Посольство Италии в Минске. Фото: maps.yandex.by
VFS Global and the Italian Embassy in Belarus have temporarily suspended registration of new applicants on the waiting list for submitting documents for Italian visas. The relevant notice appeared on the visa center’s website on September 15.
Registration has been suspended “until further notice” pending additional instructions from the Italian Embassy. No date has been given for its resumption.
Applicants who have already registered on the waiting list will retain their place in the queue. VFS recommends that they monitor the email address provided during registration, including the spam folder. Re-registering or making additional inquiries will not affect their position in the queue.
The suspension comes amid a scandal over the issuance of an Italian visa to one of the suspects in an alleged plot to attack Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. VFS and the Italian Embassy have not officially linked the decision to the case.
In early September, German media reported that Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office had identified two suspects allegedly involved in an attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. One of them is a native of Belarus who also holds a Russian passport. According to NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, his DNA was found during the investigation.
The incident took place on August 4. A drone equipped with explosives and a detonation mechanism was discovered in a secure area of Leipzig/Halle Airport between Ukrainian cargo planes. Investigators later established that three drones had been involved in the operation. Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office described the incident as a “serious attack on Germany’s transport and logistics infrastructure.”
According to German media, the Belarusian-born suspect entered the Schengen area using an Italian tourist visa. Investigators established that it had been issued in late April by the Italian mission in Minsk. However, according to Italian security sources, the man did not enter Italy itself.
After this information emerged, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the authorities would examine the circumstances surrounding the visa’s issuance. According to him, if an applicant meets the established requirements and there are no alerts concerning them in the relevant systems, a visa is issued. Italian authorities intended to determine why entry permission had been granted in this case.
Germany links the attempted attack on the airport to Russian intelligence services. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on September 9 that the operation had been prepared in Russia for several months and that serious consequences and possible casualties had largely been avoided by chance. Moscow rejected the allegations of involvement in the attack.
VFS Global began accepting new applicants for Italian Schengen visas in Belarus in May 2026, replacing TLScontact. At the time, the Italian Embassy emphasized that the change of service provider did not mean a change in visa policy.