American citizens traveling or staying in Ukraine are advised that on May 6, 2009, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued Resolution #445, introducing significant changes to the “Rules of Entry, Exit and Transit Through the Territory of Ukraine for Foreigners and Stateless Persons”.

Effective May 20, 2009, these regulations state the following:

(Unofficial Embassy Translation)

“Foreigners or stateless persons, who enter Ukraine legally may temporarily stay in the country based on a passport registered in compliance with these rules.

A foreigner or a stateless person must submit his or her passport for registration to the border control official at the border check point. Registration is done for a period of a short-term stay. For foreigners and stateless persons from countries that require visas to come to Ukraine – registration is made for the period of visa validity, but not to exceed 90 days within 180 days from the first entry date, unless a different term is stipulated by international treaties. For foreigners and stateless persons from visa-free regime countries – registration is made for a period of 90 days within 180 days from the first entry date, unless otherwise stipulated by international treaties. Foreigners and stateless persons may be exempted from the requirement to register their passport on the basis of reciprocal international treaties with Ukraine. “

The Embassy notes that the new rules remove completely the former provision allowing citizens of WTO-member countries to remain in the country for a period of 180 days within 360 days from entry into Ukraine. The Embassy confirmed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine that from now on American citizens coming to Ukraine with or without a visa are allowed to stay for 90 days within 180 days from the date of the first entry to Ukraine. According to the MFA, the changes to the law are not retroactive and should not affect American citizens who entered Ukraine before May 20, 2009. However, it has been reported that the State Border Guards may be operating under a different interpretation of these regulations. The Embassy is working to clarify this matter. Extensions of stays are done through local Citizenship, Immigration and Registration Office (a.k.a. OVIR office). The Embassy understands that such an extension is valid only for continued presence in Ukraine, and that it is not possible to depart Ukraine and return on an extension, or to make an adjustment of visa status while within the country. No changes have been implemented to “OVIR” registration procedures.

The Embassy encourages American citizens who intend to stay in Ukraine longer than 90 days to personally check with Ukrainian immigration authorities or competent legal counsel if they need to officially extend their stay.

The Embassy will continue to monitor developments related to Ukrainian registration requirements and their impact on American citizens living and traveling in Ukraine. . The Embassy will inform the American community of additional information via the wardens system as we receive it.

tel.: (+38 044) 490-4445
fax: (+38 044) 490-4040
Afterhours emergency line for U.S. citizens: (+38 044) 490-4000

> Sincerely,
> American Citizens Services
> U.S. Embassy Kiev, Ukraine
> This e-mail is UNCLASSIFIED based on the definitions provided in E.O.

A year ago, everyone would have laughed at any prediction that the majority of Americans will be driving Chinese and Indian made cars within ten years. Think what you will, but about 65% of the American automotive industry is on the verge of evaporation. Most of the jobs lost will be going to China. China is incidently, no longer investing in US Bonds, but buying up lots and lots of copper - because it's a prime component for certain types of batteries. Warren Buffett is investing in China, too. China is one of the exceedingly few countries with an intelligent, rational, long-term economic strategy.

We have a sucker's rally going on with the stock market now. When the United States loses 600,000 jobs in one month, following on six months of losses, and for that to be taken as "better than expected"? Bank stress tests indicate that half of the largest 19 US banks need more money is taken as "better than expected" - based upon a worst case scenario that is better than where we are right now? We are also only half-way into the middle of the first mortgage-based crisis. The second crisis is about to hit, Option Arms and similar mortgage plans - where people refinanced their homes for an very low initial APR (2-4%) that after a fixed term (2-5 years) reverts to a much higher rate. An $800 monthly payment could easily become $1500 overnight. These were big a few years back (2003-07) and are about to come due.

In short, there's a very large amount of economic data substantiating a consistent downward spiral for at least 18 months. It only needs to go for about 6 more months for it to have a nightmare ripple effect relative to GDP, wages and taxes for 2010. Government response is not to cut spending, just to increase taxes - on fewer people who are working. Since even fewer companies are making profits, tax revenue for 2009 will be far lower than expected and that establishes how we will be entering 2010. The government will have the option to print more money, cut costs or increase taxes, again. It's pattern is to do everything BUT cut costs. However, at the rate things are going, it will be only 18 months before there is no one left to tax - which equates to massive state/federal layoffs.

This is a quick note to confirm some information regarding long-term visas to Ukraine.

Provided that you can document the reasons for a visa, US citizens can get up to a three year, multiple entry, Visa for $165. This includes same day processing. Other countries have different rates, but there is a different fee schedule.

