tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post367508050681899914..comments2023-06-30T15:17:35.777+02:00Comments on The Copenhagen Report: Even in paradise there are still (incompetent) bureaucratsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-69569226671366693352008-04-09T21:42:00.000+02:002008-04-09T21:42:00.000+02:00So how did this all end up? Any news?So how did this all end up? Any news?NotQuiteDanishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04574697296615161351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-88270112879461211532008-03-07T05:29:00.000+01:002008-03-07T05:29:00.000+01:00I was actually supposed to go to Denmark as part o...I was actually supposed to go to Denmark as part of a graduate exchange program. Basically, I would have been given money to work on Danish geology research, as part of the PhD program at my home university.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the Danish government decided not to allow my husband to get a resident permit, which we found out only 3 weeks before we were supposed to leave. It was incredibly frustrating, and I decided not to study abroad there after all.<BR/><BR/>(See http://emilyyspahn.blogspot.com/2007/09/no-denmark.html<BR/>for more info/details.)Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260506142727509172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-41197355299571690952008-03-07T02:10:00.000+01:002008-03-07T02:10:00.000+01:00That's absolutely preposterous!I'm currently doing...That's absolutely preposterous!<BR/><BR/>I'm currently doing my MSc in London and have been awarded a a load of scholarships to fund my studies here. I wrote 3 emails to SKAT asking which documentation I would need to prove my status and have the scholarships tax exempted. No reply. Deciding to call them instead, I got on the phone with their first line of defense, explained my situation, and was then transferred to their resident expert. After about 15 minutes of trying to convince this guy that the law also applies to me, I simply insisted, quite strongly, that he would look into the matter while I waited. Less than 2 minutes later he came back on the phone, apologised and I could finally get my original question answered. It doesn't sound anywhere near as complicated as GP's situation, if nothing else because of the time difference, but my advice to him is to get up at 1 in the morning and call instead of writing emails (with Skype it should be affordable). It's much, much easier to have your case swept under the rug if you write an email, than if you call. <BR/><BR/>As fuzzy said, the key is persistence. That's probably the one thing I've learnt in my short life about dealing with the grunts of the Danish bureaucracy. To be fair, most of them are actually quite helpful, but once in a while you are just unlucky.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-9509909869215412792008-03-07T01:18:00.000+01:002008-03-07T01:18:00.000+01:00Fuzzy and Notquitedanish - I totally agree with bo...Fuzzy and Notquitedanish - I totally agree with both of you. When I read the exchange a second and third time after I received it, I genuinely couldn't believe it. I think my friend got it about right in his response - there's not much you can say to that kind of ignorant, quasi-all-knowing arrogance from some lowly unsatisfied tax official. The only sort of sad satisfaction (which is not really satisfaction at all - who wants to see others behave in such an undignified way?) is knowing that this really is a person missing out on the big picture and surely creating their own suffering as a result - and likely leading a relatively pitiful life compared to what they could be. I know my friend will manage, that i'm not at all concerned about!Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03851124584246185632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-58140816081489647562008-03-06T15:35:00.000+01:002008-03-06T15:35:00.000+01:00Wow, that whole exchange sort of exemplifies the o...Wow, that whole exchange sort of exemplifies the often sadistic mindset of people in quasi-powerful positions here. Hectoring, smug and alltogether unhelpful. <BR/><BR/>I hope your friend gets some satisfactory answers. My advice is to keep plugging away, and if possible, to reopen the case with another employee. I've done that several times here at Immigration--come back and talked to another employee, if the first one is inflexible, rigid or incompetent. Often I receive entirely different outcomes!Fuzzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15890561725918230802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8426140.post-66390892059076845882008-03-06T10:26:00.000+01:002008-03-06T10:26:00.000+01:00That whole debacle is so awful I hardly know how t...That whole debacle is so awful I hardly know how to respond.. 'The official language of Denmark is Danish.'??? That is exceedingly offensive. Can you keep us posted on what transpires?<BR/><BR/>One would think, given the drive to recruit skilled workers, skat would have some department set aside for those workers with people equipped to handle queries in English.<BR/><BR/>Your friend should forward those emails to whatever government ministry handles the positive list, or at least the workindenmark site.NotQuiteDanishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04574697296615161351noreply@blogger.com