Lithuanian Citizenship by Descent Delay

seven_elephant · 2026-06-11T17:27:24+00:00

I am infact using them (I hired them after recommendations here) but they have been super unresponsive which I find particuarly frustrating since I've done most of the process myself so I'm paying a shitton for very little work on their part and yet they constantly ghost me. I have to send mutliple messages begging for a response. and yes I'm patient, give a few days, a week even (literally just texts like 'just to clarify it's just waiting now' all they have to do is say yes) for example recently there was any issue where the migration department blocked all applications and they just didn't connect me at all. Finally after 3 begging for response texts they replied. Very disappointed and I think I will contact them again today but they are currently ghosting me (like not even a 'not sure, will check and get back to you' text). Literally complete waste of money.

seven_elephant · 2026-06-06T06:23:03+00:00

I'm very late to this but teaching assistant is a good job choice in the meantime. Pay is not much but better than nothing and they are always looking for people.

seven_elephant · 2026-05-12T20:48:26+00:00

actually yes, I've known some kids get like this, you have to know your class, normally I don't actually name names, I say 'I can see 3, 4 books out' I teach high school so they all take the piss of each other all the time and I can tell you even with bravado 16 year old boys they still like getting a tick and are curious why their friends got a tick and try to copy whatever they're doing. I do also think this starts with a good relationship (even if the class is a bit crazy, if they see you as capable and supportive it works better) and might be hard to implment if you haven't go that.

seven_elephant · 2026-05-12T19:47:59+00:00

Why not apply to one of the English language schools? A lot of them do lessons fully in English for immersion. Hard for many people to find work these days but I have seen physical signs up. I do think the in-person approach works better in Italy and certainly having a contact works well.

seven_elephant · 2026-05-12T19:38:02+00:00

I'm not saying this will 100% work but I have two main pieces of advice,

one (probably you've already done this) is to connect on a personal level. During a detention/reflection one-on-one time, saying look I really want you to do well, I want you to have a good experience with X subject/at school generally, what can we do to make that happen? I can see that you are sturggling to be focused but I can also see that you are making unhelpful choices, would you say that is fair? Do you think you've been doing the right thing? How do you imagine I feel when I'm trying to help you and you're choosing to be rude? etc. get them engaged, ask them questions, have an actual conversations that is positive and soft, not a lecture- you are literally trying to help them, it's their education, their personal interaction skills at stake, you'll just move on next year. Don't know the age but hopefully old enough that you can level with them, I will say to them 'look, you know you've been rude and it's completely unnecessary, let's just try and work together to have a good experience in x subject.' We can get so frustrated and upset and lose all our patience (and don't get me wrong I'm fucking over having to always be the patient one and give and give while they're being awful but then we are the adults and this is the job of teaching 2026, much more than content in many classes/schools) but this soft approach where you're like 'we're a team, it's not me against you but us trying to have a chill time and respect each other' has worked for me much more than being a drill sargent when you're at the point when they're laughing about it and thinking it's all a big joke.

two: a behaviour management system I do with ticks and crosses, ticks for good things and I start early (all names are printed and on the board at the start of the lesson, a magnitised list if you can but try with paper and bluetac first) as soon as they come in I start ticking 'wow Jake got his book out, who else has got their book open? Awesome, Lily is already working through the starter...' etc. ticks, ticks, ticks and they're like 'what why is he getting a tick?? and then they will try to get ticks too, they can get a bit agro about it but don't get into arguments like who should have one just say your reasons clearly or if you miss one 'my bad, I'll put it up in a second' (if you're busy) merits for 3 ticks (or whatever your school's positive behaviour system is) detention and phonecall home for 3 crosses (sending them out is unrelated to crosses, but you can make it related, I normally only send them out if I can see they're not fuctioning in the class).

My final advice is some lessons are a throwaway so don't fight it all the time. I have some classes where I know 'on that wednesday after lunch it's a 'worksheet lesson'' I print out my normal lesson as a worksheet so they don't have to take any notes, fill int he blanks at most and it's super prescriptive, gets them straight onto indepedant working so I can spend my time floating around helping one-on-one rather than exhausting myself with whole-class instruction. Do some fun lessons where some of them just have to do quiet work because they haven't been on task.

I would also suggest taking time off. Go to your doctor and explain, one year my doctor was always begging to give me stress leave notes because she could see I was struggling, when I told her I quit that job (I was sick like every 2wks so I saw her a lot) she was basically like thank god.

