So I can’t open a bank account without prove of address. Without a Meldezettel, prove of Address means some bill form a governmental institution, like electricity or gas, under your name. As mentioned before, I don’t have any. The bank won’t accept a letter from the landlord, but they will make an exception if I bring them the letter from the Social Welfare Local office. I’ve been to the Department on Friday, which by the way has closed over lunch time even when the office is opened, and you will also need prove of address to apply for a PPS number. Great. But unlike the bank, they will accept a letter, form the person on such a bill, confirming that I live at this address. I finally managed to get all the necessary documents and went back to the office first thing on Monday morning. By the way, the Social Welfare, Community and Family Affairs Department will not open before 9:30am. I guess they start late to compensate the fact that they close early at 4pm. However, the important thing is that I successfully applied for the PPS number on the 22nd of August. The application takes a minimum of seven to ten days to process, so if I am lucky, I will be able to file the Form 12A till the end of the month. The Form 12A, Application for a Certificate of Tax Credits and Standard Rate Cot-Off Point, needs to be filed in within the month you started working, or you will be charged 42% emergency taxes. Which one probably gets back at the end of the year. And once I get the letter with the PPS number, I’ll also be able to open a bank account and get on the pay role.

The weirdest thing about the whole story is the fact that I still believe it’s much easier then in Austrian.