Foreign Ministry: Visa-Free Regime May Be Extended to Two Weeks

The abolition of visas for five days is an experiment.

In the case of extension of visa-free entry to Belarus it may be equal to 12 − 14 days. Dzmitry Mironchyk, head of the Information Department, press secretary of the Foreign Ministry, announced today during online-conference on the website of the Belarusian TV and Radio Company, tut.by informs.

The Foreign Ministry confesses there has been offered longer visa-free regime.

"In the 70-80s of the last century there was a term "ALARP principle". However, it touched upon the nuclear issue. But the principle itself can be applied to the visa-free regime," Dzmitry Mironchyk noted.

According to him, if one needed more long-term visa-free stay in Belarus, it would be necessary to change the law. Then the "Parliament" had to be involved and the decision was not made quickly.

"And the decision on the visa-free regime has become imminent. And we've decided to make a little step to see the effect," the Foreign Ministry's representative noted.

Dzmitry Mironchyk says that once analyzed the economic impact, the situation in the law enforcement sphere and other factors, the decision on further improvement of the visa-free regime and on its extension may be taken.

Foreign Ministry's representative cited the sanatorium-and-spa treatment in Belarus as an example.

"Sanatorium-and-spa treatment is the twist of Belarus. Standard stay in sanatorium is 12-24 days. It will be logical to increase terms of visa-free stay to 12 or 14 days. But it is too early to talk about," he noted.

It will be recalled that 5-day visa-free regime became valid on 12 February. It provides for visa-free entry to Belarus through the Minsk national airport for up to 5 days for citizens of 80 countries.

It applies to 39 countries in Europe, including the entire European Union, and Brazil, Indonesia, the United States, Japan and a number of other states. During the year tourists can take 5-day visa-free visits to Belarus any number of times. For citizens of Viet Nam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia, Samoa a mandatory requirement is to have a valid multiple visa to the EU countries or the Schengen area with entry marks, as well as flight tickets with confirmation of departure from the Minsk National Airport within five days from the date of entry.