Russian Parliament completed ratification of agreement with Belarus on mutual recognition of visas

On January 17th, this agreement was ratified by the State Duma of Russia. Thus, the Russian Parliament has completed the ratification procedures for the document, and now it will be submitted for signature to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The agreement – initiated by the Russian side – was signed in Minsk on June 19th, 2020. Belarus completed its ratification in December 2020.

The agreement is aimed to create a legal framework for regulating the procedure for crossing the Belarusian-Russian border by foreign citizens and stateless persons.

Presenting the document in the upper chamber, member of the Russian Federation Council’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Yelena Afanasyeva said that the agreement gives foreigners the right to enter, departure, stay, transit through the territory of Belarus and Russia on the basis of a visa of one of the two states and identity documents.

It is planned that – in order to implement the agreement – a system of information exchange will be created between the two sides on issued and cancelled permits for entry and stay, as well as crossing the borders of Belarus and Russia at checkpoints. It is also envisaged that foreign citizens and stateless persons who have a temporary residence permit, a residence permit or a document for attending an international sports event of one party and an identity document have the right to enter, departure, stay, and transit through the territory of the state of the other party during the validity period of these documents.

The agreement is expected to enter into force on February 1st.