The Republic of Belarus has registered a total of 839,731 foreign nationals since the start of the visa-free agreement that came into force in April 2022.
The State Border Committee of Belarus revealed in a post on X social media that among them, 517,897 arrivals came from Lithuania, whereas 192,341 from other neighboring countries, including 57,952 non-citizens from Latvia and 71,541 from Poland, VisaGuideWorld reports.
Queues of trucks to enter the European Union continue to grow. Over the past day, the number of heavy trucks in front of European checkpoints has increased by 200 units.
Data provided by the same source also show that since Friday, February 24, the queue of trucks entering Lithuania has increased by 280 vehicles.
Over 39,000 Foreign Nationals Visited Belarus in January 2024
In addition, as of January 2024, 39,125 foreign nationals also visited Belarus 39,125. Among these visitors, 22,686 citizens came from Lithuania, followed by 7,540 citizens and 1,837 non-citizens from Latvia, alongside 7,062 citizens from Poland.
Belarus also welcomed a significant number of Ukrainian citizens since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022. This figure reached a total of 159,096. Based on data from the State Border Committee of Belarus, 15,924 individuals crossed directly through the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
The majority, consisting of 106,641 individuals, chose transit routes through Poland. In addition, 31,906 individuals traveled via Lithuania, while 4,625 individuals decided to transit through Latvia on their way to Belarus.
A previous report by the State Border Committee noted that during the period from April 2022 to December 2022 in the country, there were a total of 369,703 arrivals. As a result, 6.9 percent of these arrivals, a total of 25,786 individuals, originated from third countries, while a majority of 93 percent of all arrivals consisted of citizens from the EU.
Belarus Extended Visa-Free Policy for Latvian, Lithuanian & Polish Citizens Until December 2024
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, starting on April 15, 2022, Belarus implemented a visa-free entry policy for citizens of Latvia, including non-citizens and Lithuania. Then, on July 1, 2022, this visa-free privilege was extended to citizens of Poland.
The visa-free regime for these countries is set to remain in force until December 31, 2024.
Following this agreement, citizens of Lithuania and citizens (including non-citizens) of Latvia are allowed to enter and exit only through designated international border crossing points along the Belarus-Lithuania and Belarus-Latvia borders.
On the other hand, citizens of Poland enjoy the flexibility to enter and exit Belarus through any international border crossing point located along the Belarus-EU border.
To facilitate border crossings without the need for a visa, individuals are required to present specific documents. These include a valid travel document for international travel and a green card when traveling by car.