Visa policy of Belarus



Visitors to Belarus must obtain a visa from one of the Belarusian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.

Ordinary passports
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter Belarus without a visa for the following period:

IP - Internal passport accepted if arriving directly from Russia or Kazakhstan. 1 - No more than 90 days within any 1 calendar year. 2 - For holders of MSAR passports or MSAR Travel Permits. 3 - Must present a tourist voucher or an invitation letter in order to enter Belarus without a visa.

Non-ordinary passports
Holders of diplomatic or official/service passports of the following countries and territories may enter Belarus without a visa for the following period:

D - Diplomatic passports only. 1 - No more than 90 days within any 1 calendar year.

Additional requirements
All visitors are required to have an adequate health insurance.

Temporary visa-free access through land borders
Citizens of the following countries may enter Belarus without a visa only if they use land border crossings, with a maximum stay of 90 days within any 1 calendar year (until 31 December 2024):

Citizens of the following countries may enter Belarus without a visa only if they use land border crossings, with a maximum stay of 30 days within any 1 calendar year (until 31 December 2024):

1 - Including non-citizen residents of Estonia.

Visa-free access through Minsk National Airport
Foreign visitors who are citizens of designated countries are allowed to enter Belarus without a visa through the Minsk National Airport, except for flights departing to and from Russian airports. The allowed length of stay is up to 30 days, with mandatory registration for stays exceeding 5 days in length. Visitors must also depart from Minsk National Airport, departure by other methods (for example by train) is not permitted. The number of visa-free entries is unlimited.

The decree "On establishing a visa-free order of entrance and departure of foreign citizens" was signed by the President of Belarus on 9 January 2017 and it entered into force on 12 February 2017. It was amended by another presidential decree on 24 July 2018, which entered into force on 27 July 2018.

1 - Including non-citizen residents of Estonia and Latvia. 2 - Only if they have a multiple entry visa (i.e., a 'C' or 'D' type visa) from a European Union or Schengen area member country, an entry stamp from one of these countries and a valid air ticket with departure from the airports located in Minsk, Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno and Mogilev. The EU residence cards are not accepted for this purpose.

In September 2017 it was announced that Belarus is planning to extend the visa-free access to 10 days and to other checkpoints. In November 2017 statistics were published showing that 54,000 foreigners visited Belarus through the visa-free program, mostly citizens of Germany, Poland, Italy, United States and the United Kingdom. Effective since 17 October 2021, visa is required for US citizens to travel to Belarus.

Brest-Grodno


The single visa-free territory "Brest – Grodno" was established by a presidential decree signed in August 2019 and has been in effect since November 10, 2019.

Visitors are allowed to stay without a visa for 15 days. Entry is possible through the following checkpoints with Poland and Lithuania - Brest (Terespol), Bruzgi (Kuźnica), Damačava (Sławatycze), Bieniakoni (Šalčininkai), Bierastavica (Bobrowniki), Piasčatka (Połowce), Pryvalka (Raigardas), Piareraŭ (Białowieża), Liasnaja (Rudawka), Pryvalka (Švendubrė), Brest-Uschodni Railway Station, Grodno Railway Station, Brest Airport and Grodno Airport. Prior to travel, visitors must obtain an appropriate document issued by a local travel agency registered in Belarus.

The list of eligible citizens is the same as that for the visa-free program through the Minsk National Airport, only without restrictions for certain citizens.

The visa-free zone consists of the following territories:

• parts of Brest Region

• * Coat of Arms of Brest, Belarus.svg Brest

• *Brest District

• *Kamieniec District

• *Pružany District

• *Žabinka District

• parts of Grodno Region

• *

• *Bierastavica District

• *Hrodna District

• *Lida District

• *Ščučyn District

• *Svislač District

• *Vaŭkavysk District

• *Voranava District
 * Parts of Grodno and Brest regions not listed above – when traveling on a tourist route as a member of an organised travel group.

The legislation superseded the previous decrees that established two separate visa-free zones: Brest area including Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park (since June 2015) and Augustów Canal area including Grodno (since October 2016).

Future plans

 * Plans for introduction of digital visas and travel authorization system were announced by Belarus in July 2018.
 * Plans to expand the regional visa-free regime to land border crossings and regionals airports were announced by Belarus in November 2019.

Reciprocity
Belarusian citizens may enter without a visa to all countries whose citizens are allowed visa-free entry. Among the countries that have been granted visa-free access under the pilot program, Belarusian citizens are granted visa-free access to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles and Vanuatu.

Visitor statistics
Most visitors arriving to Belarus were from the following countries: