The rules of Germany. Well it does get some “getting used” to. From applying for a residence permit to driving on the roads to walking on the streets for everything there is a system. And for an outsider it seems like fitting a round object in a hole meant for something square.

I dipped my toes into this strange world before even leaving the shores of India. They need a biometric photo for my visa. Passport size photos won’t do. I always thought the passport size was invented for, well things related to a passport. Germans seem to disagree. They need a biometric. Ok fine, biometric then. I got my visa.    [](http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p7041123jd3.jpg)  Visa in hand, I reach Deutschland. Then what? I need to apply for a residence permit. Ok great. Preplanning a lot of things I pay (or was it Bachu who paid? :D ) a few hundred bucks and get 20 additional copies from India. I recieve an email from my relocation agent saying you need a biometric pic. Glad at my genius of thinking about stuff before hand I read the next line in the mail – “Biometric photos taken in India are not valid”. Crap! My relocation agent says, but your company will re-imburse for it, what is the big deal! Hmmm. The big deal is a biometric photo is a biometric photo whether taken in India or Uzbekistan or Pluto! But the rules are theirs, and I need to play along. So paying 15 euros I get 4 more biometric photos of me from Germany. Now what? My friends say there is a chance that even this might get rejected.. Awwwww… I wait fingers crossed!

Ok, this is not just about the biometrics, but the rules, rules and more rules. Hmm. I take consolation in the fact that, their system works. Punkt! Everything here just works, so may be I shouldn’t complain too much. But I am an Indian. I have the right to crib about things. And after all being Indian I did make a round object fit into a square hole!

Maybe this was all inspired by the hazzle of getting the photos and missing trips to Salzberg and Paris because of the delay. But the German rules… Arggghh!

:)