From Wikitravel

Factbook removed. --Professorbiscuit

questions about regulations

Please find the answers to your questions below:

The article says that a letter of invitation is no longer required to get a visa, as long as one has the name and address of a citizen. Is that true for all visitors? I have read news items in the last couple of years about invitation letters not being required for visitors from some countries, but does this apply to all visitors from all countries now?

A: The official word from the Belarus Embassy in the UK is:

Effective 1 October 2004 citizens of all the 25 European Union states, as well as of Andorra, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Norway, Oman, Qatar, South African Republic, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, applying for Belarusian visitor’s or business visas who want to stay in the Republic of Belarus for the period less than 30 days do not any longer need formal letters of invitation from Belarusian citizens or organizations. This can be found at: http://uk.belembassy.org/visainfo.html

Note: It says "Belarusian visitor’s or business visas", it does not say "tourist visas" and recently we have heard that UK citizens are being told that they still need an invitation. I can send you a link to this discussion if you want. So this point is still not clear.

The last time that I travelled between Warsaw and Minsk by train was in 2003. Passport control took place at the border on board the train in both directions. The article says that when going from Minsk to Warsaw by train, in addition to passport control in the train, travellers must go to the customs office in the train station before getting on the train, even if they have nothing to declare. I have travelled from Minsk to Warsaw by train a few times and I never did this. If this is now required for all travellers, where is the customs office?

A; I have also traveled back and forth from Minsk to Warsaw several times. Customs inspection were always done after the wheels are changed at the boarder (in Brest I believe). I have also traveled by train from Vilnius to Minsk and again the customs check took place on the train. I am sure that this is not correct.

The article says that visitors must buy insurance and suggests buying this insurance at Kalinka in Warsaw. The last time I bought this insurance, I had to do it in Belarus after I arrived. Does one have to buy this insurance before going to Belarus now? Is Kalinka the only place to get it?

A: Usually you can only by the insurance at the Minsk airport or at an insurance office in Belarus. Here is a link to ONE insurance company that has a website in English. We usually buy health insurance from their office on 16 Rakovskaya st. in Minsk: http://www.belgosstrakh.by/eng/branches

All of this and much more can be found on our Travel Guide to Belarus, a collaborative effort by a citizen of Belarus and a native English speaker: http://www.travelswise.com/belarus.htm . If you have other questions about travel to Belarus, write to us at Emmergene AT Yahoo DOT com