An entry ban is an administrative measure that prevents a foreigner from entering a country. If there are grounds, the authority imposes a ban on entry for a certain period or indefinitely.
The Republic of Belarus is no exception in this matter. If a foreign citizen has an unpaid fine in the country, he may receive an entry ban. In addition, Russia and Belarus have an international agreement, according to which the ban from the authorities of Belarus will also apply to Russia.
In simple words, a foreign citizen will not be able to enter the Russian Federation due to the ban in Belarus.
In this article we will talk about several questions of interest:
- What could cause an unpaid fine?
- how to check entry ban?
- How to lift or appeal an entry ban?
As you will learn from the article, some actions require legal knowledge of Belarusian and international law. Our specialists have extensive experience in lifting entry bans due to fines and can help you.
Grounds for imposing a fine
In fact, entry bans due to fines are quite common. And as a rule, they are easy to remove. To do this, you need to pay this fine and write about it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, there are a few difficult points along the way that we need to pay attention.
A fine in the Republic of Belarus can arise for various reasons. And this can be any area of human activity. For example, a fine for violating traffic rules, non-payment of taxes or customs duties, for smoking in a prohibited place, and so on.
Quite often, a foreigner travels through the Republic of Belarus to Russia and receives a fine for violating traffic rules, the camera records the car number, and the fine is automatically received. The foreigner may not know it, but he receives an entry ban because he did not pay a fine. The entry ban is established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.
Now let’s finish with the theoretical part of the article and talk about practice. We have had quite a lot of such situations, and we have often helped foreigners lift such a ban. We will give advice and instructions.
How can I find out about the entry ban?
In some situations, a foreign citizen receives a paper notice of a ban at the border. It may contain an article of law, a period, and the authority that imposed the ban.
However, this does not always happen, and a foreigner needs to find out the ban himself. There are two correct ways to find information.
1.Website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus
Let’s start with the official website of the authority. We remember that this is the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Follow the link and go to the services section. https://mvd.gov.by/ru Next, select “online services” and “check entry ban”.
Next you need to fill out the form. Pay attention to the requirements for the “Citizenship” field.
When you fill out the form, the site will provide information about the entry ban. It is worth noting an important point: if there is no information or it is written that there is no ban, this does not always mean that there really is no ban. The online database is not always updated quickly and is for reference only.
An official response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will have more legal force and will give us detailed information.
We send a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs
This is our second and more reliable method. Of course, it is more complicated, but we will tell you everything in detail.
If you do not want to use our form upon request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we can give you some advice on how to prepare this document.
- It must be understandable and competent. A formal request has a structure that is important to use;
- At the top right we write which authority we are contacting, its address and full name, we also write information about the applicant. You need identification data, first name, last name, patronymic if you have one, passport, phone number and email;
- The text itself can be divided into several parts. Description of the main facts, our requirements and application;
- In the main part we describe our situation, what happened, it is advisable to provide a link to the rule of law;
- In the request part we indicate our requirements, and in the application we add documents that are important for the request. This may include a notice, a copy of a passport, a receipt, and so on.
Now let’s move on to the instructions
We write our appeal in the system. We need the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Republic of Belarus https://appeals.bel/
We can give you an example request https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e7AduArqO7SpxtUF9wsaQF0bg_nBr019/edit It is written in legal language, it contains links to the law and all the necessary information.
Next, we are waiting for a response to the request. The period is up to 30 days. The answer to your request is also a legally important document. If we see in it “para. 6 part 1 art. 30 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus” and the authority – the District Department of Internal Affairs, then the ban was indeed imposed due to an unpaid fine.
How to lift an entry ban due to an unpaid fine
So, we found out the reason for the entry ban and were already halfway there. Now is the time to lift the entry ban; to do this, you need to pay the fine imposed.
1.Request for details
In the response, we received information about which internal affairs body imposed the ban.
Here we are writing a request to this particular territorial body again. This time we are asking for details to pay our fine. We will also give you an example request. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IU6rD1_zeJlhmcmjizdjSH7YXtie7Z9s/edit
We are waiting for a response and receiving payment details.
2.We pay the fine
A foreign citizen must pay a fine. We also save the payment receipt.
Next, we need to notify the authorities that we have paid the fine and ask to lift the entry ban.
We write the application according to the form and send it, do not forget to add a receipt for payment of the fine. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y10OD1K4sTwq1ItUoVMgIxCN38s1npFb/edit
3.We are waiting for the ban to be lifted
After answering, you should not immediately try to enter the country. It takes time for the databases to be updated. Usually this is one month, sometimes it can be faster.
If your ban has been lifted in Belarus and you need to get to Russia, you may also have to notify the Russian authorities about this.
In addition, we remember that any decision of an authority can be appealed in court. If the Ministry of Internal Affairs refuses to lift the entry ban, but you have paid the fine, then work in court begins.
Conclusion
Do not panic if you find out that you have received a ban on entry into the Republic of Belarus. Such bans are often lifted. To do this, you need to pay a fine and work correctly with the Belarusian authorities.
Follow the instructions, also you can contact a migration specialist and you will succeed.