Visa dangers for volunteers

[happymarkos]

Last year after walking the Portuguese Camino I spent 2 weeks as a volunteer in St Jean Pied De Port at the Acceuil which is the Pilgrim's information centre on the rue de la Citadelle.
After finishing my volunteer commitment I flew from Biarritz to Stansted in the UK and expected an easy time clearing passport control. Entry is usually easy as I have an Australian passport and entitled to a 6 months visitors visa.
Not this time!
The passport officer asked me what I had been doing in Europe and I explained I had walked in Portugal and Spain and then volunteered in St Jean. That's when the trouble started.
He asked if I had been paid to which I answered no. Then he asked if accommodation was provided to which I answered yes. Then he stated that receiving accommodation was the equivalent to being paid and therefore I had violated the terms of my visitors visa by "working".
He told me he could have me barred from 30 countries if he put a stamp in my passport about me working while on a visitor's visa. I was really concerned and worried I would be refused entry. Despite my protests that I was not "working" he insisted that under the rules I had been deemed have done so. Fortunately he let me off with a warning.
I contacted a UK immigration lawyer afterwards who told me the UK passport officer had no jurisdiction outside of the UK and that what he said about my volunteer work in France was technically none of his business. Nevertheless he put me on notice that volunteering in the EU is fraught with difficulties apart from the danger of breaking the Schengen 90 day rule.
Anyone else had similar experiences?
Happy Mark

 

[waveprof]

Next time I wouldn't say I'd been volunteering.....

 

[peregrina2000]

We have the same problem here in the US with international students who want to get externship experience in the real world. If they provide anything of service to their employer, they have to be paid, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, but that's a visa problem. If they don't provide anything of service to their employer, they can be there for free, but as you might imagine it's hard to concoct a situation in which an employer voluntarily takes on an intern with the expectation that that individual won't provide any benefit to the employer's operation. So, what happens is that all of this is essentially finessed with a wink-wink nod-nod so long as there aren't egregious situations, like when MTV was sued by a bunch of former interns who alleged they were entitled to monetary compensation. http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...om-settles-intern-lawsuit-20150312-story.html But of course, for our international students, paid employment could trigger a real visa problem. So it's a conundrum to say the least.

It is unsettling when the best (or only) option is lying, though.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Tit for tat.

The U.S. has been giving a lot of foreigners a lot of grief on entry. As a result, European countries are being equally "dickish."

I have found the UK to be particularly retaliatory, but I am surprised that they would give an Australian a hard time. Perhaps they have become accustomed to being abusive. They do it because they can. I am in my seventies, generally cleancut, and carry almost nothing. However, my last three times through Heathrow airport, I have been given pat-downs that would have made them proud in a Vietnamese "steam and cream." I guess it is the times (and it is free, but no kissing).

 

[MaryLynn]

Last year I received an email from the coordinator of Volunteer Hospitaleros in Spain that said, "I would like you to go to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos" and indicated the date I should arrive. There was a list of expectations that I had agreed to when I applied and I had completed an official training course in Toronto, but the email was far from being an employment contract! I printed the email and took it with me, just in case there was some kind of problem.

 

[LTfit]

As @marylynn mentioned the Spanish Camino Association responsible for organizing hospitaleros voluntarios (HOSVOL) in donation ONLY albergues along various Caminos in Spain does not give you a contract. After one follows one of the approved courses and you give your availability, you are "offered" a 2 week placement. How can this be construed as employment, especially when they are run on a donation only basis?

 

[cher99840]

Tit for tat.

The U.S. has been giving a lot of foreigners a lot of grief on entry. As a result, European countries are being equally "dickish."

I have found the UK to be particularly retaliatory, but I am surprised that they would give an Australian a hard time. Perhaps they have become accustomed to being abusive. They do it because they can. I am in my seventies, generally cleancut, and carry almost nothing. However, my last three times through Heathrow airport, I have been given pat-downs that would have made them proud in a Vietnamese "steam and cream." I guess it is the times (and it is free, but no kissing).