You need to be at the embassy in Chisinau by noon, I believe they process on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. It is necessary to make payment for the visa at a bank up the hill, then return with a receipt for payment. They start issuing the visas at 1600.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Me2Everyone - Every once in a while, something cool comes along and deserves a post, even if unrelated to OdessaFX. I just became a shareholder in Me2Everyone and I never had to pay a single penny for the shares! They are describing it as the "gold-rush for 2009" - if nothing else they have an interesting business model, and being "first to the market" has long-term advantages. Leastwise, you can register for free and it never has to cost you a single penny!

Me2Everyone has plans to be a cool new virtual world saying that, "you can meet friends, chat, shop, play, watch videos, create an art gallery, open a virtual newspaper, play the free inworld lottery and make money from your own online store! You and everyone you know make the decisions, shape the world, create real incomes and share in the profits. It’s a new place where you meet new people or invite your friends. Learn new skills or expand your business. Find the love of your life or help the planet."

Membership is free and every member automatically becomes a shareholder in me2everyone Limited. This is an interesting chance for all of us to speculate for free in 2009 and seems worth a try.

If it has your curiosity, check out the details at www.me2everyone.com. They're saying over 350 people have signed up every hour in the first two days of their launch. As of this post, they've had over 300k registrations, and they're projecting over 100 million by 2012. Will be interesting to see.

If you plan on coming to Ukraine, you might want to learn a bit of the Russian language to help you get around. We've prepared a short two-page primer featuring the most essential words and phrases you will likely want to know to communicate simple concepts. Russian is not an easy language to learn. We will be following this with a primer on the Cyrillic alphabet. I tried to keep this to 100 words, but it comes out to about 120 or so. Take it easy and learn a few at a time. They're presented in basic English phonetics - pronounced just as you would read it. It may not be perfect, but it will help quite a bit.

Essential Russian Download

The turmoil of the global market has generated a wide range of inquiries regarding how things are in Ukraine. Interest always diminishes from late fall to early spring, at least with respect to Odessa as a vacation destination more than a business hub.

The US Dollar held steady at roughly 5.05 gryvnia up through January of 2008, before sliding down to a low of about 4.50 gryvnia in August of 2008. Since then, the dollar has risen to over 9.00 gryvnia, and is presently fluctuating between 8 and 9 gryvnia.

Many Ukrainian banks are having a very difficult time and are not allowing early withdrawal of term-based deposits, with some limiting other withdrawals to as little as $35 per day. European-owned banks are doing better, leastwise while Aval has laid off 8% of its Ukrainian workforce, I’m not encountering any problems with it. Other expats have reported delays of up to a week for some large withdrawals.

Property prices also peaked last August and have fallen steadily since. Apartments that were once $90k are on the market for $40-50k now, and are likely to drop further if the economy doesn’t improve in the immediate term. The odds of such improvement are non-existent as far as I can see, so we’ll likely see prices drop to 2001 levels – or $30k, if not lower within six months or less.

Unemployment is growing steadily and it can be stated flatly that Ukraine is not a place for expats to come looking for work. Those who are here are getting increasingly creative to make ends meet.

Inflation is running pretty high on lower-end consumer goods and in the grocery store; but so far it’s only eating up about 30-50% of the dollar’s gains.

The politics of Ukraine is the same as it has always been. It’s there doing whatever they do and the rest of Ukraine continues on more or less as normal.

Peaceful demonstrations have started over the financial situation, but so far it remains calm. But then, the United States has started off with the St. Louis Tea Party and expensive cars are getting burned in Germany, so… if you’re looking for a safe place Ukraine is just as good as anyplace else except Antarctica, the Arctic Cicle (if you don’t mind seeing Russian jet-bombers), and deep caves in the Himalayas.

The market I do see developing here is for people who are simply sick of how things are going in the west, who still have a solid nest egg even after they’ve lost some money on their home or investments. They’ll be able to turn that over into a reasonably nice apartment and enjoy a relatively peaceful retirement “adventure”. A solid nest egg of about $200k is ample basis for retiring in Ukraine; as would be something to the tune of $50k with a guaranteed monthly retirement income of $1200+. You won’t necessarily be living rich, but you will be comfortable. Going very conservative, you can easily get by on $900 monthly.

If you have any specific questions you would like to ask, feel free to contact me at MWDabbs@gmail.com or Mark@OdessaFX.com. OdessaFX is still going even if some portions of the global economy aren’t. As it goes, "If you don't have something good to say, don't say it..." so, I've been quiet. Leastwise, this information can be good news for those with the right situation to take advantage of the timing over the next 6 - 9 months, at least.

The focus of OdessaFX has applied to facilitating easy long-term living in Ukraine for English-speaking expatriates. Accompanying this is the intention to increase the amount of information available in English about Ukraine. The third step concerns making it easier to for expatriates do business in Ukraine.