Permanent residence of foreigners

A permanent residence permit is issued to foreigners at the citizenship and migration department at the place of the foreigner's intended permanent residence.

A permanent residence permit is issued to foreigners who:

• are close relatives of citizens of the Republic of Belarus permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus;
• are persons granted refugee status or asylum in the Republic of Belarus;
• have the right to family reunification (spouse, minor children and adopted children, as well as unmarried children and adopted children over 18 years of age, disabled parents and adopters who have an invitation from the spouse, parents, adopters, children, adopted children who are citizens of the Republic of Belarus or foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus. In some cases, the right to family reunification may be granted to other relatives (family members) of citizens of the Republic of Belarus and foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus, if the inviting person or foreigner has sufficient living conditions, as well as the inviting person has a legal source of income providing for him, his family members and the foreigner applying for a permanent residence permit, the minimum subsistence level established in the Republic of Belarus for the period of consideration of the application);
• have lived in the Republic of Belarus after obtaining a temporary residence permit for the last five years continuously;
• have grounds for acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Belarus by registration;
• were previously citizens of the Republic of Belarus;
• are employees and specialists needed by organizations in the Republic of Belarus (upon request of the relevant state bodies of the Republic of Belarus);
• have exceptional abilities and talent or have outstanding merits before the Republic of Belarus, high achievements in science, technology, culture and sports (the decision to issue is made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs upon request of the relevant state bodies of the Republic of Belarus);
• are foreign investors who have invested at least 150,000 euros in investment projects on the territory of the Republic of Belarus (the decision to issue is made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs upon request of the relevant state bodies of the Republic of Belarus);
• are Belarusians, as well as persons identifying themselves as Belarusians, and their descendants (blood relatives in the direct line: children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren) born outside the modern territory of the Republic of Belarus;
• have the right to receive a permanent residence permit on other grounds provided by international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

A permanent residence permit may be issued:

• to stateless persons who have been in the Republic of Belarus for more than three years, provided that there is no state that has agreed to accept them, with the exception of stateless persons who have terminated their citizenship in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the state of previous citizenship;
• to other foreigners on the basis of a decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus in agreement with the President of the Republic of Belarus.

Applications from citizens of the Russian Federation for obtaining a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus are considered on the basis of documentary confirmation of the applicant's citizenship of the Russian Federation.

Also, citizens of Belarus and Russia have the rights to:

• exchange residential premises without hindrance in accordance with national legislation and the issuance of permanent residence permits on this basis;
• acquire, own, use and dispose of property in their territories. Equal protection of property rights (Agreement between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation on ensuring equal rights of citizens of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation to freedom of movement, choice of place of stay and residence in the territories of the states - participants of the Union State of January 24, 2006).

Foreigners located outside the Republic of Belarus apply to the foreign affairs agency of the Republic of Belarus in the state of citizenship or permanent residence, and those located in the Republic of Belarus - to the department of citizenship and migration of the internal affairs body at the place of intended permanent residence.

DOCUMENTS provided by a foreigner to obtain a permanent residence permit:

• application;
• autobiography;
• a document for traveling abroad (usually a passport, and if it is in a foreign language, also provide a notarized translation into Belarusian or Russian (except for foreigners who have been granted refugee status or asylum);
• 4 color photographs corresponding to the age, measuring 40 x 50 mm (on one sheet);
• a document on the presence or absence of a criminal record issued by the competent authority of the state of nationality and (or) previous usual place of residence no more than 6 months ago - for foreigners who have reached the age of 14 (except for foreigners who have been granted refugee status or asylum in the Republic of Belarus, stateless persons who have been in the Republic of Belarus for more than three years, as well as persons who have terminated their citizenship of the Republic of Belarus).
• documents confirming the grounds for obtaining a permanent residence permit (for example, for close relatives, in case of family reunification — a document confirming the family relationship; for refugees — a copy of the certificate; previously had citizenship of the Republic of Belarus — a certificate from the internal affairs bodies or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; is an employee — a petition from a state body confirming the organization's interest in the foreign specialist, and educational documents);
• a document confirming the legality of stay in the Republic of Belarus (registration mark in the migration card or passport, or the «Dazvol na chasovae prazhylanne» stamp in the passport);
• refugee certificate — for foreigners who have been granted refugee status in the Republic of Belarus;
• a medical certificate of health confirming the absence of diseases included in the list of diseases that pose a danger to public health — for foreigners over the age of 14;
• documents from the competent authority of the state of nationality and/or previous habitual residence confirming that the foreigner was not and is not married (except in cases of spousal reunification and refugees) — for foreigners over the age of 18 who are children or adopted children of citizens of the Republic of Belarus or foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus applying for a permanent residence permit in order to exercise the right to family reunification (except for persons granted refugee status or asylum);
• documents confirming the foreigner's relationship with the inviting person and the availability of sufficient housing conditions for the inviting person or the foreigner, as well as the inviting person's legal source of income providing for the subsistence minimum for him/her, family members, and the foreigner during the period of consideration of the petition — in certain cases of family reunification;
• documents required for registration at the place of residence (application for registration at the place of residence indicating the total living space, basis for registration (e.g., rental agreement, provision of living space by a family member, ownership of housing), consent of adult persons registered at this address to register the foreigner);
• a document confirming payment (2 base amounts, free of charge — for foreigners under the age of 14).

