MINSK, 10 January (BelTA) – After the parties complete the necessary intrastate procedures, the agreement the Belarusian government and the Russian one signed on 19 June 2020 on the mutual recognition of visas and other matters relating to the entry of foreign citizens and stateless persons into the territory of the states parties to the Union State Foundation Treaty will come into force on 11 January, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.
The agreement stipulates a procedure for foreign citizens and stateless persons to cross the joint border of the states parties to the Union State Foundation Treaty, including the land section, which has been previously open only to citizens of Belarus and Russia.
In line with the agreement the parties recognize each other’s visas, which grant the right to enter and stay in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, as well as records of crossing the external border of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.
Each party retains the right to refuse entry or reduce the period of stay in its territory for any foreign citizen or stateless person. Each party retains the right to verify the compliance of foreign citizen or stateless persons with the rules of entry, exit, transit or the regime of stay.
“The agreement is an important component of the unified migration space of the Union State,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.
Who will be able to take advantage of the new procedure?
Foreign citizens and stateless persons, who enter, exit, stay and/or transit through the territories of Belarus and Russia using visas and have a visa of one of the two countries as well as a personal identification document recognized as valid by both states, are granted the right to enter, exit, stay, transit through the territories of both countries as long as the visa is valid.
If both Belarus and Russia waive visas for an individual in accordance with international agreements, then a personal identification document recognized as valid by both states is sufficient for entering and staying in both countries.
If the above persons need visas in one country and need no visas in the other one, then they will need a visa to enter and stay in the country that requires visas in addition to a personal identification document. Foreign citizens and stateless persons, who have a temporary residence permit, a residence permit or a document for attending an international event of one country and a personal identification document, have the right to enter, leave, stay, transit through the territory of the other country without visas as long as these documents are valid.
The period of stay of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the territories of Belarus and Russia is calculated from the date of entry into the territory of one of the states from the territory of a third state.
The agreement does not apply to foreign citizens and stateless persons, whose entry into the territory of one of the two states is restricted.
Ways to enter and exit both countries
Individuals can enter the territory of Belarus and Russia through international border crossings located at the state border, the international railway and air transportation routes the travelers use as well as road traffic routes listed by an annex to the agreement.
The agreement lists six routes like that: Yukhovichi - Dolostsy (Opochka - Novopolotsk), Yezerishche - Nevel (Kiev – St. Petersburg), Liozno - Kruglovka (Vitebsk - Smolensk), Redki - Krasnaya Gorka (Minsk - Moscow), Zvenchatka - Dubovichka (Bobruisk - Moscow), Selishche - Novozybkov (Gomel - Bryansk).
Crossing the land section of the Belarusian-Russian border via other routes is forbidden and will be considered a violation of the state border.
A special procedure for citizens of Ukraine
Citizens of Ukraine will have to keep following a special procedure for entering the territory of the Russian Federation. According to a resolution of the Russian government, Ukrainian citizens are supposed to enter Russia via the border crossing located at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and via the automobile border crossing Ludonka in Pskov Oblast.
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