How to receive financial aid for rent deposit in Luxembourg

Rent subsidy as financial aid when renting in Luxembourg

Unskilled jobs with sponsorship visa in Luxembourg

Visa to Luxembourg — a complete guide

No precipitation is expected in the first half of the day, but snowfall is expected as early as 15:00. Up to 4 cm of snow could fall today. 

Temperatures during the day — to 0-2°C, at night — to -2-0°C

Yellow warning in Luxembourg

Firefighters quickly tackled the fire. Police arrived on the scene and discovered an illegal cannabis plantation. More than 10 kg of cannabis was seized, and 

two residents were arrested and taken into custody

Illegal cannabis plantation found after fire in Waldbillig

It has reached levels not seen since the 2009 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline is more pronounced than in other parts of the eurozone: gross value added is down almost 12% year-on-year, and the number of jobs has been falling steadily since the spring. This decline has been attributed to a drop in new construction projects and a sharp rise in interest rates, 

which has led to a reduction in real estate transactions

Luxembourg's construction sector is facing a serious downturn

It will be under the authority of the mayor and will deal with preventive measures. Léon Gloden also plans to introduce a stricter law on forced evictions and calls for a more responsible approach to immigration, emphasizing integration and 

the accelerated return of those who have no prospect of staying in the country

Luxembourg's Minister of Home Affairs offers to create a municipal police force

It is the largest jackpot ever won in the country. The lucky man matched a sequence of 5 numbers and 2 stars. The biggest win after the jackpot was a prize of 145,719 euros. It was taken home by 4 people. Until this Tuesday, the biggest historical wins in Luxembourg were 

65.7 million euros (in September 2013) and 31.6 million euros (in January 2015)

A Luxembourger has won a jackpot of 83 million euros

🇱🇺 Gudde Moien! Bonjour! Guten Morgen! The main news by the morning of November 30

Before the new school year started, we decided to find out how much it would cost to buy a complete set of school clothes, the necessary notebooks, textbooks, and pens, as well as additional supplies. Once again, parents from the Luxtoday chat came to our rescue.

Since I was moving on a work contract, I started preparing my child for school in advance - as early as December 2021. In our case, the process was remote and quite simple. We transferred our son 

from one international school to another international school

 and they had the same program - Cambridge. So we didn't need any tests, we just took his grades.

As a result, our application was in December 2021 and our child's enrollment was in January 2022, which was quite convenient. We also decided to finish this year remotely in the previous school, as there were no vacancies in the classes in the middle of the year.

In Luxembourg, children are required to attend school as soon as they register with the municipality. We wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education with a detailed justification of why, how and why we wanted to study at a distance. After some time we received a reply and were approved for distance learning until the end of the school year.

As a result, the child had two school changes. The first was the public international school Lycée Michel Lucius and the second, which we will attend this year, is a private International School of Luxembourg (ISL).

What you need to buy before the school year

If we're talking about public school, it was very simple.

In addition to the textbooks, my child received an iPad. We had to pay a deposit of 50 euros for the iPad. There was a lot of interaction with the iPad: there were assignments for class work, homework, and communication with teachers.

What we really had to buy was stationery. But there were no strict requirements for that, all the needs came up during the process. That's a big difference from ISL, but I'll tell you more about that later. Stationery didn't make much sense either, because most of the work was done either on an iPad, or in the form of presentations on a PC, or directly in workbooks. As far as I know, there are no iPads in elementary school, so it's a different story.

As for equipment, we had a backpack, and we didn't need uniforms: neither sports nor casual. So you could wear whatever you wanted, as long as you didn't have piercings, tattoos, or an open belly. In general, it was very free.

, where the situation is a bit different. The school sends a list of stationery to buy in advance. The list is quite impressive when you think about it.

erasable pens, and a lot of other things.

. You think it's just a little thing, but when you start shopping for the list, it's really a lot of money. I don't know how much my child will need because I have heard different opinions from parents of children who study there. Some needed everything, some only half of it.

This school also needed special calculators. The kind of sophisticated ones that can calculate functions. To make sure they are the right ones, the school buys them. We spent about 

 for them. We also need a normal calculator for normal calculations.

The next expense is the mandatory sports uniform. In ISL everything is branded and sold in a special store, the address of which will be sent to you in advance. The uniform consists of several items, and of course you take everything in pairs so that there is some kind of replacement. Everything costs about 

One of the most obvious options is Amazon. It's not available in Luxembourg, but it's present in the neighboring countries of Germany and France, and all are delivered without any problems. I have two accounts. What I don't have in the German one, I order in the French one and vice versa.

