Registering at the Gemeente part 1

Gemeente means municipality in Dutch. Slovenia became a part of the EU in 2004, and joined the big union with workers movement and portability, and everything got so much easier, and you can get a lot of information about that on the EU portamobility site here.
Well, don't believe that it's all that simple. The workers market in Holland only opened in May 2007 and several other countries of western Europe are still requiring a work permit if you want to work.
But ok, I want to work in Holland, and now I can. Only one small detail. If you want to work in Holland, you must be insured. Ok, I am insured in Slovenia, and by having an EU health card, I get the same rights in other countries as I have in Slovenia, no?
It's a bit hard to find an answer to that question. EURES - The European Job Mobility Portal is only giving information about moving to another country. Well, I am still staying in Slovenia, thanks, I just want to work in Holland, when I am in Holland.
So I asked around. The employer is only leaving an option of a dutch insurance company and I couldn't find a solution for my case. Maybe my case is a bit dubious, but for example, I come to Holland for 2 months of season work, picking up the strawberries, or whatever. For staying under 3 months, I don't have to register at the municipality, but what about the insurance? I couldn't get any answer. Maybe the only place where they might give me a hint would be some organization specialized in providing foreign workers to Dutch working market. I guess there are many for Polish workers, but for sure none for Slovenian.
So, there it will have to be. Dutch health insurance, as an addition to my Slovene one. But another problem, in order to get a dutch health insurance, I need to be registered at an address in Holland. So now I have to register although I travel to Slovenia at least every 3 months.
So in August, when we got back from Slovenia, I decided to register. It said on their web page, that one has to register in 5 days after the arrival. A bit strange, what if I decide to stay after 2 months. But whatever, I went to the municipality and asked at the desk, where can I register. They told me, that I need to make an appointment if I am moving from abroad. Again an appointment, I thought, nothing happends in this country without an appointment.
"Ok, let's make an appointment."
"No, no, no," he said at the desk: "we can't make an appointment here, you have to call this number and make an appointment."
And he gave me a phone number. How ridiculous, I am standing at the desk, and he can't make an appointment for me. Why doesn't he call that number? Huh.
So I went home and I called. The person who picked up the phone didn't make an appointment for me, but only took my data and asked for my phone number.
"We will call you back."
Phhhhhhrrrrrrrr. I have to register in 5 days from my arrival and I need to have a phone number. If you are moving to Holland, first thing you need to do is buy a prepaid phone card, because everything will go over that phone. I learned much faster how to say my phone number in dutch than how to spell my name (btw, they never wait for the spelling of your name, they just write something and then you have problems when your name is not matching with the one on the appointment schedule).
I was called back the next day and was told to come next week on 22. of august at 10AM. I need passport, a birth certificate and a permit for moving in a house where I am going to live by a house owner.

