Belarus temporary residence permit

Article 48 lists the grounds. They include vocational, secondary specialised, higher or research education and many adult training programmes; marriage to, or close kinship with, a Belarusian citizen or a foreigner permanently residing in Belarus; employment under an employment contract or individual entrepreneurship; religious activity; ownership of a dwelling in Belarus; Belarusian ethnic origin and descent; grounds for acquiring Belarusian citizenship by registration; former Belarusian citizenship; inpatient treatment in a Belarusian health institution or accompanying such a patient; and pending or granted international protection.

For most grounds the permit runs for the length of the stay but not more than one year. For study it covers the period of education, again up to one year, and for an application for refugee status or asylum it covers the time needed to examine the claim.

Decisions to issue or refuse the permit are taken by the citizenship and migration units of the internal affairs bodies, while the list of documents, the processing time and the fee are set by separate legislative acts. Once an application for a temporary residence permit has been accepted, your temporary stay is extended for the time needed to examine it. A granted permit is confirmed by a mark called "Dazvol na chasovae prazhyvanne" placed in your documents, and your passport remains your identity document in Belarus.

Family members of a foreigner who has or is obtaining a temporary residence permit can receive their own permits, provided the main holder has a legal source of income that ensures the Belarusian subsistence minimum for the holder and each family member. Their permits are issued for the length of the stay but cannot outlast the main holder's permit.

A permit is not issued if you gave false information or forged documents, if there is no ground for temporary residence, if a marriage with a Belarusian citizen or permanent resident was entered into only to obtain the permit, or if you cannot prove that you can support the family members you are applying for. It is cancelled if the ground disappears, after deportation or expulsion, or when you obtain permanent residence or Belarusian citizenship, and it can be cancelled if you move abroad permanently. After a refusal or cancellation, a foreigner with no other legal basis to stay must leave within 15 days.

Holders must live only at the address for which the permit was issued. After moving, you have three working days from arrival at the new address to apply to the citizenship and migration unit there so that the mark can be updated. You must leave Belarus before the permit expires unless you have registered a new stay, obtained a new temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit. If you leave Belarus without an exit-entry visa from the migration authorities, a Belarusian mission can issue an entry visa for a stay of up to 30 days within the validity of your permit.

A refusal or cancellation can be appealed to the higher state body within the period set for your departure, and then to a court. While such an appeal is pending, it serves as the legal basis for your temporary stay, and you must register at your actual place of stay until the decision.