There are also local shops that I really like. You can find them on the Letzshop website. They are good because they present local products - they also have special labels. You get to support local businesses, which is really cool. What's great about these stores is that they're close to you and you can buy what you need.

And be prepared for everything to be expensive. For example, A4 notebooks, 60 sheets - 5 pieces 28 (!) euros. Folders you need for several subjects, also about 7-8 euros each. Calculator, ordinary, not scientific, - 45 euros. A set of markers in 8 colors - 7 euros.

In fact, not all stores have such frightening prices. It is always possible to look for anything in Auchan. There are often discounts. Only buy things that are too cheap and of poor quality, you do not want them to fall apart after 2-3 weeks.

Some schools provide textbooks, some require you to bring your own. You can also borrow them from the library. You come at the beginning of the year, get a book, and return it at the end of the year. If it is in good condition - well done. In bad condition - you pay :)

The main lifehack that works here is the child allowance. 

I was very surprised to find out that the people in the government here realize that raising a child is expensive

. And I was even more surprised that after a few years the child benefit did not go up to 5-10 Euro as it was the case in my home country.

In Luxembourg you can really count on help. There are monthly allowances for children that you get just for having them, and there are also special one-time payments for school. For a child over the age of 12, it is just under 200 euros, which can cover a significant part of the cost of school supplies, uniforms and so on.

A very interesting point - the older the child, the more allowance for him. This is quite logical, because teenagers have new needs, and the necessary things for the same school becomes more. Take the same calculator, for example. It is unlikely that a junior high school student will ever need it!

That's why, despite the high prices, you won't feel so empty if you buy everything you need in Luxembourg.

Textbooks, notebooks and uniforms are understandable and expected expenses. But parents in Luxembourg pay for more than that. Although the general costs are familiar to everyone, there are still some differences.

The organization of the food service here is quite interesting. Most schools work with a single caterer. Children have a special card with which they pay for their school meals. All a parent has to do is refill the card in time or pay the bill afterwards.

For adults, there is also a special app that helps them keep track of the amount of money they have in their account. It also shows what the child buys in the cafeteria. This not only prevents them from spending money on something obscene in the canteen. If they eat a pizza every day, you will know about it immediately.

Some schools allow you to pre-order food on the same app. The child will come and pick up what you've chosen for him or her. Pay on the spot.

In addition to meals, there are various excursions, especially overnight trips. These are paid for separately. This is a very popular story. Unfortunately, our school didn't have any trips last year. In public schools they're often financed by the school. In private schools, of course, there's less funding, more from parents. But the kids here also go away for a week, to Germany, for example.

Private lessons, classes and clubs may be an additional expense. Once again, there is a lot of support in Luxembourg for everything to do with children's development. For example, we paid 400 euros a year for our son's swimming lessons. He trained 3-4 times a week. We could only dream of such a price with such an intensity of training in my home country.

The main problem is finding information. If you want to find something for your child (and for yourself too), you have to go through a huge number of articles and booklets, not always in English. So what you do at Luxtoday is very cool and useful. Thank you :)

Kadriia Sadykova

Anastasia

What it costs to prepare for school in Luxembourg

Artyom has been living in Luxembourg for almost a year. In June, he and his wife voted in the local elections, but before that he learned about the specific's of the country's electoral system.

Does an expat need to know about politics

This begs the question, should you even vote?

This is what the former Minister of Family and Integration, Corinne Cahen, told us on Integration Day. After the elections, she went from being a minister to a councilor in Luxembourg.

That seems fair to me. If everyone ignores politics and ignores elections, the authorities will eventually do what they want.

Democracy in general is a fragile thing. It has to be based on the will of the people for it to work, for the people to be protected from authoritarianism. Elections are just one of the ways that people can influence what happens in their country.

In Luxembourg, expats are more informed and more eager to understand. I started collecting and structuring information for myself, then I saw a request in the Luxtoday chat. I decided to share my experiences with others. I was pleasantly surprised by the positive response.

Its look, the realization of certain programs, and the development of infrastructure directly depend on the choice of a politician and his ability to fulfill his promises. Therefore, if you are not satisfied with the results, you give your vote to others.

Luxembourg has a very unique case, at least it seems to me that there are very few countries like that.

