A Belarusian passport (Belarusian: беларускі пашпарт, romanized: biełaruski pašpart; Russian: белорусский паспорт, romanized: belorusskiy pasport) is issued to citizens of Belarus and is used for both external and internal travel. Unlike Russia, there are no internal passports in Belarus. Passports are issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Belarus and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to citizens who live abroad.
| Belarusian passport | |
|---|---|
 The front cover of a contemporary Belarusian biometric passport  | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Belarus |
| First issued | 1996 2006 (updated) 2021 (biometric) |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Belarusian citizenship |
| Expiration | 10 years |
"AB" series passports are assigned to Brest Region, "BM" series passports - Vitebsk Region, "HB" series passports - Gomel Region, "KH" series passports - Grodno Region, "MP" series passports - Minsk city, "MC" series passports - Minsk Region, "KB" series passports - Mogilev Region, "PP" series passports are assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Passports can be issued to citizens at any age. Upon turning 14, every citizen is encouraged[vague] to obtain a passport. Belarusian passports have blue covers.
Article 14 of the "Treaty on the Union between Belarus and Russia" expects the future introduction of identity documents of the Union State.
History
editUntil Belarus established its independence, Soviet passports were used. In spite of the fact that Byelorussian SSR citizenship (like citizenship of all other soviet republics) was recognised by the USSR, Soviet passports never mentioned Byelorussian SSR citizenship. Soviet passports issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Byelorussian SSR (as well as birth certificates) had records in both Belarusian and Russian.
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1918 -
1991-1995 -
1991-1995
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- 2006 passport
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Cover -
First pages of a passport containing coat of arms and the words "Passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus" in Belarusian, Russian and English. -
Pages 30-31 of a passport with records in Belarusian and Russian (surname, name, patronymic name, date of birth, personal number, place of birth, date of issue, date of expiry and issuing authority). -
Last pages of a passport. -
Page 29 of a passport with two foreign travel permission stamps.
- 2021 biometric passport
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Cover -
First page -
Page with personal info -
Pages 6-7 -
Pages 20-21 -
Integrated biodata card under UV light -
Page 1 under UV light -
Page 17 under UV light
Information
editA Belarusian passport contains the following information, printed in Belarusian, Russian and English:
- Given name, surname and patronymic name (the latter only in Belarusian and Russian)
- Date of birth
- Identification number
- Sex
- Place of birth
- Date of issue
- Date of expiry
- Authority
- Holder's signature
- Signature of the authority issuing the Passport
- Code of issuing state (BLR)
- Official seal
- Place of residence
- Visas (if any)
- Consular stamps (for those who live abroad)
- Information about children under 16 (if any)
- Information regarding marital status and the spouse's details (if any)
Moving abroad permission stamps
editBefore 1 January 2008, Belarusian citizens had to apply for permission stamps in their passports in order to cross Belarusian borders. Permission stamps were given if there were no specific legal restrictions for their moving abroad.
In 2002, the Constitutional Court of Belarus stated in its decision that permission stamps were not constitutional.[1] The Council of Ministers was ordered to propose a different kind of a citizen border control by 31 December 2005.
By a Presidential decree issued on 17 December 2007, permission stamps were finally abolished.[2]
Visa requirements
edit
As of 7 September 2024, Belarusian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 81 countries and territories, ranking the Belarusian passport 61st in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.[3]
See also
editExternal links
edit
References
edit- ^ "Constitutional Court decision on permission stamps". Archived from the original on 2006-01-05.
- ^ "Presidential Decree abolishing permission stamps". Archived from the original on 2008-01-18.
- ^ "Global Passport Ranking".