Thanks to one good-looking but very dumb cop, I'm a pravoporushnyk now - a criminal, almost.
Anyone who loses his or her passport in this country becomes one and is subjected to a 17-hryvnya fine (nearly $3.5).
And it doesn't matter that my passport had been stolen - as long as there are idiots who can't or aren't willing to do the paperwork properly, I'm the one who broke the law, a pravoporushnyk.
Fighting them is a bit too time-consuming and a real pain in the ass.
So I hope they'll choke on my 17 hryvnias - and the asshole cop will never get promoted out of his shitty office somewhere at Rusanivka.
Maybe I'll write more about it later. Maybe not.
I'm really pissed right now.
I was in the same situation but I was told right away that if you want to get a new passport immediately it's better to say that you lost the document. Then once that was documented, militia person offered to speed up the process if I bring a pack of white paper. That's what I did and got my passport in a matter of 1 month. I don't remember whether I paid 17 hryvnyas or not, but I was told they charge randomly (I guess it all depends on the mood of passportistka :-))
ReplyDeleteIf you lose your pass. - you are infringer undoubtedly like in any other country of the World. Words 'to lose' and 'negligence' are totally identical in this case. Please note that your pass. belongs to Ukraine but not to you. In other words this is not your property. In order to check it please open and read page #32 of any Ukrainian internal pass.
ReplyDeleteIn case if somebody steals your pass. - you are victim but not infringer.
Thanks for your explanation, karadox. (Your 'name' sounds really familiar - do I know you?)
ReplyDeleteRegarding my status, I started out as a 'victim' (in case someone missed it, we got robbed at the dacha) and ended up as an 'infringer' - because the cop issued me a dovidka certifying that my passport had been stolen, but then chose not to mention the passport at all in the postanova describing my case. I could've dropped everything and tried to get him reprimanded or worse, but I have more pleasant things to busy myself with, so I chose to pay the fine instead.
They say the new passport will be ready in a month, provided they receive the blanki - blank passports - in time. As of now, they don't have any left, so it may as well take longer than one month. My mama thinks this is their way of letting me know they need 'a pack of white paper' or some other kind of present - but I'm not in a hurry.
"undoubtedly like in any other country of the World"?
ReplyDeleteThank goodness, no. In the United States, loosing your identification only makes you a criminal if you're driving a car-- which, of course, you are (since it's the United States).
Last time I visited my in-laws in Iaroslavl', Russia, I spent two and a half days queuing up in (as you say) shitty offices for my short time residence permit for foreigners.The whole vacation lasted six days.:)) The reason was the plane staff had not given me and my daughter (three and a half year old) exactly the same form to fill in. I was suspected of God knows what, and had it not been for my daughter, I would just have given up and stayed illegally. But I wanted to be sure to be able to return home WITH HER! We had to pay a fine, and queue up in the bank for four more hours!
ReplyDeleteAnd then we could relax and spend time with our relatives.
And no way to bribe civil servants on this occasion!
Take care
Geneviève from Switzerland