Visa & passport

To enter Belarus, you need a passport and a visa. You may get a visa in our Embassy or Consulate in your country or, if there is none, at the Minsk National Airport as you proceed to passport checking. To learn if there is a Belarusian diplomatic mission in your country, click here.

Most foreign visitors to Belarus require one of a range of available visas: Belarus transit visas, short or long-stay visas, single or multi-entry

To get a visa, you need to submit a valid passport, a photo, an application, other supporting documents depending on the nature of your visit, & to pay a visa fee.

When applying for a visa, apart from an application, you need to submit the following supporting documents:

For tourism (up to 30 days, short-term single or double entry), a written request by a Belarusian tourist company, or a written request by a rest house or rehabilitation centre, or a written invitation by a national of Belarus and supporting documents that confirm her/his ownership of an agrotourist homestead in Belarus.

For a short-term private visit (up to 90 days, single, double or multiple entries), an original invitation issued by a local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus where a person you are going to visit is living.

Meanwhile, you may get a visa for a private visit without invitation in case you have a report proving an emergency need to visit Belarus due to a serious decease or death of a relative, or an invitation from a person you going to visit verified at Belarusian Embassy or Consulate, or a document certifying that you own a residence in Belarus, or a court notice.

For a long-term private visit (90 days within a year), you need to have a family member who is national of Belarus or to own a residence in Belarus. To get this type of visa, you need either an original invitation issued by a local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus where a person you are going to visit is living or a document certifying that you own a residence in Belarus.

For a commercial visit (up to 90 days), a written request by a Belarusian company. Please note that requests by local offices of international companies or banks in Belarus, as well as private entrepreneurs will be invalid as, according to Belarusian regulations, they do not have a status of a legal entity in Belarus.

For a long-term visit (commercial visit with intention to work, up to 90 days within a year), a written request by a Belarusian company you are going to work for and an employment authorization issued a local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus.

For a long-term visit (commercial visit without intention to work, up to 90 days within a year), a written request by a Belarusian company on the official letterhead signed by a company executive and sealed by a corporate seal, proof of registration of a Belarusian company (extract from the State Register of Legal Entities and Private Entrepreneurs of Belarus issued by the Ministry of Justice of Belarus), copy of contract between Belarusian company and you or company where you work, and a document certifying that you are employed by that company.

For transit (up to 48 hours), a visa of the country of main destination. If a trip to that country does not require a visa, you should submit any other supporting documents proving that you need to transit through Belarus.

For studies, an original invitation by the educational institution where you are going to study verified by a local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus.

For permanent residence, visa is issued following the receipt of confirmation by the Embassy or Consulate from the Consular Department of the Foreign Ministry confirming that permanent residence permit was granted to the applicant.

The processing time for visa application does not usually exceed 5 business days. Visa application may be processed within 2 business days for an extra fee.

Important: Upon arrival to Belarus, you need to register at the local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus within 5 business days.

If your visa to Belarus is up to 90 days but you intend to stay longer, you need to extend the validity of your visa through a local citizenship and migration office of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus.

At the Minsk National Airport, you may get a visa only if there is no Belarusian Embassy or Consulate in your country. At the Airport you may get either a transit visa or a short-term visa. They may be for a single, double or multiple entries.

Please note that at the Airport consular fee is paid in cash only. Therefore, credit or debit cards will not be accepted there.

Remember that, while applying for a visa, you may need to provide additional papers if that is required by an Embassy of Consulate.