Never As Simple As It Seems

This is Part 2 of my adventures for obtaining my visa this year. You can read Part 1 by clicking here.

Last Friday I had all of my documents to renew my visa in hand except one. The one remaining document I had to obtain was proof that I am covered by Romanian health insurance. Since I could only pay for insurance in Targu Mures, the capital city of this county, and the health insurance office is only a few blocks from the visa office, it made sense to make the trip all on one day.

When I arrived at the health insurance office, I was informed that starting on July 1, a new policy went into place which will actually be much more convenient for me; I no longer have to travel an hour by bus to pay my monthly health insurance fee in Targu Mures. I can now pay in Sighisoara. The problem, however, is that now I can only pay in the town where I live (Sighisoara). But since I found this out while in Targu Mures, I had to return to Sighisoara without paying my health insurance and, consequently, was not able to leave my documents with the visa office on Friday.

On Monday morning, I went to the financial office in Sighisoara where I had been told to pay for my health insurance. I was actually expecting them to tell me that I could only pay in Targu Mures, unaware of the new policy, but this didn’t happen. I was directed to go to Window 2 where health insurance is taken care of. After the attendant at Window 2 looked me up in the computer, I was directed to go to Window 7. At Window 7, I was given a piece of paper and asked to write how much money I want to pay. I told the cashier I didn’t know how much I was supposed to pay. Couldn’t she tell me? The cashier didn’t know, either. After standing there for a few moments, each of us looking at the other with a befuddled look on our faces, I asked if she could contact the health insurance office in Targu Mures to find out how much I need to pay. After talking with someone else and waiting a few minutes, she handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it for me to call.

When I called the number and realized that I had to choose from a list of options, I decided to leave the finance office and ask a Romanian friend to call for me. (This is just a bit beyond what I’m comfortable doing in Romanian over the phone.) My Romanian friend who called for me was transferred to about 4 different people before finally getting a response. (Interestingly, they said that it was the responsibility of the people from the finance office to call them, not mine.) Anyway – with the information we obtained from the phone call, I returned to the finance office in Sighisoara – to Window 2. After explaining the phone call we just had, I was instructed to go to an office upstairs. The lady there was very helpful. She gave me a form to fill out, and asked me to come back with it the next day. In the mean time, she would calculate how much I needed to pay.

On Tuesday, I returned to the upstairs office, handed in my form, and she told me how much I had to pay. I returned to Window 7 to turn in the piece of paper I had been given the day before (with how much I had to pay), and then went to the cashier to pay.

On Wednesday, I had to take this receipt to the Insurance office in Targu Mures (where this whole adventure started). I was there issued proof of insurance that I could take to the visa office.

When I arrived at the visa office, they looked through my papers, and everything was in order. However, when they tried to take my fingerprints, the device that does that (hooked up to the computer) was not working. They asked if I could come back an hour later. So I grabbed lunch and checked out a few shops along the main street. When I returned, they said they still hadn’t figured out the problem. I said I could wait (since it’s an hour from Sighisoara, it’s better to wait than to return another day). Finally, after 45 minutes they told me that it’s not a simple problem, but the device probably needs replaced. They would call me in a few days or next week once it’s replaced for me to come back.

So – everything is in order (I think!) for my visa. I just need to make at least 2 more trips to Targu Mures – one to be fingerprinted and the other to receive my new card. By the way, I've been granted permission to receive a temporary residency card for 2 years, meaning I won’t have to go through this process (or expense!) next year!

Update: The visa office called me the first week of September to come to be fingerprinted. I returned the next day and was photographed and fingerprinted. The next week, they called me again and said I had to return yet again because there was a glare on my glasses so they couldn't see my eyes. So I made my 4th trip to Targu Mures the 2nd week of September. I'm still awaiting my final trip there to pick up my temporary residency card.