Belarusian passport is an official document issued to all citizens of the Republic of Belarus. Since the beginning of history, he has changed not only the appearance, but also the content. What is it now, how to get it and when to change it?
When and by whom is the document issued?
In 2012, the President of the Republic of Belarus signed Decree No. 197, thanks to which children who have reached the age of fourteen receive their passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus. Previously, this happened at the age of 16.
Get it in the local division for citizenship and migration of the Internal Affairs Directorate by registration. Let's say you are registered in Slutsk, but live in Gomel, you will have to come to Slutsk in order to apply for a visa in this city.
Are you planning to go on vacation with a child outside the homeland? You will have to apply for a child's passport, even if he is a few months old.
Your passport was stolen, lost, or its further operation is impossible due to circumstances (for example, visa pages have run out) - a direct road for a new one in OGiM.
What package of papers need to be prepared
In order for you to be issued a passport due to the onset of fourteen years, prepare the following package of documents:
- your birth certificate;
- fill out a special sample application for receipt;
- identity documents of both parents;
- 4 color passport photos 40 x 50 mm, not cut;
- documents confirming the place of registration of a teenager;
- a receipt from the bank or from the post office confirming the payment of the state duty.
If a document is issued to a child in order to go on vacation outside the country, then the list is slightly different. You will need:
- application of a parent (one, any) for receiving;
- birth certificate of the child;
- an identity document of the applicant;
- 4 photographs of the child: color, size 4 x 5 cm, on one sheet.
The presence of the child is not required.
In other circumstances, the following list is required to obtain:
- a special application;
- a statement indicating the reason for the need for issuance (replacement), if any (the expiration date is not indicated);
- 4 passport photos 4 x 5 cm, color, whole sheet, not cut;
- birth certificate of children under 16 years of age (if any);
- if there was a loss or theft of a document outside the Republic of Belarus, a paper issued to you abroad confirming this;
- other documents.
A bit of history
Until 1914, a passport in Belarus was issued only to men over the age of 18. Documents were not issued to women. Girls under the age of eighteen were registered with their father, and then with their husband. With the beginning of the First World War, when men were sent to the front, women were allowed to receive documents, the consent of the man was not required.
The issuance of sample passports began in 1918. It was a little book with "Pursuit" on the cover of red and white. Recordings were made in three languages - native, German and French. The entries were as follows - full name, place of registration, whether the person was married (married), bright signs and the place of his service. They stopped issuing such a document in 1920, since the power of the Soviets reigned on the territory of the republic.
Changes in the USSR
There was no single sample since 1920, its role was played by a work book, which any person over the age of sixteen was required to have. At the same time, it served as an identity card. Only in 1925 was a special certificate introduced, which included information about whether a citizen was married (married), indicated his attitude to the army, occupation, etc. They received it from the police. At the same time, the concept of registration appeared, but such a document began to be called a passport only in 1932. They issued it to everyone who had reached the age of sixteen and was assigned to a city, state farm or workers' settlement. When moving to another place within 24 hours, a person was obliged to inform the relevant authorities and obtain a temporary residence permit. The cover was then painted grey.
In the documents of this sample, not only generally accepted data were written, but also the occupation. It is especially amusing now to see the occupation "dependent" in old records. Collective farmers were an exception; they were not issued passports according to the law. What tricks did not just go to become the owner of a gray book. Their first documents were officially issued to collective farmers in 1974 after the reform.
It was in this year that the passport became burgundy and "sickle-hammered", as Mayakovsky wrote. In all republics, the text in the document was printed in two languages - Russian and native language, in our case Belarusian. The data was entered manually and entered vertically, and not horizontally, as in the modern version. The validity of the document is indefinite. It was necessary only at 25 and 45 years old to change the photo card for a new one. At the same time, it was removed from the count's passport on social status.
With the advent of independence
With the collapse in 1991, Belarus became an independent state and introduced its own sample of passports. Returned "Chasing" on the cover, which is now blue. The terms of validity were adopted the same as in the USSR, it was necessary to change the photo at 25 and 45 years.