More detailed information at the link: http://mvd.gov.by/ru/main.aspx?guid=3141.

Grounds for refusal to issue a permanent residence permit:

1. A foreigner may be refused a permanent residence permit if:

If a decision is made to refuse to issue a permanent residence permit, the validity period of the visa issued to the foreigner and (or) the period of his registration or temporary stay will be shortened if there are no legal grounds for his stay in the Republic of Belarus.

A foreigner in respect of whom a decision has been taken to refuse to issue a permanent residence permit, unless there are other legal grounds for his stay in the Republic of Belarus, must leave the Republic of Belarus within one month from the date of his notification of the decision.

The grounds for revoking a permanent residence permit are in many ways similar to the grounds for refusing to issue a permanent residence permit (provided for in Article 57 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 04.01.2010 No. 105-Z "On the Legal status of Foreign citizens and Stateless Persons").

residence permit

Foreigners who have received a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus are issued a residence permit.

A residence permit is a document certifying the identity of a foreigner in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and confirming that such a person has received a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus.

A foreigner who has reached the age of 14 and has received a permanent residence permit in accordance with the established procedure must have a residence permit.

A residence permit is issued for a period of 2 years. Upon exchange, in case of expiration, a residence permit may be issued for a period of 5 years for foreigners under the age of 60, and for a period of 40 years for those over the age of 60.

The issuance and exchange of a residence permit is carried out by the internal affairs body (department (department) for Citizenship and Migration at the place of residence of the foreigner).

FOR REFERENCE:

Citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons who have resided in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, as a rule, for at least a year and who have arrived in the Republic of Belarus to obtain temporary or permanent residence permits, are exempt from:

• payment of the state fee for obtaining a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit, and issuance of a residence permit in the Republic of Belarus);
• provision of documents necessary for making a decision on granting temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits, and residence permits to citizens of Ukraine in the absence of an objective opportunity to submit such documents (Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 420 dated 30.08.2014 "On the stay of citizens of Ukraine in the Republic of Belarus").

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Forms for applications to be submitted to the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Internal Affairs Body can be found at the link: http://mvd.gov.by/main.aspx?guid=3021.

APPEALING DECISIONS OF STATE BODIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Foreigners may file complaints with a higher state body regarding decisions of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus on:

• refusal to register (within a year),
• refusal to extend and (or) reduction of the period of temporary stay in the Republic of Belarus (within a year),
• refusal to issue a temporary residence permit (within a year),
• annulment of a temporary residence permit (within a year),
• refusal to issue a permanent residence permit (within a year),
• annulment of a permanent residence permit (within a year),
• temporary restriction of foreigners' right to leave the Republic of Belarus.

Complaints by foreigners regarding decisions of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus on expulsion may be filed with a higher state body within one month from the date the foreigner is acquainted with such a decision.

Appeals against court decisions are made to a higher court.

Filing a complaint regarding decisions of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus on reducing the period of temporary stay in the Republic of Belarus, refusal to issue a temporary residence permit, annulment of a temporary residence permit, refusal to issue a permanent residence permit, annulment of a permanent residence permit, or expulsion to a higher state body within the period for the foreigner's departure from the Republic of Belarus, or to the court after appealing such decisions to a higher state body, as well as complaints (protests) against a decision to impose an administrative penalty in the form of deportation on a foreigner, is the basis for the temporary stay of the foreigner in the Republic of Belarus, against whom the appealed decisions were made, for the duration of the complaint review.

LIABILITY FOR VIOLATING RULES OF FOREIGNERS' STAY

A foreigner who violates the rules of stay in the Republic of Belarus may be held liable:

• administratively in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus:
  • Article 23.53. Living without registration or without identity documents (entails a warning or a fine of up to four basic units);
  • Article 23.55. Violation of legislation on the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons (entails a warning or imposition of a fine of up to 100 basic units or deportation); Note: does not apply to cases of stay in the Republic of Belarus of a foreign citizen or stateless person without a visa of the Republic of Belarus, migration card, passport or other document replacing it, intended for traveling abroad and issued by the relevant authority of the state of nationality or habitual residence of the foreign citizen or stateless person, or issued by an international organization, or stay in the Republic of Belarus with invalid documents, non-compliance by a foreign citizen or stateless person with the established procedure for registration or movement and choice of place of residence or stay before applying for refugee status, additional protection or asylum in the Republic of Belarus, provided that they applied for such status without delay.
  • Administrative punishment in the form of deportation is applied for committing administrative offenses provided for by the following articles:
    16.2. "Concealment of the source of infection with a venereal disease or evasion from examination";
    23.24. "Violation of legislation on foreign безвозмездной assistance";
    23.29. "Illegal crossing of the State Border of the Republic of Belarus";
    23.30. "Violation of border regime";
    23.31. "Violation of the regime of the State Border of the Republic of Belarus";
    23.32. "Violation of the regime at border crossing points through the State Border".
• Criminal liability in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus:
  Article 371. Illegal crossing of the State Border of the Republic of Belarus (entails punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment with confiscation of property or without confiscation);
  Article 371-1. Organization of illegal migration (entails punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment with confiscation of property or without confiscation);
  Article 371-2. Violation of the period of the entry ban into the Republic of Belarus (entails punishment of up to three years of imprisonment).