The expats are voting

Moderate campaigning

Elections are both a right and a duty

Turns out we had super easy elections in y country. When you have something to compare it to, it makes sense. You come in, you check the box, you leave. This is a little bit different. In fact, it looks and sounds complicated at first, but it takes 5-10 minutes to understand. Then it gets easy.

The first and very important difference is the way the mark is made. I had a chance to work in election commissions in my home country and I saw a lot of things there.There were even times when dirty pictures were drawn in the marking box. And the most interesting thing is that it still counted. Not here.

In Luxembourg, you can only give a cross or a plus. It's also on the merch. It's two crossed lines, that's the correct way to put it. That's it! If you have a circle, a check mark, or a shaded field, your ballot is invalid.

The ballot is also invalid if you put anything in it. I have seen many times how pensioners write letters about their hard life in small handwriting on 4 sheets of paper, wrap them in a ballot paper and throw them into the ballot box. And that works for us, but it doesn't work here. There should be no extra items on the ballot.

Another thing that was very unusual about the polling place is that everyone here votes with a pencil. My friends asked if they could use a pen. They were told that they could bring a pen if they wanted, but they were very surprised by the question.

And of course the paper itself is interesting. In my country, you get a form, there's a list of candidates, you put a sign in the box next to one of them, and that's it. Here, in local elections, there are several candidates from each party. There can be 7-9-11 candidates and so on. Luxembourg has the most, 27, because it's the capital. The number is always odd to exclude the situation where the votes are exactly equal. Well thought out!

The form itself has a list of parties. And in each party list there is a list of candidates. In front of them, pay attention, there are two columns with cells. It means that you can give not one, but two votes to a candidate. And the total number of votes you have is the number of aldermen to be elected. If there are a maximum of 7 aldermen, then there are 7 votes. If there are 15, then there are 15 votes. And so on.

You can divide the votes however you like, as long as the total number of votes does not exceed the maximum allowed. Less is allowed, more is not. And if you don't want to give 1-2 votes to politicians, there is an option to vote for the whole party and all its candidates at once.

Here is the step-by-step voting process once again:

A few days before Election Day, you will receive a letter telling you where your polling place is. The letter even includes a copy of the ballot;

Show a document. In our case, it's a titre de séjour, but you can also show your passport;

There are quite a lot parties in Luxembourg, and what surprised and even pleased me is that there are some incredible stories. For example, there is a very real communist party. They do it rough - red banners, sickles, hammers. And the weirdest thing is that nobody suppresses them, nobody arrests them, nobody puts them in jail. People just don't vote, that's all. And it's like they don't have to.

Christian Social People's Party (CSV)

Democratic Party (DP)

Luxembourgian Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP)

The Greens (déi gréng)

All these parties generally represent the political mainstream and should not be seen as opposite poles. The radical parties are less popular in Luxembourg.

They are followed by the second-tier parties. They usually have few seats: one, maybe two. Nevertheless, they put some pressure on the "mainstream" parties. The second tier includes the Conservatives, the Pirates (I think they are gaining popularity lately) and the Socialists 

 (they are similar to the LSAP, but they have more left-wing views).

There are also small parties that are not represented in parliament at all, but only in some regions. These include the above-mentioned Communists. There are also the Conservatives, who are a separate party for some reason. I don't know why they are kept separate from the CSV, maybe there is some history behind it that I don't know.

There's also an "awesome" party that I came across while preparing a post for the Luxtoday chat. It literally translates to "We the People". And it's a gathering of some pretty interesting people who have managed to include just about everything you can think of and everything you cannot think of. There are conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccinationists, you name it.

I think yes. The state gives you, as an expat, the opportunity to somehow influence your life and what goes on around you. If you have that opportunity, you should use it. Here you are not treated like a guest worker. On the contrary, you are a full member of society with slightly limited rights: you cannot vote in parliamentary elections, for example.

It's very cool, I don't know what other country has such a system. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it and just go with the flow.

Share your stories with us. If you would like to tell us about moving to Luxembourg and about life here, please write to our editors 

 or email editorial@luxtoday.lu. One person's experience can help many.

Artyom

An expat's view of Luxembourg's political system

In order to obtain Luxembourg citizenship, among other formalities, you must pass the Sproochentest. It is a language test to prove your knowledge of the Luxembourgian language. The required level is A2 for spoken language, B1 for speech understanding. It seems a bit irrational to me, but the creators know best.

The Sproochentest looks like almost any other language test. We have a list of topics such as my home, my family, my work, my health, my kitchen and so on. And there are 25 questions about it, maybe more.