In 1996, they begin to issue a modern passport, the way we know it today. It complies with international standards.
In 2012, a reform is being carried out, and a passport is issued only for ten years (why this was done is not entirely clear, but the head of state probably knows better). A feature that distinguishes new passports in Belarus is a special form of protection - under the influence of ultraviolet light, a luminous fern twig and sheet numbering appear on the spread.
What information is entered
- the surname of the owner and his name (patronymic, if any) must be indicated;
- date and place of birth;
- individual for each inhabitant of Belarus;
- gender is indicated;
- personal signature of the owner;
- the signature of the person who issued the document, as well as the name of the authority that issued the passport;
- date of issue and date of expiration of the document;
- information about minor children;
- a record of the existence of a marriage indicating the full name of the spouse (wife), date and place of registration, year of birth of the spouse (wife) or its termination;
- owner's registration address.
Description per page
The Belarusian passport is a small stitched booklet with the official coat of arms of the Republic of Belarus embossed in gold on a blue background. 12.5 x 8.5 cm are its dimensions. Consists of 33 pages with numbering in the corner. Each page of the passport is allocated for certain marks and the distribution is as follows:
- Pages 1 and 2 - these are titles.
- 3-24 pages of the passport are allocated for visas and stamps of other countries.
- 25-28 pages are allocated for civil marks and stamps.
- Passport page No. 29 is allocated for setting a stamp, which confirms the validity of the document, the stamp itself was canceled by a decree from 01/01/2008.
- From 31 to 33 - informational, they contain the citizen's data: the owner's full name, date and place of birth, gender, identification number, and his number, state code, date of issue of the passport, which authority issued and validity of the document.
- There is also a machine-readable zone, the signatures of the owner and the official who issued the passport are stamped.
Series and number. What do they mean
The Belarusian passport has a two-letter code and a number consisting of numbers. It is these two letters that are the series of Belarusian passports. They carry certain information presented in the table. By the way, these letters are Latin.
| AB | Brest city and Brest region |
| BM | Vitebsk city and Vitebsk region |
| Gomel city and Gomel region | |
| KH | Grodno city and Grodno region |
| MP | Minsk city |
| MC | Minsk Region |
| KB | Mogilev city and Mogilev region |
| PP | passports of this series are issued to citizens residing in other states, and the issuing authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
The passport consists of seven random numbers that do not carry any information and are assigned individually. Placed on the last page in the upper right corner, immediately after the series.
There is also a personal number in the passport. If the number can change with the change of the passport, then the personal one is assigned once and for all, it never changes.
How much is valid and when to change
A passport is valid for children 5 years old, but the age must not exceed 14 years. In the future, the Belarusian passport is valid for 10 years, and must be exchanged every ten years until the citizen is 64 years old. From 64 to 100 years - the validity of the next passport, and if you are lucky to live to a hundred, then you will be issued a document valid until 125.
The Belarusian passport is exchanged after the expiration date by the same authority. But it is not necessary to wait until the expiration date, you can do it in advance.
There are other reasons why a document is exchanged for a new one:
- change of surname, name or patronymic of the owner;
- all sheets intended for visas have been used up;
- after sex reassignment surgery;
- it is not possible to use it further;
- inaccuracies were found.
Passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus is a document proving the identity of a citizen on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and abroad, confirming the citizenship and the right of its owner to leave the Republic of Belarus and enter the Republic of Belarus.
A passport is required for every citizen who has reached the age of 14, as well as a citizen traveling outside the Republic of Belarus, regardless of age.
A passport to a minor citizen of the Republic of Belarus is issued for a period of 5 years - for citizens of the Republic of Belarus who have not reached the age of 13, but not more than reaching the age of 14; for 10 years - for citizens of the Republic of Belarus who have reached the age of 13 and have not reached the age of 64.
For example, when exchanging a passport for a minor at the age of 12, the passport will be issued for a period of 2 years (until the age of 14), while when exchanging a passport for a minor at the age of 13, the passport will be issued for a period of 10 years from the date of issue of the document.
