When crossing the border of the Republic of Belarus, regardless of the transport on which you cross it, it is necessary to pass several types of control:

• border,
• customs,
• veterinary (in case of travel with animals),
• Phytocontrol (in case of travel with plants).

Border control and execution of accompanying documents

Foreign citizens can enter the Republic of Belarus on valid documents for traveling abroad (passports) with a visa (for those countries with which a visa regime is established). Under certain conditions, citizens of 80 states can visit Belarus without visas. You can find the information about the need to obtain a visa and visa-free regime in the section Visas.

When crossing the border it is necessary to have and present at the request of officials the Compulsory health insurance contract (except for citizens who are not subject to compulsory medical insurance). When crossing the border by car, the driver must have the original of the insurance certificate valid on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and which confirm the insurance of civil liability in the Member State of the system «Green card».

A foreigner who enters the Republic of Belarus must have the means to pay expenses during his stay in the country. These funds or documents confirming their availability, as well as other documents must be presented at the request of the officials of the border troops of the Republic of Belarus:

• At the entrance to the Republic of Belarus for a term of less than one month, foreign citizens should have funds equivalent to at least 2 base values, established in the Republic of Belarus, per each day of stay.
• At the entrance to the Republic of Belarus for more than a month, foreign citizens should have funds equivalent to at least 50 base values, per each month of stay.

From 01.01.2019 base value amounts to 25,50 rubles BYN, 2 base values – 51 rubles BYN, 50 base values – 1275 rubles BYN.

At the border, you need to fill in the migration card, which you will need for further registration in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, and present it along with the passport to the official of the border troops. A migration card form is provided free of charge. The migration card is filled in for every citizen, regardless of age, on the basis of the documents giving the right to enter. Visible information on filling in the migration card is provided at the checkpoints. If you have any additional questions, the border service officer should explain and help you fill it in.
Both parts of the migration card (A and B) are to be filled in. The border service officer checks the correctness and compliance of the data of the completed migration card with the passport, visa (if necessary), marks the relevant entry in both parts of the migration card about entry into the country and removes the part «A» (entry) of the migration card. The part «B» of the migration card is with a foreign citizen during the entire period of stay in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and is necessary for him to register at the place of stay. Upon departure from the Republic of Belarus, a foreign citizen is required to hand over a part «B» of the migration card (with a mark of registration in the territory of the Republic of Belarus) while passing border control at the border crossing point.

How to fill in the migration card

1. Parts «A» and «B» of the migration card are filled in by the foreign citizen in ink in Russian or Latin transliteration on the basis of a passport or other document for traveling abroad (hereinafter – document for traveling abroad), legibly, in block letters, without Blots and corrections, in strictly allotted sections and graphs.
   It is allowed to fill in the migration card by another person for a foreign citizen who can not fill in the migration card by himself. At the same time, both parts of the migration card are signed by the person who filled it, or by a foreign citizen for whom the migration card is filled. If the foreign citizen for whom the migration card is filled can not sign it due to a minor age, illness or disability, both parts of the migration card are signed by the person who filled it.
2. The following information is entered in both parts of the migration card:
   • Surname, first name (patronymic);
   • Date of birth (day, month, year) – to be filled in the format “DD MM YYYY”, for example “01 01 1010”;
   • Sex – is marked with the «X» sign a square that corresponds to the sex of the foreign citizen;
   • Citizenship – the citizenship of a foreign citizen on the basis of a document for traveling abroad;
   • Identity document – indicates the series and number of the document for the foreign citizen’s departure abroad;
   • Purpose of the visit – the purpose of the foreign citizen’s stay on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
   • Visa number – the visa of the Republic of Belarus number, on the basis of which the foreign citizen arrived to the Republic of Belarus. For citizens of the states that have a visa-free regime of entry to the Republic of Belarus, this column shall contain a dash;
   • Information on the host party (name of the legal entity, last name, first name (patronymic) of the individual) – the full name of the host party, locality;
   • Term of stay – the date of entry into the territory of the Republic of Belarus and the expected date of departure from the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
3. Both parts of the migration card are signed by a foreign citizen with the date of filling in and are personally presented to the official of the border troops of the Republic of Belarus.

