English

Travel to Belarus may become easier for Lithuanian, Polish nationals

The Belarusian ministry of sports and tourism has been given until November 1 to develop proposals for making travel to the country easier for Lithuanian and Polish tourists, Deputy Minister Cheslaw Shulha told reporters in Minsk on September 24, as quoted by BelaPAN.

The deputy minister would not disclose details. He only said that Alyaksandr Lukashenka had ordered the ministry to draw up the proposals when visiting recently areas around Lake Narach in northwestern Belarus.

Mr. Shulha also commented on the coming ratification of agreements with Poland and Lithuania on the mutual abolition of visas for people living within 20 kilometers off the shared border, noting that the ratification of the accord with Poland would take place before the end of this year.

He said that the government planned to scrap visas for foreigners who will be arriving in Belarus for the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk.

The ministry is in talks with other countries on the mutual facilitation of visa rules, Mr. Shulha said.

Travel to Belarus is currently easier for tourists arriving in the country as part of a group, they pay EUR10 in visa fees each, with the visa application procedure handled by the tour operator, the deputy minister said.

Individual tourists, whose number is becoming increasingly bigger every year, have to pay more and apply for the visa on their own, he noted.

Mr. Shulha also announced the ministry’s plans to introduce electronic visas. A working group to study the proposal will be soon set up, he said.