A Belarusian passport ( be, беларускі пашпарт, bielaruski pašpart, russian: белорусский паспорт, belorusskiy pasport) is issued to citizens of Belarus and is used for both external and internal travel. Unlike

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, there are no

internal passport An internal passport or a domestic passport is an identity document. Uses for internal passports have included restricting citizens of a subdivided state to employment in their own area (preventing their migration to richer cities or regions), cle ...

s in Belarus. Passports are issued by the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

in Belarus and by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

to citizens who live abroad. "AB" series passports are assigned to

Brest Voblast Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...

, "BM" series passports -

Vitsebsk Voblast Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

, "HB" series passports - Homel Voblast, "KH" series passports -

Hrodna Voblast Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

, "MP" series passports -

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

city, "MC" series passports -

Minsk Voblast Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

, "KB" series passports -

Mahilyow Voblast Mogilev Region or Mogilev Oblast or Mahiliow Voblasts ( be, link=no, Магілёўская вобласць; ''Mahiloŭskaja voblasć''; russian: link=no, Могилёвская область; ''Mogilyovskaya Oblast''), is a region (''oblast'' ...

, "PP" series passports are assigned to the

. Passports can be issued to citizens at any age. Upon turning 14, every citizen is encouraged to obtain a passport. Belarusian passports have blue covers. Article 14 of the "Treaty on the Union between Belarus and Russia" expects the future introduction of identity documents of the

Union State The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar� ...

History

Until

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

established its independence, Soviet passports were used. In spite of the fact that

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

citizenship (like citizenship of all other soviet republics) was recognised by the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, Soviet passports never mentioned

citizenship. Soviet passports issued by the

in the

(as well as

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...

s) had records in both Belarusian and Russian. File:Passport_of_BNR.jpg, 1918 File:Belarusian_Passport_(cover).jpg, 1991-1995 File:Belarusian_Passport.jpg, 1991-1995 File:Пашпарт._Рэспубліка_Беларусь._2001.jpg, Cover File:Пашпарт. Рэспубліка Беларусь. 2009. 1.jpg, First pages of a passport containing coat of arms and the words "Passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus" in Belarusian, Russian and English. File:Bel-passport3.jpg, Pages 30-31 of a passport with records in Belarusian and Russian (surname, name, patronymic name, date of birth, personal number, place of birth, date of issue, date of expiry and issuing authority). File:Bel-passportl.jpg, Last pages of a passport. File:Page 29 of Belarusian passport with foreign travel permission stamps.png, Page 29 of a passport with two foreign travel permission stamps. Биометрический Паспорт Республики Беларусь образца 2021 года.png, Cover Belarus biometric passport 02.png, First page Belarus biometric passport 04.png, Page with personal info Belarus biometric passport 08.png, Pages 6-7 Belarus biometric passport 15.png, Pages 20-21 Biodata card of Belarus passport under UV light.jpg, Integrated biodata card under UV light Page 1 of Belarus passport under UV light.jpg, Page 1 under UV light Page 17 of Belarus passport under UV light.jpg, Page 17 under UV light

Information

A Belarusian passport contains the following information, printed in Belarusian, Russian and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: * Given name, surname and patronymic name (the latter only in Belarusian and Russian) *

Date of birth A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many reli ...

* Identification number *

Sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

* Place of birth * Date of issue * Date of expiry * Authority * Holder's signature * Signature of the authority issuing the Passport * Code of issuing state (BLR) * Official seal * Place of residence *

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

s (if any) * Consular stamps (for those who live abroad) * Information about children under 16 (if any) * Information regarding marital status and the spouse's details (if any)

Moving abroad permission stamps

Before 1 January 2008, Belarusian citizens had to apply for permission stamps in their passports in order to cross Belarusian borders. Permission stamps were given if there were no specific legal restrictions for their moving abroad. In 2002, the

Constitutional Court of Belarus The Constitutional Court of Belarus is one of the top-tier courts in the eastern European country. Created in 1994, the Court is run under guidelines that were issued in 1997. The purpose of the court is to render justice in areas where the consti ...

stated in its decision that permission stamps were not constitutional. The Council of Ministers was ordered to propose a different kind of a citizen border control by 31 December 2005. By a Presidential decree issued on 17 December 2007, permission stamps were finally abolished.

Visa requirements

As of 11 January 2022, Belarusian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 79 countries and territories, ranking the Belarusian passport 65th in terms of travel freedom according to the

Henley Passport Index The Henley Passport Index (abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions ...

External links

Government page with comments on visa regime with other countries

References

{{Passports