Hi Keith, thanks for getting in touch. I got my card – but at a price! I hired a lawyer, and she wrote to them. They got back within a week or so and said that I needed to sign a “Personalblatt” – it’s a data sheet with my scanned signature, which is then transferred onto the card. After I sent them that, I got my card within about 3 weeks. Cost about €550 in lawyers fees though!
My lawyer then sent a letter to the Finanzprokura asking them to reimburse my legal costs, as it was not my fault that I had to hire her. I am still waiting to hear from them. By the way, my Rechtsschutz Versicherung did not cover this kind of thing (Fremdenrecht is not included, ofcourse!).
In the meantime the Volksanwalt, who I contacted around the same time as my lawyer has also received an answer from MA35. In their statement they basically say, that I did not respond to a notification from them in Dec. 2021, in which they asked me to sign the Personalblatt. This is untrue, as I never received anything from them. But in round terms, the Volksanwalt concludes that the MA35 did not fulfil their duty properly and that my complaint was valid.
It’s all rather tiresome, but glad that it’s finally taken care of. I’m still waiting to hear whether I will get my money back from the Finanzprokatura – so we’ll see!
Cheers and all the best to all those still waiting!
Kris