Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus On measures to implement the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated October 14, 2019 №699

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
October 14, 2019 No. 699

On measures to implement the Decree of the President
of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300

Pursuant to part two of paragraph 4 of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300 “On establishing a visa-free procedure for the entry and exit of foreign citizens,” the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus RESOLVES:

1. To approve the Regulation on the procedure for citizens to visit the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,” as well as the territories of the districts of Brest and Grodno regions that are not part of this territory (attached).
2. To establish:
   the form of the document granting citizens the right to an individual visit to the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,” in accordance with Appendix 1;
   the form of the document granting citizens the right to a group visit to the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,” as well as the territories of the districts of Brest and Grodno regions that are not part of this territory, in accordance with Appendix 2.
3. To declare invalid Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of December 28, 2017 No. 1017 “On measures to implement the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of December 26, 2017 No. 462.”
4. This Resolution shall enter into force on November 10, 2019.

APPROVED
Resolution
of the Council of Ministers
of the Republic of Belarus
14.10.2019 No. 699

REGULATION
on the procedure for citizens to visit the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,”
as well as the territories of the districts of Brest and Grodno regions
that are not part of this territory

1. This Regulation defines the procedure for visits by citizens of the states specified in Appendix 1 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300 (hereinafter – citizens), for tourist purposes for up to fifteen days to the following territories where a visa-free entry and exit regime is in effect (hereinafter, unless otherwise specified – visa-free territories):
   the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno” – for individual visits by citizens of this territory;
   the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,” as well as the territories of the districts of the Brest and Grodno regions that are not part of this territory – for group visits to these territories when following the route of a tourist trip.
2. Entry of citizens into the Republic of Belarus for visiting visa-free territories and exit of citizens from the Republic of Belarus shall be carried out at border crossing points of the State Border of the Republic of Belarus, as specified in Appendix 2 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300.
3. The period of stay of citizens upon visa-free entry into the Republic of Belarus and exit from the Republic of Belarus through border crossing points specified in Appendix 2 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300 shall equal the duration of the tour implemented by the tourism entity providing services in the visa-free territory (hereinafter – tourism entity).
   When citizens purchase additional tourist services*, the period of stay, upon their request, shall be extended by tourism entities. In this case, the tourism entity shall send an appropriate notification to the Ministry of Sports and Tourism or an authorized body (hereinafter – authorized body) in accordance with the procedure established in part four of paragraph 10 of this Regulation.
   The duration of the tour, including its extension, shall not exceed the period established in paragraph 1 of this Regulation.
4. The territories forming the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno” are defined by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 7, 2019 No. 300.
5. Citizens arrive in the visa-free territory on the basis of:
   a valid passport or another document replacing it, intended for traveling abroad and issued by the competent authority of the state of citizenship or by an international organization (hereinafter – travel document);
   a document granting citizens the right to visit the visa-free territory, in the form established in accordance with Appendix 1 or 2 to the resolution approving this Regulation (hereinafter – right-to-visit document), provided that information about such a document is available in the automated border control system of the border service authorities.
   The right-to-visit document grants citizens the right to a single entry into and exit from the Republic of Belarus.
6. In the interests of citizens who intend to order, are ordering, or have ordered tourist services, the provision of which allows them to undertake a tourist trip in the visa-free territory, right-to-visit documents may be completed in a foreign language.
   The text of right-to-visit documents in a foreign language must correspond to the text of such documents in Russian or Belarusian.
7. No fee shall be charged for filling in and/or issuing right-to-visit documents.
8. Citizens shall provide the tourism entities, in electronic or written form, with the following information:
   surname, given name, patronymic (if applicable);
   date of birth (day, month, year);
   citizenship (nationality);
   series and number of the travel document;
   gender;
   contact details (email address, mobile phone number);
   the intended date of entry to visit the visa-free territory, corresponding to the start date of the tourist trip under the contract on the basis of which the tour is implemented.
   The information in the right-to-visit document shall be entered by the tourism entity in Latin transcription in accordance with the machine-readable zone of the travel document.
   The right-to-visit document shall be issued by the tourism entity with the subsequent transfer of the relevant information in electronic form to the authorized body no later than 72 hours before the intended time of entry into the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
   Simultaneously with the information provided in part three of this paragraph, the tourism entity shall submit to the authorized body details about itself, the date and number of the contract on the basis of which the tour is implemented, the tourist services provided, including the address of the accommodation facilities and the number of nights citizens will stay in them, the cost of tourist services, as well as the method and time of payment.
   The authorized body shall confirm receipt of the information from the tourism entity specified in parts three and four of this paragraph no later than 24 hours after receiving it.
