Lower House of Belarusian Parliament Passes Law on Fingerprint Registration of Foreigners

The House of Representatives today adopted in the second reading the draft law “On Amendments to Laws” (on issues of national security).

According to the press service of the House of Representatives, the law expands the categories of persons subject to mandatory fingerprint registration. It also clarifies the list of data to be collected during this process.

In the previously published version of the draft, it was stipulated that mandatory fingerprint registration would apply to foreign citizens and stateless persons who:

• are subject to deportation, expulsion from the Republic of Belarus, or transfer to a foreign state in accordance with an international readmission agreement of the Republic of Belarus;
• undergo border control when crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus;
• are included in the list of persons whose entry into the Republic of Belarus is prohibited or undesirable, except for minors under the age of 14 and persons over 75;
• are subject to a decision by authorized officials of the border service to conduct mandatory state fingerprint registration in the interests of national security of the Republic of Belarus.

The draft also provided for fingerprint registration, including when issuing or replacing identity documents, and for Belarusian citizens who:

• have acquired citizenship of a foreign state or obtained a residence permit or another document from a foreign state granting privileges or benefits related to political or religious views or national affiliation, and who have notified the internal affairs authorities or Belarusian diplomatic missions or consular offices in the prescribed manner;
• permanently reside outside the Republic of Belarus and are registered with Belarusian consular offices after formalizing their departure for permanent residence abroad.

Exceptions are made for Belarusians under the age of 14 and persons older than 75.

Border service authorities are granted the power to conduct mandatory fingerprint registration, and to receive, use, and store fingerprint data.

The draft also establishes an obligation for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs engaged in international passenger road transport to provide passenger personal data free of charge to the information systems of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The law authorizes personal searches of citizens and inspections of their belongings, including through the use of technical and special means, during border control procedures.

The draft law will still be reviewed by the Council of the Republic.