I thought it was just me. First I "flunked" the scan. Then I had a pat down. Then I flunked the scan again. Then my braid was poked and probed because "the machine wasn't expecting hair there". In the meantime everything was taken out of my pack, and some of my stuff sacks were sorted thru. It was an experience!!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I coordinate and recruit international volunteers for two albergues on the Caminos de Santiago. Each year I write letters to visa functionaries telling them why the volunteer needs to come to Spain, why the camino is important, and why we need their citizens to come and help us.
They tell us they're upholding laws meant to protect workers from exploitation, and protect the nation's workers from having their jobs sold off to a shorter bid. But the fundamental problem, IMHO, goes un-addressed.
If businesses and industries paid their workers fair wages, and treated workers like humans rather than assets/liabilities, nations would not need to use their border guards to harrass well-meaning people from other lands who are following the dictates of their hearts.
The border guards and those whose orders they follow have no clue what volunteering is about. Their gods are Money, and Me First. To use the volunteers in some spiteful "tit for tat" visa spat is below contempt, and to equate their free-will kindness with paid wages shows a new level of bureaucratic stupidity.

 

[t2andreo]

I practice, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell..." at border and passport controls. If they do not ask me a question, I do not say anything. But, I answer all questions put to me directly and truthfully, albeit with appropriate "spin" as needed.

Unlike my normal self, I control my tendency to be wordy and talkative. That is NOT a time to be chatty.

I do not volunteer anything beyond social pleasantries like: "good morning..., or how is the weather today..." delivered with the best smile I can muster after getting out of the "cannoli tube with wings..."

I used to do this "passport control" early in my professional career. I know how the game is played. And, make no mistake about it, it is a choreographed "dance." The two partners have their roles and "steps."

The more sullen and seemingly arrogant you project to the passport control officer when you shuffle to the front of the passport queue, the more officious, brusk or surly they tend to be. They also tend to come up with additional questions to ask you. The officer does not necessarily care about your answers. They ARE interested in seeing how you react to being asked the question. Remember, these officers are trained and experienced in recognizing body language. Chill...

The officer's job is to identify people who ought not be admitted, while facilitating entry of those who are readily admissible. They are working to a mental list of indicators and evidence they have been trained to recognize. In that relationship, your "job" is to fly under the radar as politely and pleasantly as you can, and just get through the encounter.

In my long experience, I have also found that putting some people in a uniform and giving them a badge can make them insufferable. Not everyone can handle the authority of the position equally well. This cuts across nations and cultures. No one is immune from acting like a jerk when they are given some limited authority.

There is an old Japanese adage that goes like this: " the nail that sticks up gets hammered down..." My counter to this when encountering any border or passport control is "DO NOT BE THE NAIL..."

I hope this helps someone.

 

[movinmaggie]

I'm still a bit fuzzy on this topic. Maybe my answer is here somewhere, but for now, my question is...If I wish to serve as Hospitalera at one of the Donativos in 2018, do I require a visa for this purpose
( coming from Canada) or does the visa have to do with number of days allowed in Spain? My interest is in serving and walking on the Primitivo, as long as my body/ health still says it's a go.

 

[Trude]

I am Australian and have worked as a volunteer Hospitalario, I find in Europe you can't even get a stamp in your passport let alone have anyone ask you questions. The only thing you have to be very careful about is not to stay longer than 3 months without a special visa. It's not like the USA where you can whip to Canada and Mexico and come back in. The Shengen area allows you to stay 3 months in a 6 month period. I think you had an immigration officer
Who does not feel the love.

 

[peregrina2000]

I practice, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell..." at border and passport controls. If they do not ask me a question, I do not say anything. But, I answer all questions put to me directly and truthfully, albeit with appropriate "spin" as needed.

Unlike my normal self, I control my tendency to be wordy and talkative. That is NOT a time to be chatty.

I do not volunteer anything beyond social pleasantries like: "good morning..., or how is the weather today..." delivered with the best smile I can muster after getting out of the "cannoli tube with wings..."

I used to do this "passport control" early in my professional career. I know how the game is played. And, make no mistake about it, it is a choreographed "dance." The two partners have their roles and "steps."

The more sullen and seemingly arrogant you project to the passport control officer when you shuffle to the front of the passport queue, the more officious, brusk or surly they tend to be. They also tend to come up with additional questions to ask you. The officer does not necessarily care about many of your answers. They ARE interested in seeing who you react to being asked the question. Remember, these officers are trained and experienced in recognizing body language. Chill...

