Residence permit in Belarus
Our law office has extensive experience working with foreign citizens and foreign companies on obtaining temporary residence permits in the Republic of Belarus. Lawyers of our law office and their assistants are fluent in English, which, of course, makes it easier to work with foreign citizens and foreign companies in this field and impacts the quality of our legal assistance. We serve a large number of foreign companies and representative offices of foreign organizations, issuing a large number of temporary residence permits every year.
WHAT IS A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT?
Foreigners coming to Belarus should study in advance the rights and obligations that they will have in connection with their relocation. The main rule is the registration of foreign citizens. When planning to stay on the territory of Belarus for more than 90 days, a foreign person must obtain a temporary residence permit.
A temporary residence permit is issued to a foreigner or stateless person in accordance with the established procedure and is confirmed by a certain document.
The permit is issued in a document that is usually glued into the passport of a citizen. Russian citizens get a copy of the permit since they cannot have such forms glued into their passport. The permit specifies the surname, first name, patronymic of the foreigner, their date of birth, identification data and the address at which they must reside.
WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE US:
- Our attorneys and advocates have more than 15 year of experience in the field of migration law;
- 50 % of our legal cases are in the field of migration law;
- Very high success rate: more than 97 % of all migration cases that we handle have a positive result;
- We are working with clients from more than 60 countries of the world;
- We share our experience on YouTube.
WHY DO FOREIGN CITIZENS IN BELARUS NEED A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT
A temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus will allow a foreigner to legally stay in the country for more than 90 days but no more than 1 year, while enjoying all possible rights on an equal basis with Belarusian citizens. For example, health care, education, expression of one’s will, social rights, and so on.
The exception is employment in those organizations where it is necessary to provide identity documents issued by the competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus. For example, some positions, such as in public service, may only be granted to citizens of the Republic of Belarus. Foreigners temporarily residing in the country also do not have the right to participate in various state elections.
WHO NEEDS TO GET A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELARUS
All foreign citizens and stateless persons who intend to stay in the country for more than 90 days must obtain a temporary residence permit.
Without registration, a foreign subject can stay in Belarus for 5 working days from the moment of entry into the country, with the exception of some countries with which the Republic of Belarus has an agreement (the EEU countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine). From July 2020, new legislation will come into force, which will extend this period to 10 days. For a stay of up to 90 days, a temporary residence permit is issued in Belarus.
GROUNDS FOR OBTAINING A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELARUS
As a rule, foreign citizens are entitled to a temporary residence permit if they:
- came to the country to visit a close relative (siblings, parents, children, spouse) and have evidence confirming the relationship;
- came to Belarus to study at a university;
- own residential premises on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
- came for employment and have a special permit for this purpose;
- have the right to obtain citizenship in a summary procedure;
- previously held citizenship of the Republic of Belarus;
- and others.
The list is quite large, which allows almost any willing foreigner to find an opportunity to obtain such a permit.
Obtaining a temporary residence permit on the basis of a work permit.
A person who has a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus can legally stay in the country for up to 1 year. The basis for obtaining a permit may be a job offer and the presence of a special work permit.
In this case, one must submit a certain set of documents to the citizenship and migration department of the internal affairs body at the place of future residence in Belarus. The required documents are:
- a document confirming the reason for permit issuance (for example, a document confirming marriage; a child’s birth certificate or a note from university);
- passport;
- medical insurance – for foreign citizens of certain countries stipulated by law;
- a document confirming the receipt of income, with which the subject will be able to provide for themselves;
- a document confirming the actual possibility to live at the place of future registration (for example, an apartment lease agreement or a hotel room reservation);
- a receipt for payment of the state fee.
In order for a minor to receive a temporary residence permit, they need to submit their documents through a representative (usually a parent). The representative needs to have such a permit as well.
PROCESSING PERIOD OF DOCUMENTS FOR ISSUING A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT
The period of processing the documents for the issuance of the permit in question is 15 days, which are calculated starting from the day following the one when the foreign subject submits documents to the state authority.
The exception is foreign citizens and stateless persons who wish to obtain a permit on the basis of a marriage with a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or a foreign citizen permanently residing in Belarus. For them, the maximum review period will be 30 days.
After the decision to issue a temporary residence permit is made, the internal affairs bodies are given one day to notify the relevant citizen of the receipt of this permit.
VALIDITY PERIOD OF A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT
A temporary residence permit is valid for up to 1 year from the date of issue in accordance with the grounds on which such a permit was obtained and the validity period of the passport of the relevant foreign citizen.
STATE FEE FOR ISSUING A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELARUS
The cost of conducting an administrative procedure for issuing a temporary residence permit to a foreigner or a stateless person in Belarus is 3 basic units. This type of state fee can be paid directly through the bank, or online using the ERIP (SSIS) portal.
This procedure will be free of charge for children under 14 years of age, refugees or persons who are being attracted to the country to implement the terms of the investment agreement with the Republic of Belarus.
ANNULMENT OF A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELARUS
A temporary residence permit may be annulled in the case of loss of the grounds on which such permit was issued, repeated commission of administrative offenses, or if other legislation of the country (migration, criminal, etc.) has been violated.
A common reason for permit annulment is the violation by foreigners of the rule that citizens temporarily residing in the Republic of Belarus are required to live only at the stated place of registration, and for which they were issued a temporary residence permit. This fact may be checked by a district police officer.
In a situation where a subject changes their place of registration, they must submit documents proving the possibility of residence at the place of intended temporary residence to the internal affairs body for the new place of temporary residence within 5 working days. This is necessary in order for the state authorities to make changes to the temporary residence permit of the relevant citizen.
EXTENSION OF A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT IN BELARUS
If the person has not lost the reasons for which they previously received a temporary residence permit in the country, then they submit a list of documents that they submitted for the previous permit no later than 15 days (this period is due to the stipulated period for the execution of the administrative procedure for reviewing documents and issuing a temporary residence permit) before the expiration of their old permit.
If the grounds for obtaining the permit in question no longer exist, the foreign citizen must leave the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Failure to comply with this obligation may lead to administrative liability for a foreigner, including deportation and ban on entry to the Republic of Belarus for a long period of time.
Our lawyers provide the following legal assistance in the field of migration law:
- counsel on obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus;
- preparation of a set of documents for obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus;
- accompanying the client to authorities of citizenship and migration;
- appeals against decisions of the citizenship and migration authorities of the Republic of Belarus on refusal to issue a temporary residence permit.
Our lawyers have extensive experience in obtaining a temporary residence permit in Belarus. By contacting us about obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Belarus, you can be sure that you will receive professional legal advice and assistance.