Russia and Belarus have concluded Agreement on mutual recognition of visas for foreigners

On June 19, 2020 the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Belarus, Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Makey, have signed the bilateral Agreement on mutual recognition of visas.

It means that the foreigners can freely enter, leave and stay in the territory of Belarus if the have Russian visa and vice versa. Such visas will be recognized for the period up to 90 days.

However, the Agreement implies that its parties may still reduce the period of foreigner’s stay in their territory or even to refuse the entry.

It was planned to sign the Agreement a couple of years ago, but Belarus could not finish all the necessary national procedures on time. And after 2 years of mutual discussions and consultations on the matter of visas recognition, the Agreement is finally signed.

The Ministers have also mentioned the importance of the Agreement for tourists and businesses and the prospectus of expanding its force on the countries of Eurasian Economic Union.