On the expansion of visa-free territories of Belarus

20-August-2019

On August 7, 2019, Decree No. 300 "On the establishment of a visa-free procedure for the entry and exit of foreign citizens" was signed. The document will act instead of Decree No. 462 of December 26, 2017.

The previously separate two visa-free zones for the tourist and recreational areas of Brest and Grodno are combined into one visa-free territory "Brest-Grodno". Five more districts of the Grodno region are included in it: Lida, Volkovysky, Berestovitsky, Voronovsky, Schuchinsky.

In this region, the period of visa-free stay for tourism purposes is increased to 15 days for citizens of 73 countries. In addition, it will be possible to enter through two additional checkpoints on the state border ("Benyakoni", "Berestovitsa").

Foreigners will be able to travel without visas throughout the western regions provided that they follow routes organized by organized tourist groups that include visits to the Brest – Grodno visa-free territory.

Now the most favorable conditions have been created for foreign citizens who wish to undergo spa treatment in any sanatorium in the Grodno region. An increase in the period of stay for visa-free travel up to 15 days will allow you to complete a full course of treatment and rehabilitation.

In total, for the first half of the current year, about 1,200 vacationers in the health resorts of the Grodno region used "visa-free", and almost 10 thousand people of all foreigners who visited the health resorts of the region.

The adoption of the decree continues the targeted efforts of the Belarusian state to develop cross-border human contacts, is evidence of the open and friendly nature of Belarus’s foreign policy.