These features must be taken into account when submitting documents for issuing visas, especially multiple ones (before planning a trip at a diplomatic institution or consular office of the intended country of entry, it is necessary to clarify the requirements for the validity of a passport). For example, in the EU countries, a passport must be issued no later than 10 years ago (at the time of departure). In order to avoid problems with obtaining a visa, the Citizenship and Migration Units recommend replacing a passport if it was issued 9 or more years ago.
A passport is issued within a month, and a state fee of 1 base unit is paid. Citizens under the age of 14 are exempted from payment. In case of accelerated registration within 15 days, an additional state fee of 1 base unit is paid.
For urgent registration within 7 days in the divisions for citizenship and migration located in Minsk and regional centers - an additional 2 base values.
To complete the procedure for issuing a passport, a citizen must contact the passport officer of the settlement and reference center (hereinafter referred to as the RIC), or the passport officer of the partnership of owners, hostel or head of the organization in charge of house maintenance.
Necessary:
provide a birth certificate of a citizen;
provide 4 photographs made in accordance with the technical requirements for a passport sized 40x50 mm (one sheet);
fill out an application form 1 (forms and samples of filling from passport officers);
present a document confirming the payment of the state fee (with the exception of payment through the ERIP).
If a citizen who has reached the age of 14 is married, has minor children, it is necessary to provide a birth certificate of the child and a marriage certificate. If the marriage is dissolved, then this circumstance is confirmed by providing a copy of the court decision or a certificate of divorce. Attached is a passport to be exchanged.
Within 3 days, an authorized person of the organization in charge of a particular household, provides the entire package of documents to an official of the territorial department for citizenship and migration for verification and acceptance of documents. The passport to be exchanged is returned. It must be collected from the same passport officer before receiving a new document.
The passport is issued to the owner in the territorial departments for citizenship and migration at the place of permanent registration of the citizen. Upon receipt of a passport, a citizen hands over the old passport and signs for the receipt of a new one. The passport is handed over to its owner personally. For minors under the age of 18, a passport can be obtained by one of the parents or the minor himself, who has reached the age of 14. In some cases, this can be done by the guardian of a citizen.
A passport containing valid visas may be left at the request of a citizen after the cancellation of all pages except for the page with a valid visa. In this case, when the need has passed, the passport must be returned.
It should be remembered that in case of a change of surname, name or patronymic, the passport remains valid for a month and must be exchanged for the specified period.
Based on materials
It is established that every citizen from the age of 16 must have a passport. The process of replacing a passport in Belarus differs little from the procedure for obtaining it. The only difference is that when replacing a person, a person goes to the passport office with the main identity card, although there are exceptions. What steps need to be taken, how long to wait and, if it is a paid service, how much does it cost?
Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus
When do you need to exchange your passport? There are certain conditions, they are described by legislative norms:
- the onset of 25 years and 45 years;
- situations of change of surname, name or patronymic;
- cases of the end of the sheets intended for visas;
- sex change;
- complete unsuitability of the document for use;
- detection of errors and inaccuracies in records;
- loss or theft.
To the first point, it must be added that the replacement of a passport at the age of 45 became optional after changes in certain laws. Until 2012, passports were obtained from the age of 16, then the law obliged them to change them at the onset of 25 and 45 years.
In 2012, President A. Lukashenko signed Decree No. 197, on the basis of which new rules began to operate. According to these rules, the main document is issued to Belarusian citizens from the age of 14, and a replacement is required every 10 years.
You will see the presentation of passports to young citizens of Belarus in this video:
The decision to issue passports at the age of 14 was made by the government so that young people could independently carry out various financial transactions, such as currency exchange, banking procedures.
In cases where a child of any age, under the age of 14, travels abroad, he must also obtain a passport. Such a document is valid for 5 years or upon reaching 14 years.
This is what a biometric passport of a citizen of Belarus looks like
If a person uses an old-style document (he received it before 2012 and did not change it), then replacing a passport at 45 is a necessity. A change after 2012 (the person already has a new document) automatically changes the timing of the next replacement: you need to wait for the expiration date indicated on page 33.