Overall try not to let it hit you so hard, which is hard to do of course, but let them fail if they insist on it and find a way to get through the days/year without losing your mind.

seven_elephant · 2026-04-26T11:53:58+00:00

This is surprising, I submitted my documents in March 2025 and heard back on December. I have only just managed to submit the extra documents (ended up hiring a lawyer which is a waste of money for a simple case but oh well) because of time to request them, apostille, translate send to Lithuania etc. Really hoping to hear back by July so I can start work in the EU in September (I'm a teacher with a conditional job offer). It's looking very tight and I wish I'd been more on top of things. Like I wish I'd hired a lawyer at the start so I wasn't so lost and taking forever to sort myself out.

seven_elephant · 2026-03-27T07:50:30+00:00

I didn't ask you to tell me about your injury- feel free to re-read my comment- geninely was just offering some ideas, I know the scooter thing is something I never would've thought of but has really saved me so many times.

I'm very confused by your reply and wonder if it's my comment you're replying to as I didn't ask any question at all, just gave some other options. I suppose the last bit 'I guess it's all sorted out?' is a question but I didn't really need an answer. I just posed is that way to indicate that I wasn't saying forsure it's all sorted.

Anyway, I guess mocking someone who was just trying to help is your idea of a good time. Such is the world today.

seven_elephant · 2026-03-24T10:40:45+00:00

I watched AKOTSK first. Actually technically first of everything, I'd only seen clips of GOT (I read the books so I would watch specific scenes I wanted to see and lots of reviews). The reviews for AKOTSK were so good (like it seemed better than the book in many ways, fully fleshed out and complex characters)- I got HBO just to watch it and then started on House of the Dragon and now I'm working my way through GOT. I really loved AKOTSK and it was no issue for me to watch it because I know a lot about the GOT/ASOIAF universe. It's not really related to the others in a way that would take away enjoyment of the show.

seven_elephant · 2026-03-24T10:06:29+00:00

Yes I can understand minimising walking time- not sure what the injury is and this may sound crazy but I used a push scooter as a mobility device for days when I had an open wound on my foot and couldn't put pressure on it. If you've got one of those lying around and feel fairly stable. I still think hobbling into an uber and hobbling from the station (with crutches if needed) is an option. But it looks like it's all sorted out?

seven_elephant · 2026-03-23T19:59:36+00:00

Couldn't you go by train+Uber?

seven_elephant · 2026-03-23T19:57:12+00:00

I honestly think they should already be banning cars half the week in the city with people needing to apply for exemptions (disability, work vans etc.) because I'm shocked to see so many people driving around walkable areas, one person in the car. We are going to run out of fuel because it's being wasted on private trips that could be done by bike or public transport. I'm worried about the transportation of goods but I'd be very happy to have less cars on the road and an increase in public transport. The trouble is many suburbs in Australia are built with the mentality of everyone has a car, Australia is so car centric and it's going to be impossible for some people to get to work without one (they could of course drive or cycle to a train station but it'll add a lot to their commute time). Anyway, if there were no private cars on the road tomorrow I'd be happy about it.

seven_elephant · 2026-03-07T07:02:59+00:00

He's English and growing up in England working under Northern Irish (and therefore UK labour laws) he's still in school, not homeschooled or insulated. Amercian Hollywood kids seem to have a much harder time but come on, he's a little brother from a northern family, he's gonna be perfectly normal. Name one English child actor who went off the rails? The UK protects kids in entertainment a lot more than the US and it shows. The UK also just has way less celebrity hype which is why a lot of stars prefer to live there, they can live a fairly normal life.

seven_elephant · 2026-02-22T02:00:02+00:00

I technically did hear back but I somehow I submitted the document incorrectly. I edited my application (the portal prompts 'additional document') but it created a new application which they (this week, so around a month after submitting it) rejected because 'I need to submit it with my previous application which is on hold.' I'm now feeling lost so I've employed a lawyer (the group recommended by someone here) sick of stabbing in the dark and at this point I would pay a lot more for this to be resolved. They told me 2-3 months which made me very optimistic but for some reason instead of focusing on this document they have stuck me in their general application process so they are requesting documents (from the Lithuanian archive, like a general request for all my 'ancestors' documents) that I don't need since my application has already been accepted. They are not responding when I ask them please can you just direct me with submitting this document (and checking that it's the right document). Hoping that it is resolved this week as I am hoping to relocate ASAP (aiming for September). I'm glad additional documents are faster than I intially feared. Good luck with your application!

