President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 8 "On the Establishment of a Visa-Free Procedure for Entry and Exit of Foreign Citizens" on January 9, the press service of the Belarusian leader informed BELTA.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 8 "On the Establishment of a Visa-Free Procedure for Entry and Exit of Foreign Citizens" on January 9, the press service of the Belarusian leader informed BELTA.

The document establishes a visa-free procedure for entry into Belarus for a period not exceeding 5 days when entering through the National Airport Minsk border crossing point for citizens of 80 states.

The decree applies to 39 European countries, including the entire European Union, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the USA, Japan, and other states.

Primarily, these are countries that are favorable in terms of migration, strategic partners of Belarus, and states that have unilaterally established a visa-free regime for Belarusian citizens. The new rules also cover categories such as non-citizens of Latvia and stateless persons of Estonia.

The document is aimed at facilitating travel for business people, tourists, and private individuals holding ordinary passports, and will not apply to foreigners undertaking official trips: diplomatic, service, special, and other equivalent passports will not be taken into account.

To enter visa-free, it is necessary to have a valid passport or other travel document for departure abroad, funds (an amount in foreign currency or Belarusian rubles equivalent to at least two basic units per day of stay), and a medical insurance policy for at least 10,000 euros, valid in Belarus.

For citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia, and Samoa, an additional mandatory requirement is a valid multiple-entry visa of EU or Schengen zone states in their travel document with an entry stamp to their territory, as well as air tickets confirming their departure from National Airport Minsk within 5 days from the date of entry.

The established visa-free movement procedure does not apply to persons arriving in Belarus by air from Russia, or intending to depart to airports in Russia (these flights are domestic, and border control is not carried out on them).

The decree will enter into force one month after its official publication.