The very procedure for replacing a passport in Belarus is carried out by the passport office (department of citizenship and migration). Each city of the Republic of Belarus has such an institution. But you need to apply only to the appropriate place of registration of a person.
For example, there may be such a situation: a person is registered in Slutsk and he needs a passport replacement at the age of 45, while he lives and works officially in the city of Minsk. Then, to replace it, you need to go to Slutsk and contact the local department of citizenship and migration.
The capital of Belarus, the city of Minsk, has many districts. Each region is provided with its own passport office. For example, residents of the Zavodskoy district address the problem of replacement at ul. Uborevicha, 42. Residents in the Central District of the city of Minsk can submit their documents to the address st. Orlovskaya, 24.
What is the time limit for replacing a passport?
Over time, there will be a situation that the validity of the passport expires. To replace the document, the legislation defines a strictly established period.
According to the laws of Belarus, this is one month (30 calendar days). During this period, a person's passport is an identity card, as before.
Video on how to get and change passports in Belarus:
As already noted, a law was adopted that states that a passport is issued for a period of 10 years for all citizens of the country of Belarus. But if there was a force majeure (loss, theft, severe damage), then the new document will also be valid for 10 years, while the countdown starts from the date of issue. To do this, on page 33 there is a section "Validity period", there you can find out the date of replacement of the document.
The current legislation prohibits citizens from changing their passport without certain events specified by law.
This suggests that if there is a desire to simply change the passport, then this will not be done. One base unit in the Republic of Belarus is equal to 210 thousand Belarusian rubles. The amount is significantly higher than previous years. This decision was taken by the Council of Ministers.
Decree on the size of the base unit
What happens if a citizen has not made a replacement within a month? Failure to do so will result in administrative penalties. The Department of Citizenship and Migration determines its form. Punishment takes the form of a warning or a monetary fine.
The amount of the fine in 2020 directly depends on the time of delay, its size can be set in the range from 1 to 4 basic units.
When can I get a new document and how much money do I need to pay?
In order to carry out the process of replacing a passport, a certain line is given - a month (30 calendar days), although other options are possible. Citizens have the opportunity to influence the timing of reducing the replacement of a passport. This is done by reporting such a need to the employees of the passport office, who should tell all the nuances, including the surcharge for urgency.
For example, the usual replacement of the main document for the city of Minsk takes one month, and an “urgent” passport will take 2 weeks (14 calendar days).
Replacing a passport in Belarus in 2020 will cost citizens of the republic one base amount. After the denomination, the price will be 21 rubles. Previously, the replacement cost was 0.5% of the base value. The amount of the cost is determined by Presidential Decree No. 53 of February 15, 2016, where a number of amendments were submitted with additions regarding administrative procedures provided by state bodies and other organizations at the request of citizens.
An urgent replacement costs 0.5% more than the base value. If such a replacement of a passport is necessary for residents of the city of Minsk, they will have to pay the amount of a double state duty (in 2020 it is 420 thousand Belarusian rubles - 42 Russian rubles). If the procedure for replacing a passport is done by Belarusians who are fully supported by the state, it retains a free character.
If the parents are registered at different addresses, then the written consent of one of them to register the child is required.
The amount of the state duty and the terms of registration
The state duty for issuing and obtaining a passport by a citizen of the Republic of Belarus is one basic amount.
Recall that the issuance of a passport to persons under the age of 14 is not subject to state duty and is free of charge. Passport processing will take one month. If you want to receive the document faster, namely in 15 days, then the amount of the state duty will increase for you by half the base amount. It is also possible to expedite processing for up to 7 days. In this case, the tax will increase again, and will already be 2 base units.
Punishment for late issuance of an identity card
Many experts condemn the government's decision to pass a law to reduce the mandatory age for obtaining a passport. However, the government of the Republic of Belarus considers it correct, and a citizen will be punished for non-compliance with norms and laws. So, if you have reached the age of 14, and for some reason did not issue an identity document for yourself in a timely manner, you will have to pay a fine of up to 4 basic units.
