Immigration has the last laugh....

So I need to get my immigration deposit back, almost 1000USD held by the national bank of rwanda untill I can prove I'm a good girl and get it back again. But the process is so long and problematics that most expats I know just leave it in the bank!

Knowing this, I hire a student to do the running around for me. Get immigration to sign a paper authorising BNR to pay you back your deposit currently requires:

Clearance Certificate from Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA)
Clearance Certificate from Caisse Social (CSR) , social security agency
Clearance Certificate from Electrogaz, the water and electricity company
Clearance Certificate from Rwandatel
Copy of passport
Copy of visa
The orginal deposit recieving certificate from BNR
plus the ORGINAL bank slip on which the deposit was made

Clearance certificates essentially state that you owe no debt to the institution. Rwandatel and CSR were fairly easy as I never used their services. RRA meanwhile, require you to apply for a Tax number in order for them to tell you that your (brand new) tax number has no tax oweing on it. Ahh...the wonders of well implemented IT systems in government. Electrogaz required my prepaid electricity meter number (hello? debts on prepaid systems??), the rental contract with my landlord (which i only had for 2005, but solved with some creative photocopying), and a letter from the friend with whom I've been staying since the rental period elapsed stating I have no obligations on bills at his place. Each institution of course required a fee for the certificate which needs to be paid, in advance, at the revenue office in the city centre.

So last friday, my student finished her work and presented me with the 4 certificates after a mere 2 weeks of full time running around Kigali. Best 50$ I spent in a long time. And I depose my papers at Immigration to be told that all was in order and that I could collect my BNR repayment instructions yesterday. I go there yesterday and wait an hour to be told that there was an error and someone forgot to take it to be signed, but all is in order and I should come back today. I ask if I can call someone to see if its ready before coming again. I get a number.

So today I call over 6 times to the number, which no one picks up. I'm already pretty pissed at the guy for giving a number that no one answers - its the guys own mobile I later find out. So 45 mins later when I get to see him, he tells me its not signed becuase I need to bring in my current work permit to be cancelled because I'm leaving Rwanda. I point out that the deposit relates to my 2005 work permit and thats already cancelled, and anyway I can claim my money back without leaving Rwanda.

He tells me thats true but since I stated on the demand letter that I'm leaving, now I have to bring in the work permit. Bollox! The lady at work who deals with visas has my work permit in her office...or at least she did before she left her job to join her husband in the uk. What do you think my chances of finding this particular needle in the administrative haystack??

For the next 30mins I proceed familiarise the guy with KIST administration, flight problems, resignation memos waiting for the orginal copy to reach to finance from salaries, the logical premise of the deposit being attached to OLD permit not my current one until he relented and saw that it was more of a pain in the ass not to help me than to help me (this is usually the only way to get service in govt offices here). So he made a few calls and it was agreed if I change my cover letter to remove a reference to leaving rwanda AND brought a copy of my current contract, I could collect the signed certificate to present to BNR that same day. I was still furious and upset at the same time, I didn't know whether to cry or punch the wall. It was a timely reminder of exactly why I can no longer operate in this country.

After a lunchtime spent in immigration, I hurried back to work hungry and found the HR guy in the hope he'd be able to give me a copy of my contract. My plan was to print a cover letter and get my collegue at work to deposit the docs and collect the certificate for me, as I couldn't stand to see Immigration again, PLUS if I came back on monday they may have changed their minds and wanted yet another document from me. I couldn't go myself as I had a presentation to make.

In the end almost no one turned up for the presentation because of rain and my collegue came back emptyhanded because I had failed to impress upon him enough that he should not listen to the Immigration guy but should stand there and annoy him till he got the certificate signed. Now I'm left with a particularly Rwandan ex-pat afflication: Post Immigration visit Homicidal rage syndrome.

And I have to go back there on monday...