The speaking part involves telling a story based on one of the topics on the list.

The listening part involves listening to some audio fragments and answering questions in the form of a test.

You need a certain number of points to pass the exam. The speaking and listening blocks do not have to be in this order. But let's look at the 'classic' version.

At the beginning of the test, the examiner will offer you to choose two topics from a list. The candidate may choose any of them. After that, they will start the recording, set a timer for 5 minutes and you can start to speak about the topic. At the same time, some more questions on the topic will be asked. The questions are quite tricky; they may help you, or they may lead you into such mazes that you're sure to get confused. So it's best not to go there.

Demo version for speaking part

After answering the question on the topic, you are offered a choice of three pictures. They can be photos or they can be drawings. It is the same here — on a timer you describe what you see in these pictures.

In the second part of the test, the focus is on listening comprehension.

You will be asked to listen to three pieces of audio.

The first is usually an extract from the news: a kangaroo has escaped from the zoo, two cars have collided, the police have arrested someone and so on.

This means a large amount of text with some questions from the second person.

There are between 3 and 7 questions for each of the three extracts — news, dialogue and interview. And each question has 2-3 options for an answer. Both texts and questions are read out twice, which means you have enough time to understand and answer everything.

Demo version for listening part

There are two ways to take the listening test. You can either listen to the text with everyone else. Or you can do it on the iPad.

Most people choose the first option. To be honest, I don't know why.

Maybe there's a sense of community. You don't feel alone when you're doing these tasks. After all, everyone's parts can be quite different when listening from an electronic device.

I don't understand it either, because you can't copy your neighbour's answers — don't even try. If you do, you may be removed from the room and banned from taking the exam for some time.

The examinee will know the marks and results when he or she receives an email with the transcript of the marks. It is worth remembering that speaking is much more important than listening.

The value system for scoring is also quite curious. Technically, you have to gain 100 points across both tests. BUT!

For example, if you score 67 points in the speaking part, you can do the listening part just for fun. Over 50 points in speaking is almost a guarantee that you will pass the exam. However, it doesn't work the other way round!

In other words, if you only score, say, 38 points for the speaking test, you must gain all 62 points for the listening test. Otherwise, the test is considered failed.

You can, of course, use your guts and recall where you made mistakes during the exam, but it's rather unreliable. You should try your best in both parts.

Harsh! For cheating and cribbing, as I said, you will be removed from the exam. And if I'm not mistaken, you can't retake the exam for a year. Of course, the examinee is automatically given you a bad mark.

The same is true in the case of cheating. It's understandable that you wouldn't even think of taking a picture or redrawing during the speaking part. But during the exam, people sometimes try to take a picture of printed papers. For this kind of cheating, the punishment is more severe. You can even be sued.

I can't even say if it depends on gender. My students almost all pass with flying colours. Of course, there have been a few cases where they have not passed at first go. But these are the exceptions. I have only had four of them in my practice.

What impresses me about the students is how motivated they are. My first class starts at 6 in the morning. I wake up at 5.45 a.m., I barely have time to open my eyes, to open my laptop. And there's a man in a suit looking at me. He's rushing off to work, and he's studying the language with me before he starts. For me, these people are heroes.

Major preparation for the exam is an endless repetition of the listed topics. Absolutely never-ending. One should ask for help from a husband, wife, or dog in posing questions on these topics. In the end, you can also practice asking questions yourself, because if you can ask questions, you can also answer them.

However, you should be aware that the question can be asked in very different ways. There is no clear list that is one way and no other. Luxembourgian is very rich, there's a lot to choose from.

So as soon as they get out of the classroom, that's it. 90% of all their knowledge is lost. As far as I am concerned, I guarantee a good knowledge of grammar. It doesn't disappear. As for vocabulary, it is a matter of constant practice!

I'd highlight 5 basic taboos — these are things you absolutely must not do, under any circumstances:

Asking someone else to take the test for you

Cheating

Long silence

Switch to German

Criticise the country

You don't have to make it difficult. It's not even my case, it happens all the time. A person comes in and says, "Well, that's a boring story, let me tell you something nice, how I get out of bed in the morning and my slippers jump up on my feet!"

That's not a good idea. Why not? Because it's not one or two, it's one in two. And when an examiner hears stories like that all day long, he naturally gets annoyed. The consequences can be more insidious the more he gets fed up. For example, his question will be: "How do you do it yourself? Describe to me what is happening". That's it. How do you describe it?

