in the Netherlands. I'm going to hand in my library card this week when I hand in my overdue books and... no, that's all I have to take care of, or at least, that I'm aware of having to take care of at this point in time. Will inform in due course if something else pops up.
UPDATE: My father was bored so he decided on taking me to hand in my overdue library books and drop by Hema for my Sim.
The library was great; the lady offered to write me a note so I could continue my subscription with another Dutch library for the time I had left on my old subscription (which means that I'd be able to subscribe with another library for free until May 2013). I told her I would be moving to England; she then proceeded to offer me to transfer my subscription to my father, so he could have a library subscription until May 2013 for free. He didn't have a subscription yet, and seeing as his girlfriend lives where there's another branch of this library cooperation (there's twelve libraries in it), he can even use it to allow his girlfriend and her kids to borrow books. He's happy, my subscription is done and the library is happy too. Win-win.
Hema didn't have the type of Sim I wanted, so I'll drop by another one tomorrow.
UPDATE 2: I cycled to Brielle this morning to deal with my social housing registration. The lady in there acknowledged that it would be a pity if I lost my 2.5-year registration (because you get priority based on how long you have been registered) and informed me that as long as I didn't move within the Netherlands, I would keep that old registration, because I would officially still qualify as residency-seeker in the Netherlands. So as long as I stay a Dutch citizen but live abroad, I can let this registration run on until I return and need a place, and then my registration will be long enough to put me in the top 5 for any place I might want. She also informed me that I will have to change my address online as soon as I've moved. Helpful, easy, done.
Hema Brielle also did not have a Sim. Is this then the thing that will go wrong?
UPDATE 3: Just sent a notification to Sanquin, the blood donation organization, that I will not be available for donations for the coming year. Unfortunately though, they managed to keep sending me donation requests for my old donation location (before I moved in with my dad) instead of the local one, so I am not entirely sure they will manage this completely, but they did manage to properly change my address when I requested they'd do so, so we'll see. Either way, I informed them...
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