Residents of Belarus who wish to settle and live in another country must send an application to the migration authorities in Minsk, according to a government decree promulgated today, DPA reported, citing BTA.
The office will then review the case and issue a decision within 35 days based on information about tax obligations, mandatory military service and previous convictions. Previously, citizens only had to inform the Belarusian consulate in a given country about the residence permit received there.
The authoritarian former Soviet republic is tightening controls on people living abroad, DPA notes. Recently, citizens were informed that their personal documents will be able to be issued only in Belarus and not abroad. This means that residents of the country will have to return to Belarus at least once every ten years to renew their documents.
Belarusian citizens living abroad number about 1.5 million people, and some of them have fled because of the repression of the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, DPA notes. The population of Belarus is just over 9 million inhabitants.
The number of political refugees from Belarus in Europe has increased significantly especially since the disputed presidential elections in 2020, after which Lukashenko remained in power and ordered the police and judiciary to apply brutal measures against the protesters.
Illustrative Photo by Natallia Rak: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-gathering-in-a-rally-5235341/
