Dutch work permit with too many conditions

I was working at a bakery in Nijmegen, a few hours cash in hand.

Dutch bureaucracy, part I My first encounter with official Netherlands was in Amsterdam back in 2000. I don't know if I was close to getting a tax number and blew it, or if that nearness was only an illusion....

The owner suggested that he might need a full-time morning baker come autumn. It could be a chance to apply for legal resident status.

In May, we began a series of interactions with CWI, the national employment agency. They required A_ to seek a candidate from within the European Union, so my chances hinged upon the demonstration that I was the most-properly qualified.

It was a long, slow process of mostly waiting. A_ posted the requisite advertisements in local and international venues. He had to respond to all applicants, of course, and interview several, and explain to CWI why they were less-qualified. They weren't, of course — not all of them. A_ was going through the process in a way that would favor me.

In September of 2004, we received a permit — sort of. Its duration was only a half-year. The conditions requiring A_ to continue seeking a qualified European were strong. The risk to A_ of paying to train me was too great in such uncertain circumstances.

But I was distracted, too, and my work began to suffer. I lost the sourdough, at the worst time.

It wasn't going to work, and didn't.

I was angry at first, but of course I understood better later.