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May 18, 2006
Israeli bureaucracy? NOT!!!
My Israeli passport is due to expire in July. A little while ago I receive in the mail a letter informing me that my passport is due to expire. The letter continues to inform me that I have the option of mailing it in to them (via registered mail) using the attached envelope (not enclosed, but attached. You have to live here to know what an attached envelope is) and they will mail it back. Three days after I mailed it in, I already got it back in the mail. Painless. Simple. And free. The way it should be.
I've experienced the same. It's an exception to the rule. Doesn't apply to everything else. Ever try to get in touch with the post office to chase down a letter? Forget it, might as well walk to the return address....
whereas, to renew my Canadian passport in Toronto 2 yrs ago, I had two options: take a number and wait for an hour and a half, or send it by mail and wait 6 wks -- oh, and pay a bundle. The "old country" is not as efficient as everybody imagines.
I've been noticing things getting a bit better in recent years in the red tape dept. We've still got a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up.
I had a similar experience. Walked into Misrad Hapnim in Ramla for a pasport extention. Done on the spot. Total time: less than 3 minutes. Now to think I had to wait 2 years for a phone line from Bezeq when I 1st came here...
I've experienced the same. It's an exception to the rule. Doesn't apply to everything else. Ever try to get in touch with the post office to chase down a letter? Forget it, might as well walk to the return address....
ReplyDeleteImpressive!
ReplyDeleteteam driver - I never tried that, but even if it is an exception, it shows things are improving in the bureaucracy field..
ReplyDeletejewish blogmeister - yes, very!
whereas, to renew my Canadian passport in Toronto 2 yrs ago, I had two options: take a number and wait for an hour and a half, or send it by mail and wait 6 wks -- oh, and pay a bundle. The "old country" is not as efficient as everybody imagines.
ReplyDeleteI've been noticing things getting a bit better in recent years in the red tape dept. We've still got a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up.
ReplyDeletesquare - the old country is way over-rated..
ReplyDeleterr- we are getting there...
I had a similar experience. Walked into Misrad Hapnim in Ramla for a pasport extention. Done on the spot. Total time: less than 3 minutes. Now to think I had to wait 2 years for a phone line from Bezeq when I 1st came here...
ReplyDeleteanon - big changes and great improvements have happened over time...
ReplyDelete