Belarus considers easing residence permit rules for Baltic states, Poland

Belarus is considering easing residence permit rules for citizens of the Baltic states and Poland, learned from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.

More than 164,000 people have visited Belarus as part of the visa-waiver program for citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland that was launched in April. The ministry noted an increase in the number of permanent residence permit applications, especially from the foreigners with Belarusian roots. These are people who used to have Belarusian citizenship, who have grounds for its acquisition by registration, are Belarusians or identify themselves with them, or are their descendants.

The ministry noted that the Belarusian legislation envisages a possibility of granting a permit for permanent residence to this category of foreigners. Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working on easing residence permit rules for citizens of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland who have Belarusian roots. This includes reducing the length of this administrative procedure to one month.

This will create more favorable conditions for the entry, long-term stay and integration of citizens of these countries in Belarus.