Getting a Burger Service Nummer

This is a bureaucratic story about me coming to live in Holland. It started in may, when the Dutch government finally decided it is ok for the people from new (who joined in 2004) member countries of the EU to come and work in Holland. That means that workers don't have to apply for a work permit if they want to work here which makes things much easier.
If you want to work in Holland you must pay taxes. To make it trackable, every person has a number, which was then called So-fi nummer, now it is called Burger Service Nummer. However, all people who are born here get this number automaticly. If you come from abroad, you have to apply for it.
So, few days after that, I thought it would be a good idea to get that number, or at least apply for it, who knows how long does it all take. On the website of the belastingdienst it said I have to call and make an appointment. There was just one general number, and I called it.
Off course all in dutch, I had to get through about 4 levels menus, and there was no option for English.
Finally someone picked up the phone. "Dag, met Polona, mag ik engels praten?" "Ja, dat mag."
So, I told I want to make an appointment, but that was not possible. That doesn't work like that. The person asked me about my details, where I am from, what is my telephone number and in which bigger city I would like to make an appointment. I told everything, luckily I did have a dutch mobile phone number already, and then he told me, that someone will call me back and make an appointment. So that was in the beginning of may.
I was waiting for that call, well, quite long. Three weeks later I went back to Slovenia, but I kept my dutch phone close all the time just in case if they would call for the appointment. They never called me back. Nice, he?
In the beginning of July I came back to Holland, that's exactly 2 months after that call. So, I called again, got through all the menus, and a person who picked up the phone said: "Yes, you can speak a little English."
So I told the whole story and the guy said someone will call me next day. Indeed they called, but not to make the appointment but again to take my information and phone number. 2 minutes after the phone call, my phone rang again, and it was another voice saying exactly the same lines as in the first conversation. I was totally puzzled and I said I have told this already to another person, but I told all information again just to make sure and I said they don't need to schedule another phone call for me. It was all very fast, early morning, and all in dutch, so at the end of the phone call I wasn't sure anymore what exactly they wanted. I got very worried that they misunderstood and that they canceled the first arrangement, but I had no contact number to call and I was afraid I would make even a bigger mess if I called again to the general number with the 4 levels of menus.
So all I could do was wait. I was sleeping with my phone in my hand and waiting. I was worried I would miss it and then they would never call back.
But, about a week later, my phone rang in the morning! Weeeee, belastingdienst Nijmegen, to take my information again (they should really make a system for that, they ask for it all the time), asked about the reason (SOFI nummer) and made an appointment for me on Wednesday 18th of july at 9.00. Yeah!
What a release, I was really worried about those two phone calls.
But, half hour later, my phone is ringing again with a hidden number (all those calls had a hidden number, so you can't check if it's really belastingdienst or not - beware!). There is a guy saying exactly the same what the first one was saying. Oooooh, not again!!! After his introduction the conversation went like this:
I said, "yeah, I was just called, I have an appointment."
"Yeah, but an appointment for a SOFI nummer, when would you like ... " "I don't need an appointment, I have it already ... " "Ah, so you want to cancel appointment?" "No, no, no, I don't want to cancel anything, it's all arranged." "What do you want then?" "I do need an appointment for a SOFI nummer but someone from the belasting dienst just called and we made an appointment. But I don't need two appointments, just one. So we leave everything as it is, OK?" "Aha."
It was again so strange, he didn't sound very convinced to me, so I was hoping he didn't clear my appointment.
When the day of my appointment came, I couldn't sleep at all and I was awake early. So I walked over there to the belasting dienst, I was 10 minutes too early. In front of the entrance there was a bus just leaving and a bounch of people sitting on the stairs and waiting there looked like a bunch of teenage kids to me. I was thinking ... how strange, school excursions to the belasting dienst when there is no school. As I got closer, I heard they were Polish, but I didn't realize until I walked inside: they are all here for the same reason as I am. I hurried to the counter and thought they just got there, so I can squeeze in front, but the fact was, that because it was so many of them at the counter they were making groups of 10.
I told at the counter that I have an appointment and gave my ID. I tried to speak in dutch but didn't understand something, so we started in English. Se seemed happy about it, it is indeed easier and faster to talk English than trying to understand my beginners dutch. She told that my name is not on the list. I got nervous, but then saw something similar to my name written next to the time of my appointment. I pointed it out and convinced her that it was misspelled. She gave me a number to wait. After more than an hour I walked out of that building with a blue envelope in which was my brand new shiny Burger Service Number.
So, the lecture of that story is. If you need a Burger Service Number, first walk to the nearest Belastingdienst and try. All this calling here and there, it's taking a long time, makes confusions and in the end they don't even put the right name on the schedule. I don't believe all those Polish people from the bus had been through the whole calling and making appointments ceremony. And don't bother to speak dutch if you are not comfortable with it, it doesn't bring you any extra points, it's just slowing down the whole thing. For the forms you have to fill in they have all sort of translations (ok, not a slovene one).