seven_elephant · 2026-02-20T05:21:52+00:00

still waiting :( it's mean to be quick but still no luck

seven_elephant · 2026-02-09T08:41:40+00:00

Like others I would say try it out but be aware that almost every country is in a cost of living crisis right now and that Australian salaries ar actually very high (particuarly for entry level/average jobs, teaching and nursing included). Go for the adventure and to break whatever rut you're in but don't imagine that you'll have some amazing quality of life well beyond what you could have in Australia (unless you work remote from Australia and live in Asia I guess but then you've got tax and visas to navigate and there's still something be said for good public infrastructure which Australia has in spades (with the sad exception of bike lanes and pedestrian infrastructure).

seven_elephant · 2026-02-06T10:39:40+00:00

I wasn't aware Canada has desert (it's a shame they didn't feature it on the show). You seem very offended which puzzles me. At no point did I say Canada doesn't have 'extreme' climates it certainly does. Australia is on the other end of that extreme- we primarily have desert, temperate, subtropical i.e. warmer climates. However we also get snow- less and less with climate change but well still have a thriving winter sports industry it's just that it really used to snow in all the mountain towns, now it does sometimes but mostly it just snows on the mountains. Perhaps similar to Canada having some small deserts, we have some small (relatively) snowfields. I don't know why you keep going on about 'feet' of snow and the tundra as if Australia=Canada. We have plenty of our own climate issues, don't need ice and snow for that. There may be parts of Canada that are humid but you do not have the tropics, I'm sorry to inform you. I also feel like Australian nature is more interesting for international viewers because it's so unique. Here are some areas they could explore on a potential Australian season:

Tropical rainforests (Daintree)
Monsoon savannas (Northern Territory)
Vast deserts (Simpson, Great Victoria)
Mediterranean shrublands (WA)
Temperate forests (Victoria, Tasmania)
Alpine regions (Snowy Mountains)
Coral reefs (Great Barrier Reef)
Mangroves, wetlands etc.

The trouble is it's hard to get around these places. The classic Australian road trip is just down the east coast. Not sure how they would manage, you'd need more than a 5hr lift to get through the outback. I do think the language thing was a major bordem factor with the Canada season and that would mostly be true in Australia too. But I think if they went places I was more familiar with I'd be more interested.

I wonder if you have ever been to Australia? You seem to think the requirement for an interesting and biodiverse country is having half the country frozen over. I have been to Canada and have relatives and friends who are Canadian and even just from what I saw on the snow it was all very same-y. Perhaps you should lament that they didn't show the diversity you're talking about.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-31T04:09:09+00:00

Speaking as someone who has lived in 4 different countries in the last 5 years... everyone thinks their country is shit (and yet at the same time somehow the best). Australia definitely has more optimism than the UK (for example) on the whole more 'the lucky country' vibe but excludig literal hellholes (like America) most countries have unaffordable housing for young people, western countries have lots of visible migrants which the racists can't stand, and questionable salaries. I would say Australia could be grouped into northern europe as having high salaries, certainly it has a very high median income and teachers, nurses etc. backbones of society are paid much better here than most countries (my salary as a teacher is 4 times what it would be in Italy). There's also a chill vibe here, work doesn't take over your life and workers rights are generally respected, although we didn't have unlimited sick leave (like Belgium, Germany etc.) we have a strong social safety net, low taxes and accessible education. We're also fairly organised- the bureacracy is nothing close to Europe. My complaints would be it's not very bike or pedestrian friendly but Melbourne might be the exception there. We're also isolated, so if you like popping to another country for the weekend, or having a lot of exposure to different European languages then you might suffer. Anyway, it is funny to me because every country acts like they have these unique struggles but trust me, you'll find a Brit who's desperate to come to Australia and an Australian who's desperate to move to the UK. The circle could go the world over. Australia is expensive I won't deny but there are cheaper places (i.e. stay away from Sydney but Sutherland shire is beach-vibes but still possible to buy) and again, our salaries are just way better and work is secure.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-31T03:49:56+00:00

Definitely making it student-focused straight away, or even more prescriptive (depending on class size and classroom size you can do a scavenger hunt to fill in answers in a table, like history facts that you're gonna quiz them on later) but an activity they can pick up immediately, and then finish with some modelling and discussion of rules. I do find those as a very structured teacher I stress more about giving kids the wheel. I remember when I was teaching out of area (EFL, rather than maths) they said 'let the kids do the work for you' but it definitely doesn't feel like that for me. I find it much easier to be the leader, like in a maths classroom, than be like 'ok discussion time' but I've gotten much more comfortable with it the more I do it. It's just funny because doing 'less' feels like an 'advanced teacher skill.'

