Also in the Czech Republic, and registering a new address requires the issuance of a new mandatory ID card, which is a paid 'service' (unsure how this meets any

Also in the Czech Republic, and registering a new address requires the issuance of a new mandatory ID card, which is a paid 'service' (unsure how this meets any definition of 'service', but I digress). The last time I needed to do this in the CR, I had to get a notarised copy of my rental contract. They didn't care one jot about the accuracy of rental contract - I could have mocked one up in Word if I wanted to - they just cared that I had the copy notarised. Which required stamps and payment, naturally, because it's Europe. It's an absurd system. Why should you need to prove to the government you live anywhere? How much money is wasted sending policemen to knock on doors? And how does your absence at a given random moment prove anything at all about where you reside? Locals are generally surprised, in my experience, when I tell them that Australia has no system of registered permanent abode at all. If you have a driver's licence, and you move, you probably want to update your address with the motor bureau, which you generally do online with no documentation at all. No one verifies your new address or particularly cares about it, because the only thing it affects is where you get sent mail (it has no legal consequences like council tax, as it does in the CR, etc). Other than that it's your business what address you give where. No one will ever demand you prove your 'registered address of permanent abode' because no such thing exists. It fits into a broader pattern where everyone in Europe must have some kind of 'status' recorded. What's your registered place of permanent abode? What's your status with the mandatory state health insurance? For tax purposes, are you 'employed' or 'self-employed' or 'student' or 'retired'? Are you registered for self-employment with the social security bureau? There's generally no grey areas, and if you somehow fall outside the norm, they truly don't know what to do with you. You have not experienced Europe until you've had a civil servant glower at you because there's no drop down box for what you're telling them, and this is very much something they want you to know is your fault. Can't you just be normal?