Dealing with bureaucracy: the fringe costs of a scholarship

Get a good grip and don't stumble.

There’s a saying that there are two things that are unavoidable in life: death and taxes. But for the life of a scholar, you might avoid paying taxes from your tax-free stipend. It’s replaced though by bureaucracy. I’m not referring to polishing those application letters and CVs. It’s those extra little paper work which pile up on your table, that sooner or later takes over your life, albeit just temporarily. They can sometimes get unwieldy, especially if you’re living on borrowed time (read: visa expiring soon!). And if you’re in Germany, multiply that to 100.

In my case so far it has taken a little over a week. It started once I received my scholarship confirmation letter. Here’s what I’ve dealt with in the past days:

1. Health insurance – this was extra complicated because I had to extend it through DAAD, my previous scholarship provider. After transferring the fee, I have to wait for the letter confirming that I am covered for the coming year.  This process took about a week, from the money transfer down to receiving the letter. I had to pick up the letter from my old place as I just moved into a new flat.  The insurance system in Germany is complicated in itself. Having said that, I would not and cannot discuss it any further.

2. Letter-forwarding -  As I have found a room of my own and change address, I availed of this letter-forwarding system of the Deutsche Post. It works like call forwarding, for your letters.

3. Enrolment – This required filling out a few forms, and attaching a handful of documents such as a photocopy of my high school diploma, a copy of the proof of paying the tuition fee for the semester, a copy of the letter of acceptance as a PhD student, and a certified copy of my Master’s diploma.  I only sent a (non-certified) photocopy of my Master’ s diploma and the personnel emailed me to send one that is CERTIFIED. After a Google and Wikipedia search and a Skype chat with a German, I discovered the cheapest way to go is at the resident’s registration office.

5. Registration of residency – As I moved in to another part of the city, I needed to de-register and register at the residents’ office in my borough.

4. Visa extension – Before I can extend my visa, I need paper work numbers 1, 3 and 5 done. This particular task I still need to finish this coming week with the arrival of my university documents.

There’s no getting away from this ladderised bureaucracy, It comes with the territory before I actually start my PhD. It may take some time, not to mention a dent in my financial safety net. Scaling this wall of bureaucracy is still very possible though even with patience as my only tool.

Photo courtesy of Brian Beutler.