Of course, you should not be late. All exams are scheduled at a certain time and if this does not suit you, write a letter asking for a different time. They will always meet you halfway!

The Luxembourgish language exam is administered by the INL language institute. Their 

 and you can also register there. It costs around 75 euros. If you do not pass, you can immediately register for a second exam.

Share your stories with us. If you would like to tell us about moving to Luxembourg and about life here, please write to our editors

or email editorial@luxtoday.lu. One person's experience can help many.

Vika

What is the Sproochentest and how to pass it

I had been to Luxembourg regularly for business purposes before. So, I knew the country quite well. My family and I had no hesitation in accepting the offer to relocate.

I moved as an employee of an established international company 7 years ago. I have a choice to move or not. But today many people are being forced to relocate from their motherland.

I had been legalised as a salaried employee and my family came as family members. We had been supported by our company's HR department. The process — then and now — was pretty standard.

We quickly found an apartment. We made the necessary preparations for buying a car, opening bank accounts and other for other important things. Places in school and the Maison Relais were quickly found for the children in the municipally.

There must have been some difficulties. But we don't remember them now. The first months were quite positive.

Until the notorious events of 24 February. Afterwards, many things changed in everyone's life. And I was no exception.

The answer came to me on the way to the border between Poland and Ukraine. We were driving there in five cars — three Russian, one Ukrainian and one Polish.

The plan was simple: to take humanitarian aid. We had collected it from friends. Something we had to buy — partly with our own money and partly with donations. Another important thing to us was to pick up refugees at the border who needed to get to this part of Europe.

On the way, we had plenty of time to think about what had happened and about this disaster. It was not our fault, but we did have a sense of responsibility. As we shared our thoughts with our fellow travellers, we decided that we had to try to offer something that would unite the divided Russian-speaking community of Luxembourg.

The idea is simple: bring people together through various creative, cultural and intellectual activities. And then, based on this growing community, we could create humanitarian projects to help refugees and all those suffering from these events.

We have a full-time co-ordinator, Alice. She is also a refugee who came to Luxembourg with her daughter. Alice receives and processes all incoming requests. She coordinates the work of the volunteers and gives them assignments.

For example, someone is in need of help with a heating connection in a house that the commune has allocated. However, details such as the activation of the gas contract have been forgotten.

Someone needs financial help with medical bills. Sometimes doctors can't wait 4 months for reimbursement from the CNS. They demand payment at the current moment.

Someone has come with their pets. They cannot afford to buy expensive food and medication. It is necessary for them to get what they need.

As an organisation, helping people is not a one-time move for us. We are responsible for the promises we make. We do everything we can to keep them.

For example, in April we organised a concert by the violinist Alyona Baeva and her husband, the pianist Vadim Kholodenko. He is Ukrainian, by the way.

As in the Six Degrees of Separation rule, one of them took us to Alyona and another to the Banque de Luxembourg, which hosted us in the concert hall. This is probably only possible in Luxembourg because of its tiny size.

The concert was organised in support of Ukraine and we bought Ukrainian books in Kyiv for the Ukrainian library in Luxembourg. We also helped to organise a trip to an amusement park for refugee children. At any time, kids should have a childhood.

It is important to help those who have been forced to flee from the war, not only from Ukraine but from Russia as well. One of the tasks we see is to help students and university professors who have lost their jobs because of their public position.

We also want to help refugees realise their business ideas. To do so, we need volunteer lawyers and business consultants who are willing to advise on legal issues related to citizenship, work permits and so on.

I like Luxembourg for its multiculturalism and lack of national prejudices.

 It's also a great place to start or relocate a business.

As for what I don't like, I'd say low population density. It makes the development of the services we are used to in big cities — Uber, car sharing, food delivery at any time of the day or night — almost impossible. But on the other hand, it is a plus point: it allows you to plan your time in a better way 😊.

If you asked me to describe Luxembourg in one sentence, I would say: "Almost like paradise!"

Ilya Ostretsov

Who is helping refugees in Luxembourg after February 24 and how

My name is Sergey and I have been living in Luxembourg for a year. I work as a cloud engineer for a large IT company. That's what brought me to the Grand Duchy.

There's another reason we chose the car. It's a convenient way to transport your personal belongings, especially when you're in a hurry. Just throw everything in and off you go. I have travelled a lot for for business purposes. What happens to my luggage sometimes made me want to cry. 

The fact that the car is almost essential for getting around the country is another argument in its favour. Public transport is something Luxembourg is proud of. I don't really have any complaints about it in the capital. Except that I work in Esch-sur-Alzette, on the border with France. Getting there is quite a challenge.