The officer's job is to identify people who ought not be admitted, while facilitating entry of those who are readily admissible. They are working to a mental list of indicators and evidence they have been trained to recognize. In that relationship, your "job" is to fly under the radar as politely and pleasantly as you can, and just get through the encounter.

In my long experience, I have also found that putting some people in a uniform and giving them a badge can make them insufferable. Not everyone can handle the authority of the position equally well. This cuts across nations and cultures. No one is immune from acting like a jerk when they are given some limited authority.

There is an old Japanese adage that goes like this: " the nail that sticks up gets hammered down..." My counter to this when encountering any border or passport control is "DO NOT BE THE NAIL..."

I hope this helps someone.

Thanks t2. Everything you say resonates with me and my experience. Knowing all that you do, how would you answer the question "what were you doing in Spain" if you were the OP and were asked that question in immigration? I am all in favor of "spinning", but I'm not sure how to spin "I was a volunteer in an albergue for two weeks." I suppose he could have said something like "I was on the Camino de Santiago for six weeks", but then what to say if asked -- and what were you doing there? Anyway, I doubt many hospitaleros will have that problem going home, but I am curious.

 

[happymarkos]

Last year I received an email from the coordinator of Volunteer Hospitaleros in Spain that said, "I would like you to go to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos" and indicated the date I should arrive. There was a list of expectations that I had agreed to when I applied and I had completed an official training course in Toronto, but the email was far from being an employment contract! I printed the email and took it with me, just in case there was some kind of problem.

Hi Marylyn
It wasn't whether or not I had any paper work about my volunteering it was simply that being provided with somewhere to sleep for free is deemed to having received payment and therefore working and therefore violating my visitors visa.
The irony of course is that it costs all of us who volunteer. Air train and bus fares as well as incidentals so we support the local economy. I guess the rule was brought in after some sort of scams where people were being exploited or locals couldn't get work as it was being done by volunteers.
Happymarkos.

 

[movinmaggie]

And then there is India. I've served as a volunteer each year for 3 months from 2006 to 2014 for a Canadian non sectarian charity (they follow the tenets of Mahatma Gandhi).
Every year the visa was changed for similar similar issues here. Finally they got it down to something like 'Unpaid Employment Visa'. Yes volunteers pay for their travel, Medical Insurance, visa, any required shots and medications, but it all cames back as tax receipts. Very beneficial at tax time.
Though our lovely husband and wife founders and Directors prefer that we be referred to as 'Cultural Interns', as we are there to learn the culture while serving.

 

[happymarkos]

@t2andreo, will you volunteer again with the pilgims office in SDC? Do they provide you with accommodation? Can you contact someone knowledgable at the Cathedral about volunteering and visa requirements in Spain? One would hope they know what they are doing and can reassure people.

Yes I have volunteered there before and hope to do so again. Accommodation is provided and there is a washing machine and kitchen. I might add it can be very tiring as up at 6.30am and often not to bed until well after 10pm 7 days a week and even later the nights the late train comes in from Bayonne. Can be after midnight by the time we have found accommodation for people. Was exhausted after 2 weeks and I was there at a relatively quiet time in October. We had about 1000 people come in the first week ( started 10 October 16) and about 600 the second week as most of the albergues had or were closing. Bear in mind the Route Napoleon is officially closed from 1 November.
Very rewarding talking to people who have walked from distant France or other parts of Europe as well as people just starting out.
My limitation is that English is my primary language and well over 50% of people coming in have English as their first or second language; however I am not that helpful for people who only speak French, Italian, Spanish etc. You can contact the Accueil directly if interested. Monique Asp organises the roster: monasp1301@gmail.com.

 

[t2andreo]

Thanks t2. Everything you say resonates with me and my experience. Knowing all that you do, how would you answer the question "what were you doing in Spain" if you were the OP and were asked that question in immigration? I am all in favor of "spinning", but I'm not sure how to spin "I was a volunteer in an albergue for two weeks." I suppose he could have said something like "I was on the Camino de Santiago for six weeks", but then what to say if asked -- and what were you doing there? Anyway, I doubt many hospitaleros will have that problem going home, but I am curious.

If snagged on your way out, at exit passport control, they might let you off with a warning, or they might take you aside for additional questioning, fingerprinting, photography, etc. In the US, that is what we would do if you were found to be a "visa overstay."