Citizens of the Russian Federation are exempt from filling in the migration card.

Customs control

Money resources and (or) traveler’s checks can be imported and exported from the Republic of Belarus without restrictions and without permits. However, on one-time movement of funds, total amount of which exceeds 10,000 US dollars (in equivalent), they are liable to customs declaration.

The duty-free import/export from territory of the Republic of Belarus is allowed for the goods for personal use (except for vehicles, ethyl alcohol and indivisible goods), the customs value of which does not exceed the amount equivalent to 1500 euros (by air transport – 10,000 euros) and the total weight of which does not exceed 50 kilograms. The movement of goods in use is not limited by weight and customs value.
There is a certain list of goods that are restricted or prohibited for import and/or export from Belarus. For more information on customs rules, see the section Customs control.

Veterinary control

The subject to the veterinary control are animals, as well as goods of animal origin. You can find a list of goods subject to veterinary control (supervision), as well as the procedure for its conduction, on the Website of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

To carrier pet you must collect a set of documents and perform certain procedures. Documents, necessary for the importation of animals in the Republic of Belarus:

• certificate of international standard;
• certificate of veterinary inspection, certified by the local veterinary authorities;
• documents confirming that the animal received all the necessary vaccinations (vaccination list of your local veterinary clinics). They should be made no later than two weeks prior to departure.

Foreign citizens have the right to temporarily import animals without payment of customs duties and taxes. When importing animal by residents of Belarus with a view to their permanent location, they are treated as a good for personal use and payment of customs duties depends on the weight and value of the animal.
More information about transportation of animals see in the section Rules for transportation of animals.

Phytocontrol

Phytosanitary control is carried out by the State Institution «The main state inspection for seed production, quarantine and plant protection». It is conducted with a view to preventing the introduction and spread of quarantine objects when moving quarantine products on the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Quarantine phytosanitary control (supervision) is subject to each imported to the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union lot of quarantineable products included in the list.

The procedure for the implementation of quarantine phytosanitary control (surveillance) may include the following control measures:

• documentary verification;
• inspection of vehicles;
• inspection of quarantined products;
• examination of quarantined products.

In accordance with the Plant Quarantine Statute now in force in the Republic of Belarus, both tourists and the passengers coming to Belarus from other states are prohibited to import the following materials without phytosanitary certificate:

• seeds of cultivated and wild plants;
• living plants and their parts (cuttings, tubers, bulbs, rootstocks, roots, etc.);
• soil and plants with soil (seedlings, flowers in pots, sprouts, etc.);
• living insects, mites, nematodes and other plant pests;
• cultures of living fungi, bacteria, viruses – causal organisms of plant diseases;
• collections of insects, seeds and herbariums of different plants.

In case of presence of enumerated materials all citizens are obliged to show these materials to an inspector of the State Plant Quarantine Service at the border entry point and irrespective of the term or purpose of visit are to strictly comply with the directions of the inspector.

Additional Information

Citizens at the checkpoints are forbidden:

1. To leave money in the documents produced for checking;
2. To offer and (or) to hand over officials any valuables, offer and (or) provide the benefits of property nature;
3. To take photos, filming, talking on mobile phones;;
4. To perform other actions preventing the implementation of border and other types of controls.

Inside the territory between the state border and correspondent checkpoint it is prohibited:

• parking of vehicles;
• loading and unloading of passengers;
• cargo-handling works;
• presence of individuals not related to state border crossing.

For violations of these requirements foreign citizens are subjected to administrative responsibility (warning with deportation or without deportation, or imposed a fine of up to fifty base values.

For detailed information on the rules of crossing the border and staying on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, see the official website of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus.