Saturday, October 27, 2007
Residence Permit
or ‘The Joys of Russian Bureaucracy’
This you have to read; it's incredible. Another fine example of how normal people - me in this case - suffer because a great many positions here (Kemerovo, Russia) are taken up by people who just happen to have influential daddies, uncles or acquaintances. Read on for the full thrilling story (just skip the boring parts).
Anyway, like I said, she gave us a call - a feat in itself! - and told us that due to new legislation we would have to apply for a permanent residence permit six months before the expiry date of my temporary permit (as opposed to the original three months). Everything fine and dandy so far, were it not that she said to bring her my documents by the end of November. Bearing in mind that my temporary residence permit is valid until April 28, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that six months before that date is the end of October, not November.
Being the punctual, prudent couple that we are, we started collecting copies, medical certificates etc. (see below for a complete list) in September and had everything - except for two things, which AP had to supply us with - ready with loads of time to spare.
On Monday, October 15, we called AP to make an appointment. We were told she wasn't in and wouldn't be until Thursday (it isn't the first time she's been absent for a long period of time, I might add). Don't you just love the idea that there is only one person who deals with foreigners and if he/she is absent there is no-one to turn to? But I digress...
On Thursday, October 18, we gave the woman another call, and this time she said she couldn't receive us until the following Monday.
On Monday, October 22, we headed off to SCH (Stupid Cow Headquarters) to ask AP to have a look at our documents and give us those that were missing (an application form that had to be filled out and a bank receipt for taxes to be paid). She said she was extremely busy at that time and could not possibly deal with our case, but could we leave my documents with her so that she could look into them and give us a phone call. To our request to give us the bank receipt, she replied that the amount to be paid had changed and she didn't know how much it costs these days (afterwards, it turned out that the amount hadn't changed). Upon our stating that we would also like to apply for a new visa, she warned us that I (me) am not allowed to leave the country for the duration of 6 months before the expiry date of my temporary residence permit (which turned out to be a crock, as well).
Are you still with me? Hope you are.
On Thursday, October 25, Olga made a phone call to the provincial migration office (PMO - областная миграционная служба: they are the ones who examine your documents and pass verdict) to get the facts straight about the visa and find out about the amount of taxes to be paid for the permanent residence permit. They advised her to withdraw my documents from the UVD ASAP and bring them to them, because otherwise we would be late and they might refuse to take them.
The same afternoon, Olga went back to SCH, got the form and the bank receipt for taxes to the amount of 1000 RUR (they wouldn't give her my documents until she paid the taxes, which is also wrong: at the PMO we were told that we could hold off paying taxes until they've reached a decision, so as not to pay in vain, should they refuse me), paid the taxes, went back to SCH again and brought everything home. Apparently, two more documents were required: one a report from AP saying she was at our flat and convinced herself of my living there and having lived there since 2004 (which is a fake, because she's never been near the place), and the other a statement from a neighborhood policeman to the same effect (also a fake). Understandably, Olga put her foot down and AP produced these last two documents herself.
In the evening, as we were filling out the application form, we got the impression that AP had given us the wrong form and what do you know?! Next day, it turned out that she had!! Can you believe any of this? I can tell you, the people at the PMO were very displeased with AP for doing such a lousy job!! Also, they were surprised by the fact that our bank account - which you need in order to prove you can sustain yourself if you're unemployed - is in Olga's name instead of mine. This had never been a problem before, but at least they were friendly about it.
So, we had our account transferred to my name at the bank and I took the new bank slip to the PMO, where I was told to get a new filled-out application form at SCH and bring the whole bundle at 14:00.
I got to SCH at 11:45, where it took AP 45 mins to fill out the application form by hand. As was to be expected, at 12:30 everyone had gone out to lunch, including the lady who had to type the application form. So, I was told to come back for the typed application at 13:45, before going to the PMO. That's what I did, and at 14:30 they had finally finished typing the form and binding the bundle and about 30 minutes later I handed everything in at the PMO.
So, where does all of this leave us?
Well, it's out of our hands now. The PMO has accepted my documents and will decide whether or not to give me a permanent residence permit (which is valid for 5 years, as opposed to 3 in the case of a temporary one). I don't see any reason why they should refuse, so I wouldn't worry about that. If they do refuse... hey, I did everything I could 
As for AP's screw-ups, we're definitely going to write a letter of complaint with all of our grievances.
We haven't applied for a new visa yet. We will soon. Not that I really need it, but you never know: it’s always best to have the possibility to leave the country in a hurry. Once I get a permanent residence permit, I should not need a visa anymore (I believe).
Also, we should get invitations for my parents to finally come and visit me here and see for themselves where and how I've been living for these 4 years (has it been so long?). On the other hand, invitations are to be acquired at SCH (yikes! 