   The authorized body shall ensure the transfer of information about citizens holding right-to-visit documents to the State Border Committee and internal affairs bodies in electronic form via technical communication channels or on an external medium no later than 24 hours before the intended time of entry into the territory of the Republic of Belarus. The format for presenting such information shall be determined under a joint agreement between the authorized body, border service authorities, and internal affairs bodies.
   If actual entry into the territory of the Republic of Belarus does not take place before the end date of the tourist trip under the concluded contract on the basis of which the tour is implemented, the right-to-visit document shall be canceled.
9. Visits by citizens to the visa-free territory shall be organized by tourism entities holding a certificate of conformity of tourist services, obtained under the procedure of voluntary conformity assessment.
10. When planning the entry of citizens into the Republic of Belarus and their exit from the Republic of Belarus as part of tourist groups, tourism entities that meet the requirements of paragraph 9 of this Regulation shall be obliged to include in the tourist trip program information on:
    the date and number of the concluded contract under which the tour is implemented, the cost of tourist services, the method and time of their payment, the route of the tourist trip, the date and time of its beginning and end;
    the intended makes and state registration numbers of motor vehicles transporting citizens as part of the tourist group;
    the tourist services provided, including the address of the accommodation facilities and the number of nights citizens will stay in them;
    the points of entry into and exit from the Republic of Belarus.
    The tourist trip route within the territory of the Republic of Belarus must begin and end at border crossing points located in the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno.”
    The tourism entity shall have the right to change the tourist trip route of citizens as part of a tourist group within the visa-free territory due to unforeseen circumstances or safety requirements.
    When changing the tourist trip route due to unforeseen circumstances or safety requirements, the tourism entity shall make amendments to the right-to-visit document and immediately inform the authorized body of such changes.
    Upon receipt of information on a change of the tourist trip route due to unforeseen circumstances or safety requirements, the authorized body shall ensure its transfer in electronic form to the State Border Committee and internal affairs bodies no later than 24 hours from the moment such information is received.
11. When providing tourist services to citizens as part of tourist groups, the group must include a group leader who is a representative of the tourism entity.
12. Expenses related to deportation or expulsion of citizens shall be borne by the citizens or the tourism entities that issued the right-to-visit document, in accordance with the legislation.
13. Citizens staying in the visa-free territory who have lost their right-to-visit document shall contact the tourism entity that provided the tourist services to obtain a duplicate of such a document.
14. Citizens staying in the visa-free territory who have lost their travel document shall contact the nearest internal affairs authority located in the visa-free territory.
15. Until a travel document for leaving the Republic of Belarus is issued by the diplomatic mission or consular office of the state of citizenship of the citizen, based on the results of verification by the internal affairs authority, a certificate confirming the identity of a foreign citizen or stateless person shall be issued in the form approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of June 10, 2010 No. 892.
16. Citizens entering the Republic of Belarus on the basis of the right-to-visit document are obliged to stay only within the visa-free territory.
17. Entry into (access to) the border strip and border zone of the visa-free territory “Brest – Grodno,” temporary stay and movement within this territory by citizens holding the documents specified in the first part of paragraph 5 of this Regulation, shall be carried out within automobile roads and designated tourist routes (cycling, hiking, water, and others) agreed upon with the territorial bodies of the border service.
18. Citizens who have visited the visa-free territory are obliged to leave the Republic of Belarus before the expiration of the period of stay under the implemented tour.
19. In the event of natural disasters, accidents or emergencies of natural or man-made origin, illness or health conditions, or other unforeseen circumstances preventing a citizen from leaving the Republic of Belarus before the expiration of the period of stay specified in paragraph 1 of this Regulation, the citizen or his representative shall apply to the nearest internal affairs authority with an application for extension of the temporary stay and registration.
    When extending the temporary stay, the internal affairs authority shall issue the citizen a visa for leaving the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.
    In the cases specified in this paragraph, citizens shall leave through any international border crossing point of the Republic of Belarus.
20. Control over the stay in the Republic of Belarus of citizens who entered on the basis of a right-to-visit document shall be exercised by the internal affairs authorities, border service, and state security bodies.
    If citizens are found to have left beyond the visa-free territory or deviated from the tourist trip route, except for cases provided for in part three of paragraph 10 of this Regulation, and failed to leave the Republic of Belarus within the established period, the internal affairs authorities, border service, and state security bodies shall, within their competence, consider the issue of bringing them to administrative responsibility for violation of the legislation on the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Republic of Belarus.
    Tourism entities shall be obliged to inform the nearest internal affairs authority of citizens who deviated from the tourist trip route and have not made contact for more than 24 hours.

* For the purposes of this Regulation, additional tourist services shall mean tourist services, the acquisition of which within the framework of a tour implemented by the tourism entity entails an increase in the period of stay of citizens (additional excursions, transfer services, medical and other services with mandatory inclusion of additional accommodation in a hotel or similar lodging facility, as well as accommodation in an agro-ecofarmstead).

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