Apathy or Incompetence?

So as you may be aware, I live in Paris, but I'm not a French citizen. This means that I need to have a work VISA to be here and collect a paycheque.

From the beginning it has been a debacle getting our VISA's arranged, and this is largely due to either a shocking lack of aptitude or interest on the part of the HR team at my company.

At first it took 8 months to get our initial VISA's, a process that was only supposed to take 2 months. On top of the delay it was discovered that no paperwork was submitted by my company on behalf of my wife, and we were left to scramble on our own to get her a VISA.

Nearly two years after accepting this job the debacle continues, unabated by the ravages of time. I am in the process of renewing my VISA for the first time. the renewal process started in October (even though I'd ask to start it in august, given the delay of the first application). In the mean time I was sent on mission to North Carolina, where I would spend the next 7 months.

I would have to fly back to France in December under the guise of completing the renewal process, only to discover that my HR contact didn't know what was going on, and the meeting we'd been flown across an ocean for was merely to pick up the application for the renewal process.

Months pass and my mission in North Carolina ends. We return to Paris on Monday morning, 7 am, severely jet lagged. I am expected to attend an appointment Tuesday morning, 10am. I am told by my HR contact that this meeting is "in the same place we went last time", referring to the last trip over in December that my HR contact actually attended with me. Here are the wonderful details of that specific disaster.

It is also revealed to me that I will need to go out and purchase, on my own, a "Timbre Fiscal" or a tax stamp as I am told. This can be purchased from any Tabac (cigarette shop), and if you speak French it is probably very easy to do so.

This is the thought of my HR contact, as she doesn't bother to purchase this for me to ensure there is no problems. Instead, it is left up to the guy who speak effectively no french to buy this stamp. Without it I cannot renew my VISA, but it isn't seen as a problem to leave it up to me.

I am unable to buy a stamp.

I return home after failing to find a stamp or renew my VISA. Before even making it back to Paris I expressed my disappointment that my HR contact was not going to attend this meeting, and made it clear that if there was any problems I would likely not be able to solve them myself.

This has no effect on anyone, and I inevitably fail at the task. As it turns out I wasn't even at the right building. When returning to the office the next day to talk about what happened, my HR contact was shocked to learn that I went to the same place I went last time with her, despite her telling me the day before that is exactly what I was supposed to do.

Now, as a result, I have been sent home from work for legal reasons. It is felt as a risk to have me in the office working now that my VISA status is unclear. All of this could have been easily avoided if my HR contact had done one thing: her fucking job. I expect this will be somehow framed up on me as my incompetence, but should that come to pass I have no problem being a real prick about making it clear what has happened to bring things to this state of affairs.

So now I am home, Wednesday morning. I have been back in Paris little more than 48 hours and I want to shoot myself. As much as I love living here, this city is the right sort of adventure for me, the VISA process and my company's HR department makes it an entirely vulgar affair.

I have only been back a few days and I want to leave.

French (Re)Connection

This week marks my final week living abroad, abroad. This is to say that I have been living in the US for the past 7 months, but will now return back to Paris.

I have deeply enjoyed my time here in North Carolina, it's been refreshing and easy to live here. Obviously the lack of a language barrier goes a long way, but the people I have been working with have been a top shelf sort of professional.

Returning to Paris will be a mixed blessing. We return to renew our VISA's, but this renewal process comes three months after our initial VISAs have expired. This means that returning home could be troublesome.

We will be arriving at the French border control with clearly expired French VISA's in our passports, and very little in the way of compelling paperwork to justify our entering the country. Anyone reading this that is already familiar with border control agencies, regardless of nationality, are likely already cringing at this state of affairs as these agencies aren't known for their easy-going approach to their work.

Now granted I hold a Canadian passport, which tends to get me a lot of wiggle room throughout Europe as we are largely considered on the face of things the lovable tourists. I quite often get waved through checks in a number of different countries with little more than a glance at the ID page.

However, should a diligent control officer be manning the post, one who looks at all the details, My wife and I will likely be invited into a quiet little room in the back of the airport to answer lots and lots of questions. Questions that I rely on my companies HR/Legal team to back me up on.

With luck this won't happen. With luck we won't be rejected entry at the border and life in France will pick up right were we left off last summer. And if you know me well, you know that I am a lucky sort of person.

Yet I can't help but be mildly disturbed at what is pretty much a blind run at the border, all thanks to the lack luster support I have been given for all my VISA dealings from my company.

In the end though, it will be great to be back in Paris, at least for a while. I will get more physical activity again, more walking and a wonderful Parisian spring to enjoy.

In my last 7 months in the southern US I have gained a staggering 30 pounds (soundly negating the steady weight loss I was experiencing in Paris).

I look forward to walking to and from work each day, and eating a whole lot less fast food. As much as I have enjoyed my ability to call up and order a pizza and coke again, it's clear I have abused this ability. ;)