I'm visiting Italy in two weeks. Since I have a valid E111 form, I figured I was sorted on the health front...
Except that the E111 form ceased to be valid at the end of last year, to be replaced by an EHIC. Naturally, no-one saw fit to mention this to people who might seek to travel; it's far more fun to surprise them with a nasty medical bill when the worst happens.
Anyway, I discovered the need for the card on Tuesday, and have been looking at means to get the required card (not being mental, and all). So, I looked at the post office website, and found there were three options:
1) Apply online. This is their preferred method, and should take 7 days to process. Huzzah!
2) Apply in the post office. This costs £2 (oh, woe!), and takes up to 21 days. Not much use there.
3) Apply by telephone.
There is also an emergency travel number, for those who haven't got a card, and really need it urgently. I bet that costs quite a lot of money, though.
Anyway, it quickly became obvious that the way to go is to apply online. Saves me going to the post office, guarantees that I have the card in time, and is generally good. So, I tried to click the link...
Except that it wasn't where a sensible person would put a link. Naturally, you'd expect them to attach the link to the words "apply online". In a cunning way. But no! Instead, they tucked the link away on the side of the page. Fair enough. I clicked the link, expecting to be taken to an online form that I could fill in, thus applying online...
Instead, I got taken to a government website, which informed me that I had to replace my E111 form with an EHIC card, because my form became invalid at the end of 2005. There are three methods of applying...
All this seemed a little familiar, but the graphic design of the page was different, so it was quite entertaining. I decided I still wanted to apply online, and tried to click the link...
Which, again, wasn't attached to the words "apply online" like a techno-literate person would expect. Instead, the link was tucked away at the side of the page. Figuring I'd done enough to appease the gods of bureaucracy, I clicked the link, eagerly awaiting the online application form, and the opportunity to apply online...
and found that it was a dead link. Apparently, the EHIC website doesn't exist.
Huzzah!