However, in the latter case (a formal interview) KNOW that you are now in the EU wide (run by Europol - the EU police agency) database. In future, you will either be hassled at any entry to the EU or you will be refused and told not to return without a formal visa in your passport, issued by a Schengen country embassy or consulate in your home country. But, they will let you leave.

If my volunteer work was adjacent to walking a Camino, I might state that: "I was here walking the Camino de Santiago (my credencial can backstop that claim), and after that I helped out at a donativo albergue run by the Church..." (or a subordinate organization - its all the same legally).

If pressed, I might tell them that everyone who serves there (try not to use the term 'work') is a volunteer. They needed help, and I was available. I was not paid for my time. I was given a very basic place to sleep, but that was it.

If, as is usually the case with me, I travel direct to Santiago from Florida to do my month-long volunteer work at the Pilgrim Office each summer, and IF asked. I would tell them this, which I have rehearsed and "murder boarded."

"At Santiago de Compostela, at the end of the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims from all over the world arrive after completing their pilgrimages to the shrine of the Apostle Santiago at the Cathedral. To attest to completing this difficult journey, pilgrims are entitled to a formal document from the Church stating that they have properly completed this pilgrimage...

...The Cathedral has an office, staffed by volunteers from Spain and from around the world to handle requests for this document. I was honored to be asked to help providing those documents to people who do not speak Spanish. I am honored to be asked to return each year. I donate my time to the Church (Cathedral) freely. I am not paid for my time by the Church (Cathedral). I feed myself while I am there and I live with friends for the month."

(This last bit is technically true, as the others sharing the provided flat are already, or fast become friends.)

If you are volunteering, especially for any organization with ANY ties to the Catholic Church, or the Xunta de Galicia, etc. you need to include that fact in your answer. Regardless of what specific organization, local church, club, or even town that actually operates the albergue or other facility you will volunteer at, they are all operating, directly or indirectly, under the sanction or blessing of the Catholic Church in Spain (or Portugal).

This is an easy connection to make. They (all of these albergues, etc.) are all supporting the Camino de Santiago. At it's core, and originally, the Camino is a Christian "institution." The Catholic Church remains the custodian of that 1,200 year old legacy and part of Spain's patrimony, for all persons. Your volunteer service is critical to maintaining proper standards, so that people continue to make this journey and in doing so, contribute to the Spanish economy,

Despite increasing secularization across much of Europe, Spain and Portugal remain among the most "catholic" countries in Western Europe. This is a statistical fact, not supposition. Hence, you are unlike to get much "push back" from any Spanish, or Portuguese official.

All of the above is true. I have NEVER been challenged. Perhaps it is my grey hair and serious disposition... who knows? But, I do reserve an ace card, that I keep in my proverbial "pocket" just in case... I won't explain further except to say it entails my one phone call...and "friends" in high places...

I hope this helps someone.

 

[t2andreo]

But, but ... nobody has ever reported any issues concerning visa and short-term voluntary work as hospitaleros when entering or leaving Spain or Portugal or France for that matter. Are there any issues, in law or in practice??? I think that's what people want to know.

The OP was questioned by UK border staff when entering the UK and the questioning concerned previous volunteering in France. It makes no sense to me unless they tried to assess the intentions of the OP during his upcoming stay in the UK and to warn him about volunteering in the UK against payment in money or other benefits, according to UK laws in force.

I've been wondering about the threat of being barred from 30 countries. Who could they be?
Not Schengen - it's 26
Not the EU - it's 28
Not the EEA - it's 31
Commonwealth ???

I am not aware personally of anyone having problems like this. So, it is difficult to discuss specific cases.

In that regard, this dialog is mainly hypothetical. However, one reasonably presumes someone, somewhere, has at sometime, had a problem.

That fact has not been made apparent here though.

I believe this is a problem best left not worried about too much. Just do your Camino or volunteer work and trust in Santiago to sort it.

I hope this helps.

 

[Trude]

A little away from the subject but whilst walking the Via de la Plata, that I am still on. I was stopped by the Guardia Civial whilst walking along the track. I had to produce my passport. They held me up for 15 mins trying to find the stamp in my passport for entering Spain. I told them I flew into Barcelona. Of course no stamp could be found. Eventualy I worked out that I came by Norwegian Airlines from the USA so the Europe stamp was Oslo. What a hassle. First time in 6 Caminos that has happened.

