In search of place
I’m a citizen of Russia living in Montenegro at the moment. I left Russia 2 years ago, went to Turkey, and then other Balkan countries. I don’t feel Russia as my home anymore. But getting a new home is a challenge.
I have no ability to withdraw my citizenship, unless i get a new one. At the very least I should be in the process of getting a new one. It is not good for any government to have stateless people anywhere around. If i want to function on any territory, I need to integrate in the system first.
Right now, I’m functioning as a tourist. And since the country has certain agreements with Russia, I can do so up to 30 days in a row. Provided that I pay the tourist tax. then I need to cross the border, so when I return back I can continue for another 30 days. In fact many people are doing this. They are basically trying to live in the country, eventually applying for a residence and stuff like that.
The problem is I don’t necessarily want to be integrated in the current country as a resident. It implies me getting an official job in addition to accommodation, and going through the procedure, guaranteeing that I stay here at least for a year. For eg. my friend escaped the Putin regime recently and getting a Serbian residence. He will have to live in the country for the next 12 months, without leaving for too long. Otherwise the status might be lost. I don’t feel this certain about the place, not certain about any job either.
There are still some options left to explore. Other countries that do not ask for a visa. Basic touristic visa is a rather strict procedure. It requires to act in a certain way at the host. Like living in the hotel, money in the bank and so on. It’s about similar rules everywhere. But Russian banks are useless outside the country. And in order to get an account in other country you have to have a residence. If I do not have one, my simplest choice would be countries that do not ask for the visa.
Now I’m not certain about the role I want to play in the system. Probably I’m not the only one. It is expected that you possess an amount of money to buy some property or invest in the business of the country you are willing to reside at. Otherwise, if you are not a successful businessman, only a limited number of jobs are required by the governments from outside. Most of the positions are expected to be filled with their own citizens. Industry may need an IT specialists today, so that along with some other spheres became a limited choice for anyone willing to relocate.
It is not like going somewhere and getting a basic job say at construction, and making your way through the society. It can be done in theory if you apply somewhere as a refugee. But you can not simply do that, unless you have serious reasons like prosecution in your own country. There are many people who struggle hard. So there is no shortage of refugees either.
That being said if you just do not want to live in the own country anymore, you are expected to integrate in some other country first before leaving. 2 years ago I did volunteer in Turkey at the farm, arranged it before leaving Russia. And it worked pretty well. But today I feel that it was more of a sacrifice to establish someones harmony. My personal harmony still would be a private place. That means a paid job and fitting in the above demands of the country I head to. But I’m not certain about any place and job. So here we go again.
Sometimes I think about all those possible restrictions, chances, fittings. And then I'm setting those thoughts aside. Knowing that a new place and money alone would not make me happy. Without something that drives me inside to use all those resources I would not make anything tangible, useful to the society. So all this integration falls apart without the purpose. I just wish I had a different base to start from. From a government that does not abuse its power. From a place where each person position in life is respected.
So I ask myself what do I really want from life? Not matter what limits are present. Where do I want to live? What do I want to do? Those questions lead me to the need of education, learning something new and exploring my potential. Just may be I fit somewhere I’m not aware of yet. But thats a topic for another discussion.