How to Pay 120 Euros

It seems that every time I renew my visa to stay in Romania, I’m presented with new challenges. I’ve written about some of those previous challenges here and here. Today brought a new challenge.

Early this afternoon I thought I’d quickly stop at the CEC (State) Bank to pay the two necessary fees for extending my visa. The first fee is 260 Romanian lei (about $70). The second fee is 120 Euros (about $150). Now, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering why one fee is in lei and the other in Euros when they’re both going to the Romanian government. I don’t have an answer, other than to say that Romanians often quote prices in Euros, but pay the equivalent in lei. That’s just the way the system works here (although it doesn't answer the question of why the two fees are in two different currencies).

So, I went to the CEC Bank with over 800 lei, ready to pay these two fees. I paid the 260 lei without a problem, but when I had to pay the 120 Euros, I ran into some difficulties. The teller told me that although I needed to pay the equivalent of 120 Euros in lei, I couldn’t do so without a receipt from an exchange office. I explained that dollars get deposited into my bank account, which I withdraw in lei. I don’t have 120 Euros to exchange. That didn’t matter. I couldn’t pay this fee without the receipt from the exchange office. She told me that I would need to take my lei to an exchange office, and buy 120 Euros, and then exchange those 120 Euros back for lei.

As ridiculous as that sounds, that’s what I did – just to get a receipt. The CEC bank, of course, does not include an exchange office, so I had to go to the nearest exchange office. I paid 555 lei and received 120 Euros. But when I tried to exchange those Euros for lei, the cashier at the exchange office said I wasn’t permitted to exchange what I had just received back into lei. So I left that exchange office and went to the one a few doors down the street. There I was able to make the exchange, but received only 543 lei for my 120 Euros (having lost 12 lei, or the equivalent of about $3, in the process).

I returned to the CEC Bank with my lei and receipt to prove that I exchanged 120 Euros and received 543 lei. However, the ridiculous was about to turn into the absurd.

As the teller was inputting my information into the computer, she had to look up today’s official exchange rate. The official exchange rate for 120 Euros says that I needed to pay the CEC Bank 557 lei. I had only received 543 lei for 120 Euros at the exchange office. She said I didn’t have enough on my receipt.

Thankfully, since the teller saw the absurdity of the situation, she said she would need me to pay her the 557 lei so it would be the proper amount for the government visa fee. So in the end, I’m not really sure why I had to run to the exchange office, since the amount on the receipt didn’t do me any good anyway, and the bank teller could have looked up the official exchange rate and had me pay 557 lei. But, of course, then I wouldn't have this story to tell.

Hopefully the rest of my visa renewal process will go smoothly and without incident.