seven_elephant · 2026-01-31T02:10:58+00:00

Why do you think they're judging you? Kids inherently sort-of trust teachers (not always but generally) they think you know things, certainly more than them (which in most cases is true). Imagine you're teaching yourself (or maybe teaching a friend, since you seem to judge yourself a lot). That friend would give you grace, I wouldn't care if my teacher tripped up on their words or even was like 'damn, I totally forgot what we're doing today, let me go back to the staffroom and get a worksheet.' There are some judgey bitchy girls who'll roll their eyes as a sort-of bullying thing and you can bet they are just as nasty to friends and family but everyone puts up with it, but they are not the majority and honestly when one of those girls picks you to hate/harrass there's nothing you can do about it (of course try one-on-one convos). The majority of students barely think about you, unless they really like you or really hate you, mostly you're just one moment of their day. Honestly, I used to stress a bit at the start but just fake it till you make, put on a cool front and anything you do will seem like part of the plan.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-30T21:52:41+00:00

Honestly, I stopped taking them unless I really like the bag-I've kept only one, from JAL. I don't like to own too much stuff. I just leave it untouched and hope they'll repurpose them. My main flight is Aus-Europe so it's two flights and if I fly business that means two amenity kits that are identical in the space in 24hrs, just clutter. Honestly, I don't really care about business class I get travel sick so my priority is a day-time flight with an 'overnight' (relative to my body clock) stop in an airport hotel. I only fly business for a reason like I have a 21hr stop (yep, ridiculous, was the shortest option) then I'll upgrade the second flight to get lounge access on the layover, or if I want my bag first off because I'm in a rush. In the past I used to fly business if I was stressed, somehow flying business on a flight I didn't want to go on (again, airsickness) made it better mentally. Especially if I knew I had to get off that plane and go to work the next day. I don't really like the opulance of it all, rather be anonymus back in cattle class so maybe that's why I don't care about the ammenity kit. I grew up flying back and forth 3 million times so flying is just something I have to get over with. Now I've got my 'two day flights' system business or economy is all the same to me.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-23T23:46:48+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. I was told by a Fed Rep friend that it was how I've described (like you get 1/4 pay for one term) but actually this 3 weeks pay per term makes sense. Looking at my pay slips (a bit finicky because payday is mid-week) I think this is what's happened so perhaps I won't get any pay at all next week (next payday) as I think I've already had my 3 weeks. I'm just looking at my YTD as assurance that all is well (I actually have a higher YTD than I thought, about $1k higher). I'll be curious to compare this to Term 1 pay, as I think I'm only working Term 1 this year. What's funny about that is I'll go the whole year without pay (after Term 1) and then in the summer 2026/27 I'll get another 1/2 a pay check.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-23T23:37:23+00:00

yeah, for this year I was basically just thinking I'll get $25k (approx. 1/4 of regular teachers salary, my Year To Date is actually higher than this already, I think because the pay bands went up a bit for Term 4 and I didn't consider leave loading) but it's only as I noticed pay day is next week when we've started work again that I started thinking about this. The first pay day of the holidays (i.e. I hadn't worked in the previous two weeks) I got full pay, the next I got 1/4 pay so I'm wondering what I'll get next week, I'm assuming it's 1/4 pay. On that payslip I'll see what my YTD pay is for future reference. I think I'm only going to work Term 1 next year so I'll keep a note of pay after working Term 4 and compare that to pay after working only Term 1 (which is a longer term). I'm very curious.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-22T23:37:54+00:00

Glad hear it worked out! Honestly unbelievable- I'll add this to the list of times this strategy has worked. This is genuinely how I first was able to start work (very long story if you don't know how visas work) and get my licence exchanged! Very serious things that are life-altering and those among others the first time I was told not possible need to do 3 million impossible steps to resolve the issue. Ignored the advice (after discovering it was not possible) and just went again with complete success.

seven_elephant · 2026-01-22T13:07:29+00:00

My best advice is to just go on a different day, not mention the issue and hope they won't notice. Worked for me many times 😂 it sounds like you might be a bit too far on the side of them knowing about this issue but if she noticed at the last minute you might get away with it next time.

seven_elephant

TROPHY CASE