The Ultimate Anti-Climax

Starting over a year ago I started looking for full time jobs that would sponcer me to stay in Ireland. I was going for interviews that I was no way qualified for, doing power point presentations and speaking to panals about community development and other bullshit. In the end I got a job doing relief work with a homeless agency and earning enough money to fly home and buy a work visa.

As this one time visa offer through canada comes to an end I was much more chilled out in the process decided not to kill myself over it and only go for things that I thought I could get and actually wanted.

There was a full time job going where I already am working, I put in an application and thought here's my chance. I get to work somewhere I already know and am able to stay in the country brillant. You would think that getting the job would be perfect, what I have been looking for since i came here.

i did a brillant interview and waited two weeks to hear the news. So today came the news but three weeks too late. i got the job . . . congrats. But it all came three weeks too late.

Three weeks ago my manager would have had to fill out a new application form for a work visa, shell out €500 euros and i would have been here for a year with a full time job, 25 days of vacation, €31000 a year but more importantly I could stay with my partner, my friends (no disrepect to my Tdot mates), RAG and what ever else steals all my time. But instead of having this all organised three weeks ago and having me get everything I worked hard for. Instead the government changed immigration policy and now:

"The policy whereby persons on a Working Holiday Visa could transfer over to a work permit has now been discontinued with effect from Tuesday 6th June 2006."

I was going to apply through the regular route of sponcership but guess what they just added another policy in the past few days:

"If a person wishes to apply for a work permit they must adhere to the current policy in relation to first time work permit applications. Please note that we will not accept new applications if the term of the Programme is still valid and the person must have completed the Programme for us to consider a work permit application."

so that means that my work can't put in an application for sponcership till the end of my visa, which is in October. And just to put the icing on the cake. The processing time is under the what is new catigory as well on the Department of Entriprise, Trade and Employment site and what use to take 3-4 weeks to process how now been changed to:

"Employers are advised to allow approx. 8 weeks for an application to be processed . . ."

So if my employers really want me to have the job they will have to wait till mid october to apply and wait the 8 weeks to find out. Both they and I know this is a waste of time anyways since both of us have phoned the department of work visa's and they said that my line of work did not qualify.

i'm almost pissed off that i got the job, its like dangling a gold carrot in front of my face while i run on a tread mill. Soon I will fall off and fly back home to toronto.