MINSK, 9 March (BelTA) – The bill on ratifying the Belarus-EU agreement on facilitating visa procedures will be brought into the lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament soon, BelTA learned from Chairman of the International Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Andrei Savinykh.
According to the source, the bill is about to be brought into the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and MPs will start preparing it for debates in the Oval Hall.
BelTA reported earlier that Belarusian MPs intend to ratify the agreement on facilitating visa procedures with the European Union during the spring session. The agreement will facilitate travels of individuals, help promote international contacts, including tourism, and help bolster the atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding between nations.
Belarus and the European Union signed the agreement on facilitating visa procedures in Brussels, Belgium on 8 January. The visa facilitation agreement provides for mutual simplification of visa procedures for a broad spectrum of citizens and for reducing visa fees. Citizens will still be able to apply for visas to embassies of European nations and to visa centers.
The Schengen visa fee for Belarusians will drop to €35 while the decision to issue a visa will be made within ten days (30 days if additional background checks are required). Many groups of citizens will be able to apply for visas without paying the fee depending on the purpose of the visit and will be able to get multiple-entry visas with longer periods of validity using a simplified procedure. The cost of Belarusian visas for the European Union citizens will drop to €35 as well. In addition to that, the list of justifications for issuing free visas for non-commercial purposes will be expanded. The duration of stay of foreigners in Belarus will be doubled from 90 days per year to 180 days.
Once the documents are ratified by the Belarusian parliament, they should be endorsed by the European Parliament. They will come into force on the first day of the second month after the sides have notified each other about the completion of the ratification procedures. The visa facilitation agreement is expected to come into effect in June 2020.
