About residency

Another fine fall day. the evenings are cooling off to about +5C but the days are still above 15C so all is well.
In the last blog I promised to give a report about my residency.  So this is it.

When a foreigner plans to live in Ukraine for some time they must register with the authorities every three month and pay a small fee each time. This is checked out at the border whenever you leave the country so don't try to bypass the system. 
After being  married  for two years to a Ukrainian citizen I was allowed to apply for a permanant temporary residency permit.  Upon paying the fees I recieved a residency card and a special stamp in my passport describing my status.  However, when renewing my Canadian passport the old stamp was no longer valid and I needed to get a new stamp in my new passport. 
When dealing with Ukrainian authorities there is an unwritten rule that helps to get the wheels of bureaucracy moving, that is, a good dolop of grease works wonders.  Unfortunately, quite often the lubricant outweighs the requirements.

I am hearing that some information about the area I live in would be appropreate.

I live in Kolomaya which is a small city of about 60-70,000 residents. We are located in the Ivano-Frankivske oblast (or province) in western Ukraine.
Kolomaya is 65 kms south east of Ivano-Frankivske and about 85 kms north west of Chernivtsi.  Just north of the 48th parallel.
The first written records mentioning the city date from 1241 so we will be 770 years old in 2011.
more later.