Saturday 4 July 2009
Saturday 4 July 2009
Stock up on the tastes and smells of home.
A small country with no obvious start or finish.
Sunbeams' guide to the white, blue, green, yellow...
One of the best healthcare systems in the world.
Survive the pitfalls of the city's streets.
Expat women in Belgium and France most satisfied.
A moving piece about a 'school refuser' son.
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With no visa, work permit or legal marriage in the eyes of the Belgian government to her name, Expatica's blogger finds herself tied up in bureacracy.
Some days it feels like Andrew and I are mummified in red tape; and I mean really sticky tape of the Duct Tape variety. 
It seems that no matter how many hoops we jump through to please the Belgian government officials, there is always one more hoop on the horizon.
According to the Belgian government, Andrew and I are not legally married!
This came as quite a shock, as I distinctly remember walking down an isle, wearing a white dress, signing papers in front of friends and family and kissing my (I thought) new husband about five years ago.
Indeed, not only was I not married in the eyes of the Belgian government, I wasn't even technically born … and I'm sure my mother would have a few words to say about the carrying-me-for-nine-months and then going-through-labor thing …
We learned these important little facts several weeks ago, when we went to register at the Kortenberg commune. We left the commune feeling like we had been beaten repeatedly with a large, blunt object.
We are apparently not legally married because the Belgian government does not recognize our marriage certificate without it being notarized in Canada and having an 'Apostille'.
"What is an Apostille?" you ask
Good question — because the Apostille is shrouded in mystery and we are still unsure of how we go about getting it.
Some people say we do it in Canada and others say we have to get it here in Brussels. Maybe both are true. One of the difficult things for us has been the lack of information and abundance of misinformation.
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.
Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.
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