Police To Deal With Belarusians Renting Apartments To Foreigners

Since October 1, hotels and homesteads were ordered to inform the police about the foreigners who had moved in.

Since October 1, 2017, hotels, sanatoriums, agro-enterprises, as well as legal entities and entrepreneurs who rent accommodation to tourists, will have to inform the internal affairs agencies about the foreigners who move in within three hours, the press-center of the MIA reports.

"The procedure for providing information on foreign citizens and individuals without citizenship, temporarily staying in Belarus, by the hotels, sanatoriums and health resorts, agro-ecotourism entities, to the internal affairs body, has changed.

Since October 1, 2017, such information should be transmitted through the information resources (systems) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus or a single portal for electronic services of the national automated information system, or by courier," – stated in the message.

Until that date, this information is transmitted through electronic communication channels or by hand.

Since October 1, 2017, it will be necessary to provide data on foreigners who moved in within three hours. Earlier, the term was 24 hours since the moment of checking in.

Earlier, they explained in the Department for Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that by reducing the time period in which it is necessary to inform about the settled foreigner, no one plans to complicate the process of admission of tourists and worsen the business. Such changes are aimed at obtaining information promptly.

Now, if foreigners plan to spend more than five days in Belarus, they need to register. This can be done in a hotel or an agro-hotel. But if a tourist rents an apartment or comes to relatives, then it will have to be done in the local department for citizenship and migration.

The tourists who come for the weekend or public holidays make an exception to this rule. Also, Russians are released from registration within 90 days since the date of entry, and Lithuanians, Latvians, Ukrainians and Kazakhs — within 30 days since the date of entry.