2023-09-06 09:42:47
Photo: Gpk.gov.by
In one of the emigrant Facebook communities, a Belarusian woman said that her friend was “turned around” when trying to leave for Lithuania, since he had Belarusian and Italian citizenship, and did not report this to the migration service. Such a “reversal” is illegal, but quite possible: laws have been violated at the border before, Belsat reports.
The story, according to the woman, is as follows: the man had Belarusian and Italian passports, in August he wanted to leave for Lithuania in order to fly to Italy from there, but the Belarusian border guards did not let him out of the country, saying that he had to report his second citizenship to the migration service . The woman also said that she called the migration service – they said that the relevant law came into force a month and a half ago. She also mentioned that she recently left Belarus for Lithuania herself, having an American passport: the last time the border guards scanned her passport, this time they asked to scan the passports of her children, but they let her out of the country.
If this story is true, then the border guards violated the laws regarding a Belarusian with an Italian passport. The decision to temporarily restrict the right to leave can be taken by the court, and in some cases it is automatic, but foreign citizenship is not a reason to prohibit exit. True, the border guards did not admit to previous similar violations, and denied numerous accusations.
One way or another, this story from the Facebook community is a reason to make an amendment in your plans for possible illegal actions of border guards. Even if the story is not true, it must be taken into account that the border guards have noticed similar violations before.
Why did the border guard break the law
Temporarily prohibit exit from Belarus can be for many reasons described in Article 7 of the law “On the order of departure”: possessing state secrets; who received a summons to the military registration and enlistment office and did not register at the military registration and enlistment office; who is suspected or accused in a criminal case; who has been convicted of crimes and is serving a sentence; to whom the civil subpoena was presented in court; against whom the administrative process is being conducted for “offenses against the order of administration” (in fact, political persecution); whose departure is contrary to “national security interests”; who is subject to preventive supervision; who has arrears in utility bills, alimony, taxes, loans …
In connection with recent amendments, travel will soon be limited to military personnel, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee, and a number of senior officials, but these changes will only come into force in mid-November.
Among other things, there is a clause in the law that may give the right to ban exit for almost any “disobedience” to the authorities: those who “do not fulfill without good reason property, tax or other obligations to the Republic of Belarus, its administrative-territorial units, individuals and legal entities”. Under this point, it would be possible to “adjust” the non-report of a second citizenship, but there is a nuance: only a court, and not a random border guard, can ban travel on this basis.
It is noteworthy that the law has a separate article 5 on the inadmissibility of restricting the rights of citizens in connection with permanent residence outside Belarus or with the registration of such residence. This paragraph does not apply to foreign passports, but in general the law forbids itself to be violated. Although it does not spell out liability for violating the right to leave, it does indicate that one can complain to senior officials or to the court.
You can check whether a citizen has a restriction on leaving Belarus on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: there is a special service where you need to indicate citizenship, first and last name, date of birth and email.
Why is there a message about foreign documents
Since July 11, Belarusians have been obliged to inform the authorities about obtaining foreign citizenship, residence permits and other documents such as a Pole’s card. Responsibility for non-reporting has not yet been invented – they have only come up with a site where to inform on themselves.
It is likely that the authorities of Belarus are thinking about punishment for refusing to report a second citizenship – since they have already introduced the obligation to report it. But at the time of publication, there is no legal punishment. Not only the refusal to report, but also the very fact of acquiring such citizenship is not an offense.
Belarus does not recognize second citizenship for its citizens: according to Article 11 of the Law “On Citizenship”, it simply does not consider that its citizen is at the same time a citizen of another country, unless this is provided for by international treaties of Belarus. This means that the second citizenship does not release from duties and responsibilities to the Republic of Belarus and does not give the rights of a foreign citizen to a person in Belarus.
The acquisition of a second citizenship does not even lead to deprivation of Belarusian citizenship. Only from 1991 to 2002 did the acquisition of a second citizenship lead to the loss of Belarusian citizenship. But if the second citizenship was acquired after August 17, 2002 (the date when the amendments to the law “On Citizenship” came into force), no punishment is provided for it.
Officials and security forces in Belarus have repeatedly violated their own laws, including the law on citizenship and border crossing laws.
So, in 2020, they refused to let a citizen of Belarus, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, into Belarus. They did not come up with legal grounds for this and called his passport “invalid”. He was let in only after he wrote his resignation letter.
A possible way out may be to leave Belarus through Russia. However, if the ban on leaving Belarus is legal, then they may not be released from Russia either. But if it is illegal, then the Russians can release it, and there are no border controls on the Belarusian-Russian border.
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