In the past few days, there has been a meeting for all officers (patronati, associations, communes questura) at the Padua Prefettura, in order to update them about the situation of the PDS processing.
It is fair to say that most officers are not satisfied with the service that Poste Italiane is providing the customers and the Questuras as well.
The most discouraging fact is that 65% of all applications submitted so far through the postal system is incomplete or incorrect. Maybe because the application is not complete or because the personal information are not correct, or maybe for some other reasons that the operative system provided by Posta Italiane is not even able to detect.
After all, that same optical reading device already created many problems with the application packages for the Flussi 2006. That is because a optical reading device that is able to read all sorts of writings on all sorts of forms simply does not exist.
As we usually say, “the defect is in the handle”, to say that the problem is to be found in the system that has been chosen, but is not adequately reliable.
This data show how draconian, rigorous this reform is, even if it was introduced with the objective of simplifying the procedures.
For instance, the Padua Questura (which was the fastest in the entire Venetian region), after the implementation of this new procedure, cannot provide its service within reasonable time anymore and is not able to guarantee the same service level that it had before.
In addition to that, you have to consider additional waiting time.
Another problematic aspect is the electronic PDS
Currently, the waiting time for the new electronic PDS (with anti-faking devices, fingerprints recording chips, etc.) is estimated to be not less than 60 days.
That means that, since the application has been approved, the applicant has to wait for at least 60 days. It’s obvious that this cannot be considered as a simplification, especially considering the cost of the electronic PDS (30 euros).
But that’s not it.
The issue of the appointments at the Questura
We are to inform everybody who already sent the application package through the Post Office system that they should be careful when they visit the webpage www.portaleimmigrazione.it and check their application status and appointment at the Questura, using their personal userid and password.
The problem is that the Post Office system books the appointments without considering national and local holidays, week ends, etc.
The appointments are booked in a very unrealistic way and the schedules do no correspond to the actual schedules and office hours of the Questuras. Therefore, the dates of the appointment showed in the website and the dates in which the Questura is actually scheduling the appointments do not correspond.
It is not needed to go further to comment this so-called simplification.
Actually, it couldn’t be more complicated than that…