Belarus will simplify the procedure for obtaining permanent residence permits for highly qualified foreign nationals. This provision was added during preparation for the second reading of the draft law “On Amendments to Laws on State Fingerprint Registration”. Today, members of the House of Representatives adopted the draft in the second reading.
“For foreign citizens and stateless persons who are highly qualified workers, it is proposed to abolish the requirement of three years of continuous residence in the Republic of Belarus for obtaining a permanent residence permit,” explained House Commission on National Security member Mikhail Aksianyuk.
Among other amendments introduced for the second reading is granting border guards the authority to conduct personal searches of citizens and inspection of their belongings, including with technical and special means, within border areas.
According to the House of Representatives, the draft law includes the following provisions:
- to establish the obligation for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in international passenger transportation by road to transmit passenger data free of charge to the information systems of the Ministry of Transport and Communications;
- to introduce mandatory state fingerprint registration for additional categories of foreign citizens, stateless persons and citizens of the Republic of Belarus;
- to authorise border guard bodies to conduct mandatory fingerprint registration in cases provided for by legislation;
- to allow the transfer of fingerprint data obtained by the border guard service to the State Committee of Forensic Examinations in a procedure jointly determined by this committee and the State Border Committee;
- to clarify the procedure for access by authorised state bodies to information resources containing fingerprint data;
- to grant border guard and customs officers the right to conduct personal searches of citizens and inspect their belongings, including with technical and special means, during border control;
- to abolish the requirement for foreign citizens and stateless persons temporarily staying or residing in Belarus to obtain a special permit for one-time sale of goods at markets and designated locations.
In the previously published version of the draft, mandatory fingerprint registration was envisaged for the following categories of Belarusian citizens:
- those who acquired citizenship (subjecthood) of a foreign state or obtained a residence permit or other document of a foreign state granting benefits or privileges due to political or religious views or national identity, and who informed the Interior Ministry or Belarusian foreign missions in the prescribed manner;
- those permanently residing outside Belarus and registered at a consulate, having formalised permanent residence abroad through diplomatic missions or consular offices of Belarus.
Fingerprint registration will be carried out when issuing or replacing identity documents. Exceptions include Belarusians under 14 and persons older than 75.