There have been many occasions when the buses haven't arrived. You look at the timetable and there's a "5 minute delay". Then it's 15, then 20. Half an hour later you realise it's not coming at all.

You can take the trains but there are also problems with it. For example, the train line to Esch-sur-Alzette was under repair for most of the summer. And the trains either didn't run at all, or they ran to some station and then you had to get back on the bus. Long story short, it wasn't easy.

The issue of legalising the car was also a matter of some urgency. A few times I had to use the car for short trips. I didn't want to take the risk of long journeys, because if you get caught by an inspector, the fines are quite high here.

Getting legalised can be very confusing for some people from different contries. Usually you buy a car firstly, then you go to the registration office, they check it and issue the documents, and after that you have the plates.

You can book number plates at Guichet or choose from a pool of available numbers. It is possible to have a bit of customisation, but it will be more expensive. For those who like to show off their numbers, you can even queue for some unique plates.

When I received Guichet's reply, I printed out the letter and took it to the company that makes the plates. I paid for the production and after a while the plates were ready. At the moment they are not yet registered on any vehicle, so you can pick them up and put them wherever you like.

Importing the car was the next step. As I arrived in mine, it had to go through customs.

. No customs fees are payable in this case.

. In this case you have to pay a customs duty of 10% of the cost of the car. And on top of that there is the VAT — 17% of the cost.

Of course I took the first option. And as it turned out, it is almost impossible to do anything without a customs agent. There may be a few other options out there, but I haven't found them yet.

There are several customs agents in Luxembourg. I had no idea which one to choose. So my plan was to ask for advice at the customs office itself.

They gave me a list of companies and even highlighted the ones that deal with cases like mine. For example, there are companies that only specialise in commercial vehicles.

I chose one of the closest ones geographically. But I didn't write or make any phone calls beforehand. That was a mistake. 

So I became the owner of a card with all the contacts. I went back home and wrote an email: described my situation, attached the documents and sent it. It was a day or two before they replied.

However, they provided me with guidance about all the paperwork I had to fill in. I was allowed to come back the next time whenever it suited me.

You just had to make an appointment to be sure they were there. And of course there was a charge for the service — it was either 200 or 250 euros. By the way, they only accept payment in cash.

I handed over all of the documents and I also included the technical papers for the car. To be sure there would be no questions, I had them translated into English beforehand. And there was no: I waited for a while and was given my motorway tax sticker №705. This is a piece of coloured paper — a proof that the car has been through customs successfully.

 to arrange this. You can do this on their website, that is a familiar story. You make an appointment, fill in the paperwork and turn up on the agreed date.

The memo gives details of specific cases, procedures and, most importantly, the documents that are required. I saw one important point I hadn't thought of — the mandatory technical inspection.

I thought, "Great! I've got a checkpoint right next to my house". I went there with my car all dressed up — I washed it specially. And they're like: "Who are you?" They only speak Luxembourgish! But we managed to understand each other somehow.

I went to the SNCA and explained again that I wanted to register my car. They understood and took the registration certificate. The truth is that as long as the car is registered in Luxembourg, the registration certificate is kept there.

I was given a registration form. It explained all the stages of the registration process. The rest of the paperwork was done without any problems. But there is also a technical part. An adventurous one.

As soon as I got to the technical department, I was asked: "Do you have an EU certificate 

(vehicle certificate of conformity with EU environmental standards — ed.)

I knew I would need this document back in my hometown. Then I tried to contact the department, but still no answer. I decided to solve the problem on the spot. And that's when the question of the certificate came up.

I got the contact details of two companies that work with these cars. I wrote to both of them and they both said more or less the same thing: "Come and we'll do a test drive". The only difference was that in one of them it cost 400 euros and in the other one it cost 250 euros. I went to the second one, of course.

I explained the situation for the hundredth time. They took my documents and left. There was a half-hour wait in the reception area. At the end of it, one of the employees came up to me and said: "Let me see your car". I said: "Here it is, the car. Just like in the documents".

The funny thing is that this paper was almost an exact copy of my vehicle licence. In other words, I gave them the driving licence, they transferred the data from it to their form, added a few things and that was it. I have to admit that I would also like to earn 250 euros a day this way.

There was nothing to do: I went home. A few hours later, I checked to see and it had already been emailed to me. It was a same-day delivery. So it turns out they could have done it on the spot? Why did they say such deadlines?

Interview