 

[fraluchi]

[...] But, I do reserve an ace card, that I keep in my proverbial "pocket" just in case... I won't explain further except to say it entails my one phone call...and "friends" in high places...

Surely Santiago, the patron saint of Spain?

 

[happymarkos]

But, but ... nobody has ever reported any issues concerning visa and short-term voluntary work as hospitaleros when entering or leaving Spain or Portugal or France for that matter. Are there any issues, in law or in practice??? I think that's what people want to know.

The OP was questioned by UK border staff when entering the UK and the questioning concerned previous volunteering in France. It makes no sense to me unless they tried to assess the intentions of the OP during his upcoming stay in the UK and to warn him about volunteering in the UK against payment in money or other benefits, according to UK laws in force.

I've been wondering about the threat of being barred from 30 countries. Who could they be?
Not Schengen - it's 26
Not the EU - it's 28
Not the EEA - it's 31
Commonwealth ???

I am not 109% it was 30 countries, this is what I recall from a very stressful situation. I travelled from Biarritz with an elderly US couple who had done the Notre and were in transit to Heathrow from Stansted and were catching a flight 4 hours later. They were grilled as well and had to show flight bookings. Perhaps unkempt people with backpacks arose excessive suspicion (joke). It was very stressful for them as well.

 

[happymarkos]

W

A little away from the subject but whilst walking the Via de la Plata, that I am still on. I was stopped by the Guardia Civial whilst walking along the track. I had to produce my passport. They held me up for 15 mins trying to find the stamp in my passport for entering Spain. I told them I flew into Barcelona. Of course no stamp could be found. Eventualy I worked out that I came by Norwegian Airlines from the USA so the Europe stamp was Oslo. What a hassle. First time in 6 Caminos that has happened.

Hello
Wlove to hear about your walk as am planning it for 2018
Happymarkos

 

[Trude]

W

Hello
Wlove to hear about your walk as am planning it for 2018
Happymarkos

Hi Happymarkos, I personally think the Via De La Plata is beautiful from Salamanca on. I found it boring before that, lots of open plains, flat walking, no shade and no water. Some nice villages and towns but for a quieter Camino I would do the Norte. Of course everyone likes different things. Hope this helps.

 

[happymarkos]

Hi Happymarkos, I personally think the Via De La Plata is beautiful from Salamanca on. I found it boring before that, lots of open plains, flat walking, no shade and no water. Some nice villages and towns but for a quieter Camino I would do the Norte. Of course everyone likes different things. Hope this helps.

Trude
Thank you
Happymarkos

 

[Shakespearshakes]

I practice, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell..." at border and passport controls. If they do not ask me a question, I do not say anything. But, I answer all questions put to me directly and truthfully, albeit with appropriate "spin" as needed.

Unlike my normal self, I control my tendency to be wordy and talkative. That is NOT a time to be chatty.

I do not volunteer anything beyond social pleasantries like: "good morning..., or how is the weather today..." delivered with the best smile I can muster after getting out of the "cannoli tube with wings..."

I used to do this "passport control" early in my professional career. I know how the game is played. And, make no mistake about it, it is a choreographed "dance." The two partners have their roles and "steps."

The more sullen and seemingly arrogant you project to the passport control officer when you shuffle to the front of the passport queue, the more officious, brusk or surly they tend to be. They also tend to come up with additional questions to ask you. The officer does not necessarily care about your answers. They ARE interested in seeing how you react to being asked the question. Remember, these officers are trained and experienced in recognizing body language. Chill...

The officer's job is to identify people who ought not be admitted, while facilitating entry of those who are readily admissible. They are working to a mental list of indicators and evidence they have been trained to recognize. In that relationship, your "job" is to fly under the radar as politely and pleasantly as you can, and just get through the encounter.

In my long experience, I have also found that putting some people in a uniform and giving them a badge can make them insufferable. Not everyone can handle the authority of the position equally well. This cuts across nations and cultures. No one is immune from acting like a jerk when they are given some limited authority.

There is an old Japanese adage that goes like this: " the nail that sticks up gets hammered down..." My counter to this when encountering any border or passport control is "DO NOT BE THE NAIL..."

I hope this helps someone.

