BELARUS VISA
1. Visa free arrival at the National Airport Minsk.
Citizens of 76 countries can enter visa free for up to 30 days. This does not apply to arrival from Moscow or holders of diplomatic, service and official passports.
Requirements:
a. Valid passport
b. Proof of health insurance specifically saying that you are covered in Belarus. Ask your insurer for an official letter saying exactly that.
c. Financial means in the amount of about €20 per day
It is not necessary to have a letter of invitation for this visa.
If staying for longer than 5 days, you must register at your hotel or the official agency.
2. Arrival at a land border or any other airport other than the National Airport in Minsk
However I was arriving by my own vehicle at the Ukraine/Belarus border. In order to obtain an entry visa to Belarus when arriving by car or not at the Minsk Airport, a foreigner provides to the bodies that issue entry visas of the Republic of Belarus the following documents. There are many types of visas and this post will only refer to a short stay tourist visa.
1. one copy of the visa application form according to the approved form http://mfa.gov.by/docs/visa/visa_en.html. I tried to download the form in English but this was not possible. I had obtained the paper application form in Bucharest from the Embassy of Belarus and filled it out with pen. Use block letters. The dates were a confusing issue. Because of delays, my accommodation dates had to be changed twice. But I needed to state the date I would be arriving in Belarus and had to change the date on the application form.
2.. One photo (size 35 x 45 mm, it should be taken not more than 6 months before). I submitted the above size photo and they wanted a small one.
3. Document for travel abroad. I don’t know that this means, didn’t submit one and there was no problem. I did provide a fairly complete itinerary but they were not interested.
4. Visa support documents. This refers to a letter of invitation. It can be obtained in one of two ways.
a. A confirmation of a reservation made in a hotel, hostel or other type of accommodation. This must be drawn up on company letterhead indicating the full name of the hotel and dates of stay. This allows a stay of 10 days in Belarus. Theoretically one needs to supply information about where one will be for all 10 days, but this was not an issue.
b. A confirmation of a tour in Belarus with a recognized tourism operator drawn up on company letterhead indicating the full name of the tourist activity subject, its location and telephone, as well as the obligation of the tourist activity subject to the foreigner’s compliance with the rules for staying in the Republic of Belarus (the tour operator is responsible for you for the duration of your stay in Belarus. This is valid for 30 days and accommodation does not need to be listed.
5. additional documents necessary for making a decision on issuance of entry visa (on demand of the consular officer). Nothing else was required here.
6. Health Insurance. Proof of coverage specifically in Belarus must be supplied. As no insurance policy has this specification listed, one needs to write or email your travel insurance carrier and obtain a letter stating that they cover Belarus. Another option available in Kiev (which was much simpler) was to go across the street from the embassy to an insurance office and pay for 10 days of health insurance that covers Belarus. This is what I did – it took 10 minutes and cost 118 UAH or about €3
I told the officer that Belarus was going to be my 117th country and that I had never had to provide proof of medical insurance before. He had no answer.
7. Proof of payment of consular fees. For approval in 5 business days: €60. For emergency 2-day approval: €120. It was actually offered to obtain the visa immediately in Kiev. As I was going to be in Ukraine for 5 more days and returning to Kiev, I opted for the 5-day visa. I was there at 3pm on a Tuesday and the reluctantly agreed to have the visa ready on Monday morning. They wanted to keep my passport for the 5 days but I requested it back and they did.
Embassy of Belarus in Kiev, Ukraine.
They had unusual hours for visa applications: 9:30-12 Mondays and Fridays. 2:30-5 Tuesdays and Thursdays. Closed Wednesdays.
I submitted my application at 3pm on a Tuesday. Theoretically five business days would have meant that the visa would not be available until the next Tuesday. But I actually picked mine up on Monday morning. I arrived at 9:30 and it took ½hour to get the visa.
You can find more information on the website:http://mfa.gov.by
