I found some copies of the new registration forms:

What was OVIR is now UFMS (Department of the Federal Migration Service).

Click to view attachment

After some further reading... The Host (inviting party, landlord, etc.) goes to the local police station with your passport & migration card (within 3 business days, with or without you but must have your passport & migration card) and fills out the above forms, gives part of it to you and then when you leave Russia your Host returns another portion (within 2 business days!) showing that you have left. Actually this does sound a little more simple and the police station will most likely be open more than OVIR was. The post office is supposed to be able to stamp these forms as well but apparently (outside of Moscow) they know nothing about it!

David

This visa registration has been an on going thing for me since the new rules.
The post office in my fiance's city knew nothing about the registration process and OVIR will not register my visa in her city.
My fiance and I talked earlier this morning and she told me the post office had called her and told her not to worry about my visa being register because they now had the necessary forms.
I think if you're traveling to Russia and will be transferring on to another city then have your party there do the same as my fiance and contact their post office and make sure they understand and have the necessary registration forms.

bruc

This will probably be like most other things in Russia. Wherever you go, no one will know what you're talking about, but will do it for you for a "fee."

Does anyone remember what the policy is if you enter Russia on say on April 1 in Moscow, yet it takes you 7 days by train to reach your finally destination of Vladivostok. Have you violated the 72 hour registration rule? I remember back in the old days the OVIR demanded a 1000 ruble fine from some poor Ukrainian grandma who traveled from Ukraine to Siberia and also did not register before she arrived 4 days later! Ukrainians don't need visas to Russia, but still do the registration thing.

I don't know about the pros and cons of the 3 day business day registration process., but on one of me trips to visit my fiance and the little one ,
I got to Moscow on a Sunday morning and that night we took the over night rock and roll choo choo to their city.
I started trying to register my visa with OVIR (homestay)on Tuesday morning and it was Friday afternoon at 3:30 when I finally got it done and we were leaving later that afternoon for the choo choo back to Moscow.
I had no problems getting through passport control in SVO on Sunday when I left.

On my last trip I got to Moscow on a Saturday morning and we took the choo choo on Sunday night to their city. My fiance kept lolly gagging around and we finally got my visa registered on Thursday night (tourist visa) .
I had no problems with passport control again at SVO....never paid a fine nor bribe.

bruc

The problem I was referring to was the OVIR charging fine just to register you in the first place, because you did not see them in 72 hours!

No, I was never charged a fine for registering late. All I had to pay was the standard registration fee. I think I paid $25.00 and a box of chocolate candy at OVIR each time and the one time my fiance registered me through a hotel was $20.00.
My fiance was told in her city that OVIR nor the police registered the visas...it would have to be done at the post office.
I can't speak for other cities. Everytime I visit Russia it seems it's a new experience.

bruc

Wow, you really overpaid. I always paid 20 rubles ($0.75) for my registration at Sberbank. Then I would bring the paid slip to the OVIR. Never any candy or bribes. In fact the OVIR didn't even want to accept payment and only wanted the paid bank slip. The hotel I stayed at in Sochi didn't charge anything for registration because by law they have to do it. So if they charge, they are ripping you off for some kind of service because you can't demand your rights in Russian. Same situation in Moscow. Stayed at a hostel for two days and they did my registration for free. These companies that do your guys' visa invitations and visa registrations are just making a profit of something that costs almost nothing.
For example if you go to a Russian travel agent and order a hotel room they will issue a tourist invitation for free as part of the service. I am surprised your ladies don't make any of the reservations. Same with the new post office thing. I am sure the post office is charging less than a $1 for the Russian citizen to register the foreigner yet they take $20+ from you. Even the private invitation runs around $15 for the Russian citizen to order and no where near what the agencies charge. At least your fiancée bought the train tickets. I am sure the English speaking agencies make a good buck on this too.

