Q&A: I’d like to return to Europe but I messed up when I first lived there… how do I fix this?

The question

OK, in small: I overstayed in Schengen, and failed to pay a few bills…. and I have three questions concerning how I am to solve that.

I’m a South East Asian national, and came to Holland in 2003. Back then I was in my late teens and had a nervous breakdown from previous and current traumas. I was away from parents, family, relatives, or family friends… and had interpersonal problems with the new people I tried to befriend. Long tale small, I encountered an abusive link, got into overwhelming financial troubles, and fled to Belgium in 2005. I was on a Dutch student visa but had left my hogeschool in NL, rented an apartment in BE and studied at the university there instead.

I left Holland with some unsettled debts: about EUR500 with T-mobile phone operator, some EUR60 with NS (railway operator), and perhaps a few other smaller debts which I did not keep track of. As far as I remember, they were all due to private companies, no government debts. I know it was foolish of me, but back then I went penniless and was too ashamed to tell anyone, so I was even too worried to open the envelopes and read the bills. I simply felt trapped and didn’t know any better.

To make things worse, I studied in Belgium with a visa issued for the Netherlands. In 2005 I registered at a hogeschool in NL, pulled out after 3 weeks, and questioned for a refund. On my resignation form I ticked the option to transfer the funds to my new university in BE, gave them the account number, and had the administrator’s assurance that they will do as stated on the form. Well, they never did, and any further correspondences or phone calls I have attempted with my NL hogeschool has been ignored. Later I realised that I paid my NL hogeschool EUR3500 and owe my BE university EUR1000, which my NL hogeschool never settled. The last time the BE university requested payment was in June 2006.

My visa expired in June 2006, but I couldn’t leave Europe till October because of my financial situation. I tried to call the gemeente I was living in Holland for an extention, but they told me not to worry about it because I was leaving anyway.

Anyway, that’s my messed up past. I’m now recovering and getting back up on my feet. Recently I’ve started a link with a man (the same race as me) whom I have known with since our days in Holland, and we are plotting to return to Europe. Of course, then I won’t be in the same pathetic situation I had been when I first came… I’d be a different person altogether.

In 2011-2012 my fiance (will be my husband by then) and I are plotting to take up our masters in Italy. He knows that I had overstayed went to BE without proper papers and overstayed in Schengen altogether, but I have never told him about my debts.

Currently I am not working because I have resumed studies in my home country in Asia, am living with my parents on allowance, and have been getting psychological therapy, so my finances are very tight. I am plotting to get a job soon, but have no thought how much I will be making (the starting salaries here aren’t quite as excellent as they are in Europe). My fiance notices that I’m so obsessed about getting a job and making money and have a hard time enjoying myself… because deep down I know I still have debts to pay and I didn’t keep track of every single one of them.

Soo… after all that details, here are the questions:

1. OK, so 2011-2012 is still quite away from now, but I have quite some huge homework to complete before it arrives. I want to settle my debts in NL & BE and clear my accounts. Some of the debts have been forwarded to debt collection companies, none which I remember. How do I settle this? If the amounts come with interests, how much larger are they than the original amount due, and do they compound? Was I reported to the police (and if so, what problems should I anticipate and how do I solve that)? As a debtor, what legal rights and protection does the Dutch and Belgian government allow me (considering that I was an alien)?

2. Will my overstay in NL-BE affect my future attention for an Italian visa? If I change my name (from maiden to married), could I get around it? Otherwise, what challenges might arise in the visa attention, and what can I do to overcome them and still get a visa successfully issued?

3. I’d prefer not to tell my fiance about this, but should I? (He’s a NL-graduated lawyer, a diplomat’s son, and has lived in Italy as a child… he’s very smart and has the inclination to make complicated-seeming problems become so simple without losing ground its essence.) If so, what should he know and what can I keep to myself? How will this affect our link, and how can I converse this in a way that won’t stir up too much conflict? Remember that the point is to help me view the problem accurately and come up with a humane solution thereof, not to provoke unnecessary emotional reactions.

Right, so that’s my question. I spent a lot of

The question

Hi, I am a non-EU (living in the UK) – just completed my Masters degree, and having my student Visa expiring on 27th January 2012.

Since, for a permanent job in the UK, I will require a Work permit – and I need to know which Tier visa do I have to apply and when? (based on the new rules)

I am concerned about two constraints in particular:
1) It is not feasible for me to keep 800+ pounds for 3 months in my Bank Account
2) I read that it I have to be working for at least 6 months before I could apply !?.. which I can’t, because my current visa will expire after just 3 months !

What should I do to be eligible to work (everlastingly) in the UK, if I get a Job offer?

The question

Hi,

Can someone please read over my current cover letter and make any suggestions or revisions to improve it. I am applying for a bartending job in a rural community working at a Heli Skiing Lodge.

To whom it may concern:

I am interested in applying for the position of Head Bartender (Job Number 6044264) at Crescent Spur Heli Skiing, which was advertised on the Job Bank website until November 2, 2011 and starting January 1, 2012.

I am currently employed as student bar manager at Mount Allison University where I am in my third year of studies in the commerce department focusing in accounting and economics. I am interested in taking a semester to experience something unique and I feel that the relaxing atmosphere of the Crescent Spur Lodge would be a fantastic opportunity. My experience working in bars ranges from bar services events, which cater to conferences and weddings at the university as well as working at the campus pub. I have served a wide array of patrons including university board of directors, CBC news anchor and correspondent Peter Mansbridge and my student peers. As a student bar manager I have gained experience in bartending, inventory, organizing, plotting, choice making, problem solving, cash balancing, small order food, customer service and have been trained on Point of Sale (POS) system. I am a very personable person and delight in bartending as it allows me to be social at work. I am flexible to meet the needs of customers in an intimate background like the lodge.

I am very interested to learn more about Crescent Spur Heli Skiing Lodge including in rank about the workplace, accommodations and dining. As I am currently attending school I would only be available for a phone or online interview. I am very excited about this opportunity and hope we can discuss my qualifications further fitting me as the head bartender.