"P" Part 3: Personal Numbers and Permits

PERSONAL NUMBER: I have spent several hours and conversations over the last two weeks trying to figure out what to do about my CPR number and more specifically my address associated with it. The CPR number (and the card it is on) is like a national identity card (though without a photo) and is required for anyone residing in Denmark. Without it you can't go to the doctor and you don't really exist as a resident.

The Kommune (the municipality) you live in issues the CPR card (Danes probably come out of the birth canal with one though) and if you leave the kommune you have to tell them where you are going. So where am I going? Its complicated, they don't like vagabonds here and you just can't set up a PO box like in the US. I am travelling about half of the summer so where do I live? I also have many friends who are students and can't use their address. Why? Because students have a low income and get a break (like a poor people's discount) on their rent from the kommune - but this is contingent on them living without a roommate, otherwise no deal. Argh.

SO I now live in the office of my scholarship director at the University. Not sure how that is going to work out, but at least I don't have to bother about it until I get back here in July - what a headache (and I can't get Advil here to take care of it). Good news is if there is no trouble they will assign me a new doctor - can't be worse than the last one...

PERMITS: Today I also got my Swedish residency permit, yippee. They said it would take 6 weeks, but luckily it just took 3.
Funny note about the Swedish embassy. I saw a guy applying for his permit today. With the application you need to have a statement with information about how much you are getting as a scholarship recipient OR you need to submit information about how much money you have in your bank account. This African guy was applying and his bank details were listed in Danish Kroner (because he lives in Denmark duh) but the Swedish Embassy wouldn't accept it! The bank information has to be in Swedish Kroner, Euros, US dollars, or UK pounds? How crazy is that? What's wrong with DK kroner, that's not very neighborly - and not to mention rather absurd since they accept payment of the visa FEE in DK kroner - ha!