There's an SDK, no signup needed. http://www.adobe.com/devnet/premiere/sdk/cs3/. The API docs come with the installer.
Edit (more info re: comments):
I don't know of any really good tutorials out there. The best way to get started would be to try compiling some of the examples that come with Premiere SDK [using VC++, they all come with project files], then see if they work as expected. There's a "Simple Video Filter" plugin in the examples that might be a good starting point.
It would probably also be helpful to get the After Effects SDK, as there are similarities between the two. From Chapter 10 of the AE CS3 SDK Guide docs:
Adobe Premiere Pro supports the After
Effects effect API. As of version 2.0,
Premiere Pro offers a thorough host
implementation, the key omissions
being 3D-related calls (auxiliary
channel information, cameras and
lights) and other utility functions
provided by After Effects’AEGP API.
If you haven't done a lot of C++ yet, C++ in Action is one of the better [online, free] introductions I've seen. It might be too basic, but some of the plugin API stuff is pretty hairy, so a separate non-Adobe-API-related place to brush up on the language is probably a good idea.