About the form, and the timing?
[QUOTE=Stravinsky]
The procedures for registration have changed in the last year or 2. It is now possible to register yourself at the Post Office by filling out a form, in Russian or course, and paying a small fee, maybe 200 руб.
It is no longer necessary to register with the Militsia, or the OVIR, or the FSB, or the NKVD, or the VDNXa...
[/QUOTE]
This sounds very encouraging, since registering is still a real pain in the ass, a big waste of time, and way too expensive. My flight always gets in at 23:00 on Friday night, so the last thing I want to do after 36 hours of travel time and my first night of debauchery, is get up early Saturday morning in a jet lag fog and find a taxi to drive across town to my travel agent to give them my passport. And since my apartment is still not registered for tourist rentals, my travel agent always has to register me in a different address and has to charge me $120 for this special fee to the police. Then I still have to go back there again on Monday or Tuesday to get my passport back and my registration form. Then there's always the worry that you will lose this stupid little paper before you clear immigration.
Between all that bullshit, AND the new bullshit of being required to pay a travel agent to get a visa, it nearly makes going to Ukraine a better option. If it wasn't for the dyevuchki,.......
So, when registering at the post office, do they still give you back the form with their stamp that you must give to immigration officer at the airport when you leave the country, that if you don't have it, you are in trouble? (Not having the option to miss my flights, I have always had my form)
And do they still have the 48 hours time limit to register rule, or you are in trouble?
Trouble for registering late generally means paying an extra $100 to $200 in rubles and sitting around the police station for 4 hours explaining shit and getting photographed and fingerprinted. (Haven't done that since 2007).
I know I could stay one night in a hotel and save myself all these headaches, but that would be just as big a pain, and a waste of time and money too, and they don't have crappy green sofas. I'm not so sure that a hotel that I'm checking out of, on my second morning, is gonna register me for 3 weeks anyway.