Rules for Foreigners’ Stay in Belarus Become More Rigorous Since March 1

New Code of the Republic of Belarus and Code on Administrative Offences and Procedure and Execution Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences enter into force from 1 March, 2007. These codes introduce a new kind of penalty under administrative law, deportation. It is to be used against a foreign citizen or stateless persons for committing a number of administrative violations.

As the Belta correspondent was told by a representative of Belarusian Interior Ministry’s informational department, a foreign citizen can be deported as an additional punishment not only for violation of the rules of stay or transit through Belarus, but for illegal crossing of Belarusian state border, violation of boundary regime. This penalty is to be used considering the nature and consequences of the crime, and a personality of the criminal.

The new Code on Administrative Offences has an improved mechanism of ensuring the right to defence of a physical person held responsible in an administrative process, and a procedure of challenging a decree on deportation. A list of documents required to stay in Belarus has been revised (a Belarusian visa, a migration card, a valid passport, a permit for sojourn or registration and so on). A stay without such documents is an administrative violation.

Besides, a foreigner or a stateless person deported from Belarus would be banned from entering the country for a certain term. According to the new laws, this term would depend on reasons for deportation and could vary from 1 to 10 years.