Very good approach t2andreo. I have travelled over frontiers for almost 50 years now. If you look for trouble at a border you will most certainly find it.
The border officer's job is to disern who should or should not be admitted. They do a difficult job and do not always get it right (said as someone who has been stuck in limbo between states ) As you say it is better to be the bending willow than the oak on such occassions.

 

[Bogong]

I bowled into Changi once. Despite travelling on an official passport I was questioned rigorously as to where in Europe I had been, whom I had associated with etc. My luggage was meticulously and thoroughly searched. Next day, reading the Straits Times, there was a human interest story on one of the border officials at the airport. Yes it was the one who had worked me over! The gist of the story was that he was Singapore's ace detector of people carrying pornographic material and had an uncanny and almost infallible record in this regard. I think they wrote the article before I fronted up. As they say in the classics, I don't even have a pornograph!

De colores

Bogong

 

[henrythedog]

In (at least one) thread elsewhere I’ve recounted my experience of entering the US through O’Hare when I tripped on an escalator and fell on the drug dog who then promptly bit me and his handler.

I’d recommend not drawing attention to yourself in an airport. Unless, of course, you’re a firearms fan who’s trying to tick off a list.

 

[Mycroft]

Last year after walking the Portuguese Camino I spent 2 weeks as a volunteer in St Jean Pied De Port at the Acceuil which is the Pilgrim's information centre on the rue de la Citadelle.
After finishing my volunteer commitment I flew from Biarritz to Stansted in the UK and expected an easy time clearing passport control. Entry is usually easy as I have an Australian passport and entitled to a 6 months visitors visa.
Not this time!
The passport officer asked me what I had been doing in Europe and I explained I had walked in Portugal and Spain and then volunteered in St Jean. That's when the trouble started.
He asked if I had been paid to which I answered no. Then he asked if accommodation was provided to which I answered yes. Then he stated that receiving accommodation was the equivalent to being paid and therefore I had violated the terms of my visitors visa by "working".
He told me he could have me barred from 30 countries if he put a stamp in my passport about me working while on a visitor's visa. I was really concerned and worried I would be refused entry. Despite my protests that I was not "working" he insisted that under the rules I had been deemed have done so. Fortunately he let me off with a warning.
I contacted a UK immigration lawyer afterwards who told me the UK passport officer had no jurisdiction outside of the UK and that what he said about my volunteer work in France was technically none of his business. Nevertheless he put me on notice that volunteering in the EU is fraught with difficulties apart from the danger of breaking the Schengen 90 day rule.
Anyone else had similar experiences?
Happy Mark

After I wrote this I saw that it was started in 2017 so my reply is not of use. But here it is since I already wrote it!

Good grief. Sounds like that Customs guy needed to feel 'better' than everyone else, and got that by threatening you. I am sure you are not the first and would not be the last. Awful experience, and I am very sorry to hear it happened to you after doing a peaceful walk and then helping others.
When I have heard of this kind of thing happening, I've wondered how it would go (if it were to happen to me in an English-speaking country) if I politely said 'Oh thank you for explaining this to me. I had no idea of this problem. Please show me in your rule book where this is explained, so I may read up on it. I certainly would not want to break the law.' I suppose it could make things worse because he would know he was making it all up; even if he weaseled his way out of it, he could get so frustrated he might make the lives of others miserable.
I still advocate government officials should have psychological testing (not just pass some type of civil service exam) before being hired.
In any case, I will stick to yes and no answers without explanation, or as little of an explanation as possible.

 

[happymarkos]

Fully agree, volunteer nothing. Its difficult though, I had been up since about 6am and it was now about 6pm and tired from travelling. Really caught completely off guard.
There was an elderly American couple also in trekking clothes who came in on the same flight from Spain and in transit between Stansted and Heathrow. They were given the third degree also by an other official.

 

[Mycroft]

Fully agree, volunteer nothing. Its difficult though, I had been up since about 6am and it was now about 6pm and tired from travelling. Really caught completely off guard.
There was an elderly American couple also in trekking clothes who came in on the same flight from Spain and in transit between Stansted and Heathrow. They were given the third degree also by an other official.

Totally understand and agree. I can practice and have all kinds of ideas of what I might say or do in a given situation, and depending on how much or how little sleep and chocolate I have had recently, I may or may not be able to follow through! But seriously, I do wish people were kinder all round and everywhere. Including myself!
Be well.