The chocolate candy was for the girls in OVIR to enjoy because they always got my fiance and myself in and out the door usually in 15 minutes. I had been in the OVIR office about every 6 to 8 weeks and we enjoyed a "catch-Up" conversation since my last trip to them. I'll carry them a box of candy on my trip in May as well even though I'll not be registering with them.
The $25.00 fee also included some special paperwork for my fiance. The $20.00 fee at the hotel was late at night and the same there, the girls were nice to my fiance and myself and I'll drop them off a box of candy also on this trip.
When I see old women sitting in the cold trying to sell a few veggies I'll buy a few from them and give them a $10.00 bill, a hug and get a photo taken with them.
When I meet a young kid over there for the first time I always give he or she a $1.00 bill and either get a hug or a handshake with photo.
On this trip we'll be visiting the Baby Home Orphanage and my plans are to give them a donation from my business and find out more of their needs and when I get home I'll be calling all my good ole buddies on the phone to also help them out.
I try to present myself as a "good American" in any country I visit...amazing sometimes the friendship and memories that remains with me.
I'm glad people can get all the deals with the registrations fees, etc...my goal is to enjoy my fiance and her daughter and make new friends so I don't even give a $25.00 fee at OVIR a second thought.
I'll also carry a box of candy to the girls in my fiance's post office... they didn't understand the new registraion rules in their post office but they searched until they got an answer and the forms and I've also met them. I appreicate people such as this even thought it is their job.

bruc

I always buy from them too. But I only give them how much they ask for. Although the proper tradition is too haggle for a better price, because that is the Russian mode of doing business. Usually they have better deals than the people at the official lofts at the bazaar and their food is much better.

Definitely a worthy cause. It's really depressing when you consider how much the 10 or so oligarch in Russia have and how little is done to help such places.

Same here, but I don't toss money around. Mostly people are attracted just from hearing me talk and describe life here in the US. A good American can be a poor American too. And while in Russia I always try to live and spend money like a local.

It's not really deals. It's just the actual price of things if you don't succumb to the "services to foreigners"�. For a poor student as myself $25.00 is a lot of money. For a business owner that is probably peanuts. But my wife and I have a great time even on a budget. She didn't live in luxury before and there is no reason for her to start now.

Glad it works out for the both us.

Whew!...I remember when I was a student back in the 60's....gas was $.22 a gallon and I thought that was to expensive.
My parents had me on a $5.00 a week allowance when I was in engineering school...didn't have time to spend it, I was so dumb I had to spend all my time studying.
Good Luck!
bruc

I actually wrote this on the "Coming to America" thread, or something like that. When I was on my student visa to Russia they registered for me, and it was just 25 rubles. After I finished school last year I have been back 4 times on just regular tourist visas, and have NEVER registered. Not that I recommend that, I've never had any problems, they've never even asked to see any kind of registration at the airport. I've also never bought separate insurance, although I have also never stayed in a hotel there either...I am not sure if they single out Americans when they see they don't speak Russian, I see that they do that in a lot of other ways while you stay there, though that goes for foreigners in general. My mother is Russian, so it's my second language, and I look Russian...but I don't know how much difference that makes...anyway, that's just my experience.

I'll be on a business visa when we go back at the end of next month. Not sure what will happen registration wise, but hopefully it won't be that bad.

I realized after one day registering a tourist visa was a total waste of time.

I am looking forward to the language practice after all this time in school. I'm not sure what Galina finds more frustrating - translating for me, or simplifying Russian such that I can understand it.

My 2 cents:
There is more than one way to get registered, and >1 type of visa. If ones girlfiend has time and stomach to spend a day in OVIR for getting your Invitation (for homestay visa) done and sent to you (and it needs to be done well in advance you depart form your home, about a month), and then she would spend another 2 to 8 hours to get you registered, then it is fine. If one has either business or tourist visa, s/he can book a hotel and get registered there for free. But he would either need to pay for at least one night in hotel, or would not get a registration. And now they do not want to register you for longer than you are staying in the hotel. Before, I would stay a night in the hotel, get registered for three weeks, cacncel and leave. Now, on several occasions they didi not want to do it, just registered me for the exact amount of days I stayed. So, I go to travel agencies, pay them much less then I would spend for night in hotel, and get registered for as long as I like (up to 90 days).

It took my fiancee just one trip less than an hour to fill out the form for getting a private visa. All it takes is calling in advance to find when to come in for that kind of service. And registration took us less than 30 minutes because two people were waiting in line before us. Even if it took longer we were spending time together anyway. To be honest we waited much longer for our AOS interview at the CIS office here in the states then for the silly registration stamp at the OVIR.
As for doing things way in advance, I usually plan any trip way in advance. Tickets are usually cheaper and it takes time to request vacation time and most of the time there is only one time slot in the year that could work for me. If you do the private visa you get the full 90 day registration regardless of how long you stay and you don't to need to worry anymore about not having enough days as is the issue with the hotels.