10 January 2017

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 8 "On the introduction of the visa-free entry and departure for foreign citizens" on January 9.

The document introduces the visa-free entry through the border checkpoint at the Minsk National Airport and the visa-free stay in Belarus for up to 5 days for citizens of 80 countries. These are 39 countries of Europe, including the entire European Union; Brazil, Indonesia, the USA, Japan, and other countries–favorable in terms of migration, Belarus' strategic partners and countries which have introduced visa-free regimes for Belarusian citizens on a unilateral basis. New regulations also apply to non-citizens of Latvia and persons without citizenship permanently residing in Estonia.

The document aims at raising the number of business trips, tourism and private visits of people with regular passports and will not apply to foreigners on official trips with diplomatic, service, special and similar passports.

For a visa free entry, citizens of the abovementioned countries must have a valid passport or other document permitting foreign travels, an amount of money equivalent to at least two base values for each day of stay (in a foreign currency or in Belarusian rubles), and medical insurancevalid in Belarus(at least €10,000emergency medical coverage).

Citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia, and Samoa also need a valid multi-visa to the EU states or the Schengen Area with a mark confirming the entry to their territory, and a flight ticket confirming the departure from the Minsk National Airport within 5 days after the entry date.

The visa-free regime does not apply to people arriving in Belarus from Russia and planning to go to the airports of Russia (these are internal flights with no border control).

The decree will enter into force on February 12, 2017.

Source: The Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus