Visa required for American Citizens
To obtain a visa the following should be submitted to the Embassy of Belarus in the U.S. or the Consulate General of Belarus in New York.
Note: The following requirements are actual for U.S. citizens only. Citizens of other countries, stateless persons and refugees should contact the Embassy or the Consulate General to clarify the terms and conditions for obtaining a visa.
1. Passport
A valid original passport (“Permit for Reentry” or “Refugee Travel Document” are also acceptable). The passport should be signed by a bearer, must have at least two blank visa pages and must stay valid no less than 90 days after requested visa expiration date.
2. Application form (click to download) The form must be filled out completely, no blank spaces must be left. If a question does not apply, please type “N/A”. If the answer is none, write “NONE”.
The form should bear the original signature of applicant and must be well readable. Please, fill out in block letters.
3. Photograph
Two recent 2″ x 2″ passport photos of the applicant is required: Please click here for photos guidelines.
4. Payment A money order or a cashier’s check for visa processing payable to the Embassy of Belarus in the U.S. or Consulate General of Belarus in New York (depending on where you are applying to). We do not accept cash or personal checks.
Cashier’s checks issued outside of the U.S. must be issued in U.S. dollars and be payable through any U.S. bank (that must be indicated on the front side of the check).
Effective January 13, 2015 new reduced visa fees apply for U.S. citizens. The visa fees are no longer calculated on the basis of reciprocity and now are determined by the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus. The visa fees are subject to regular recalculation based on the currency exchange rate and can be changed without a notice. Please check the schedule of the consular fees each time before submitting a visa request.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
| Type | Processing time | ||
| Regular(5 business days) | Expedite(1-2 business days) | ||
| B (transit)term of validity is up to 1 year; period of stay is up to 2 days | single entry | $ 25 | $ 50 |
| double entry | $ 35 | $ 70 | |
| multiple entry | $ 50 | $ 95 | |
| C (short term)term of validity and period of stay are up to 90 days | single entry | $ 70 | $ 140 |
| double entry | $ 105 | $ 205 | |
| multiple entry | $ 140 | $ 275 | |
| D (long term)term of validity is up to 1 year*; period of stay is up to 90 days | multiple entry | $ 170 | $ 340 |
| Visas of any type and multiplicity for children under 14 | $ 0 | $ 0 | |
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Citizens of Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Japan have to contact the Embassy of Belarus in the U.S. or Consulate General of Belarus in New York to find out the exact amount of the fee (if applying with other than US passports).
5. Visa Support Documents
- For a short-term type C business visa (commercial visit without intention to work, up to 90 days within a year): An original or a copy of a letter of invitation from an agency, company or organization in the Republic of Belarus, which is registered as a legal entity by the Belarusian authorities. A letter of invitation should be printed on the official letterhead with a registration number, date of issue, and should bear the signature of an official and a corporate seal. It should also indicate the expected duration of the applicant’s stay in Belarus. An inviting party must provide written guarantees that an invitee will abide by the rules and regulations applied to foreign citizens in the Republic of Belarus. Sample of a letter of invitation: [Doc-file] (In Russian).
- For a long-term type D business visa (commercial visit without intention to work, up to 90 days within a year): — An original letter of invitation from an agency, company or organization in the Republic of Belarus, which is registered as a legal entity by the Belarusian authorities. A letter of invitation should be printed on the official letterhead with a registration number, date of issue, and should bear the signature of an official and a corporate seal. It should also indicate the expected duration of the applicant’s stay in Belarus. An inviting party must provide written guarantees that an invitee will abide by the rules and regulations applied to foreign citizens in the Republic of Belarus. Sample of a letter of invitation: [Doc-file] (In Russian); — Authenticated copy of contract between Belarusian company and you or company where you work. ___________ * – If a foreign citizen within the last 3 years possessed a long-term multiple-entry visa issued for the purpose of maintaining business contacts or implementation of humanitarian programs, he can receive a long-term multiple-entry visa for the same purpose valid for 2 years upon submission of the above-mentioned documents. If a foreign citizen within the last 3 years possessed a long-term multiple-entry visa valid for more than 1 year period and issued for the purpose of maintaining business contacts or implementation of humanitarian programs, he can receive a long-term multiple-entry visa for the same purpose valid for 3 years upon submission of the above-mentioned documents.
- For a tourist visa: An original or a copy of a letter of invitation from a belarusian travel agency. Hosting organization should be registered as a tourist company by the Belarusian authorities. Sample of a letter of invitation: [Doc-file] (In Russian).
- For a visitor’s visa (private visit): An original (not a copy) invitation. Your relatives or friends should obtain invitation (“zaprashenne”) for you at the local passport and visa office of the Ministry of Interior and send it to you. In case of emergency (unexpected illness, death of the relative, etc.) visas can be issued upon submitting a certified cable from a doctor or a clinic in Belarus. In certain cases, the requirement for the applicant to provide the invitation letter may be withdrawn. The withdrawal may occur if the applicant has visited Belarus at least once during the last three years, has no negative visa history, has provided convincing evidence of the purposes of the trip to Belarus, has reaffirmed the existence of consistent relationship with the inviting person. The decision to grant the withdrawal is made on a case by case basis while processing a visa request.
- Visits to cemeteries: An original (not a copy) certificate of a local executive committee confirming the fact of burial in the Republic of Belarus and the maintenance of the graves of close relatives or spouse of a foreign citizen.
- For a transit visa: A visa (or copy) for the country you are traveling from/to via Belarus. In case of traveling to countries with no entry visa requirements — copy of the ticket, itinerary from your travel agency or any other document confirming your trip to the appropriate country.
- Note: We can obtain the Voucher and Invitation Letter for you. Click here for the Voucher and Invitation letter. Voucher – $30.00. Invitation Letter – $50.00
6. Guide to Visa Support: Tourist Voucher and Invitation Medical insurance (effective July 1, 2014) All visa applicants have to present a travel insurance valid for Belarus or worldwide (can be provided by Travelex, Travel Guard, RoamRight, Allianz Global Assistance, Travel Mate, Seven Corners, International Medical Group (IMG),…).
A letter from applicant’s insurance company (original or copy) is required. This letter should contain the following information:
- name, address and phone number of the insurance company;
- full name of the policy holder;
- insurance policy number;
- insurance territorial coverage (should be valid in Belarus or worldwide);
- insurance term of validity (should be valid through the period of the travel or temporary residence in Belarus);
- amount of emergency medical coverage (should not be less than 10.000 Euro ~ $12.000 with $0 deductible).
Please kindly note that a photocopy of insurance card will not be sufficient enough to meet the above requirements.
The insurance coverage letter is a compulsory document. Applicants missing this document will systematically have their visa denied.
All travellers need to have the insurance coverage letter in original during their stay in Belarus.
7. Other Documents
- Applicants who have USSR or Belarusian roots must provide official documents proving that they do not possess Belarusian citizenship.
- If applicant is a child under 18 years of age, a copy of child’s birth certificate and copies of parents’ passport main information pages (with passport number, expiration date, photo etc.) have to be submitted.
- Non US citizens who live in the USA should provide a prove of their legal USA status.
If you fail to follow the above mentioned requirements, your visa application will not be processed.
Visa processing starts only after all necessary documents are submitted.
Please be aware that the type of the visa you have should be consistent with the purpose of your visit to Belarus. Making a trip with purposes different from the visa type, and different from purposes declared while requesting a visa is contrary to law.
When having received your visa please check it for mistakes (passport number, date of birth, validity …) and, if necessary, return it to the Embassy of Belarus in the USA or Consulate General of Belarus in New York for corrections. We will not be responsible for any mistakes in the visas, which were not brought to our attention prior to your departure from the USA.
Please, note that visas cannot be changed or extended. If your travel plans changed after the visa issuance you have to reapply for a new one.
Any visa applicant may be interviewed by a consular officer or/and any additional documents may be requsted if necessary .
The period of temporary stay of foreign citizens in Belarus is determined by the duration of their Belarusian visa and can not be more than 90 days a year, starting from the date of entry in Belarus.
After arriving to Belarus please report within 5 business days the information about the address and duration of your stay to the local Passport and Visa Office of the Ministry of Interior. If staying in a hotel, this will be arranged by the hotel services (reception bureau).
All passengers holding US passports and visa of Belarus, traveling to Belarus via Moscow, must obtain Russian Transit Visas.
Ship Documents to Smart Visas and Passport Services with a pre-paid return shipping envelop, via Fedex, UPS only to:
Smart Visas and Passport Services
250 Park Avenue, suite 7028
New York, NY, 10177
917-473-1806
contact@smartvisaservices.com