Recall: a citizen who has reached the age of 14 must collect the necessary documents within a month and submit them to the passport office at the place of his registration. Only after this period has elapsed can a person be brought to administrative punishment for the late issuance of an identity card.
Passport expiration date
A citizen who has reached the age of 14 is issued a passport with a validity period of 10 years. If you issue it for a child younger, the document will be issued for 5 years.
Remember: upon expiration, a citizen is obliged to reissue a passport within 30 days. If this is not done, then after this time the document will be considered invalid.
Important! If you applied for a passport for a newborn, for example, to travel abroad, then after this period the photo will clearly differ from reality. Therefore, experts recommend not waiting for the declared 5 years and reissuing a little earlier, for example, after 2 years (the advice is suitable for those children who regularly use a passport to cross the border).
How is the process of issuing a passport
To obtain a passport directly, you need to come to the passport office where you issued this document on the appointed date. An employee of the department, after signing the necessary papers, will issue it to you. For children under the age of 14, this procedure is performed by one of his parents or guardian.
Do I need to look for acquaintances in order to quickly issue a passport, or is it enough to officially pay the state duty for urgency? What to do if the passport is lost and then found?
These and other questions about the main document of a citizen were explained by the deputy head of the department for citizenship and migration of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk region, police lieutenant colonel Inna LYALINA.
1. When is a passport required and when is it optional?
At the age of 14, every minor is required to obtain a passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus. You can get a passport for a child from the first day of birth. Young citizens most often need a document to cross the border.
2. Validity of the passport
The generally accepted validity period of an adult citizen's passport in accordance with the Visa Code is 10 years. For those who received a passport before the entry into force of this document (2012), the validity period is indicated up to 25, 45 or 100 years of a citizen. Such a passport is suitable only for use within Belarus and travel to countries with a visa-free regime.
For children under the age of 14, the validity of the passport is 5 years. However, common sense must be followed here: if a child received his first passport at the age of two months, then, for example, by the age of four, a photograph in the passport is unlikely to unambiguously identify the child. In this case, it is better to issue a new passport.
It happens that the passport becomes unusable: the child drew something in it, the document got into the washing machine, etc. In such cases, it is necessary to exchange the passport.
A passport is exchanged without any problems if the pages for border crossing marks have run out, and a valid visa is still pasted in the document. In this case, the citizen receives a new passport, and uses the old one when crossing the border. The old document must be handed over to the Citizenship and Migration Unit after the need for its use disappears.
3. What documents are needed to apply for a passport
Before reaching the age of 14, in order to obtain a passport, you need: an application and a passport of one of the child's parents, a birth certificate of the child, 4 color photographs corresponding to age (one sheet), and documents required for registration at the place of residence.
Important: before reaching the age of 14, the child's signature is not put in the passport, his legal representatives receive the document in the citizenship and migration unit. The presence of the child is not required.
Upon reaching the age of 14, the following package of documents is needed: an application, a birth certificate of a minor, passports of both parents, 4 color photographs corresponding to age (one sheet), documents required for registration at the place of residence, a receipt for payment of state duty for issuing a passport.
Important: if the parents of the child are registered at different addresses, then the written consent of one of the parents about the place of registration of the child is required.
An adult citizen submits: an application, a birth certificate, a passport, 4 color photographs corresponding to age (one sheet), a receipt for payment of the state duty for issuing a passport.
4. The price of the issue and the timing of issuing a passport
The state duty for issuing a passport is one basic amount - now it is 23 rubles. Children under the age of 14 are issued a passport free of charge.
The standard processing time for a passport is one month. For urgent issuance of a passport within 15 calendar days, an additional payment of 0.5 of the base value is provided.
Important: From April 26, 2017, in the citizenship and migration departments located in Minsk and regional centers, this tariff is increased to 2 BV, and the time for issuing a passport is reduced to 7 calendar days. For residents of district centers and rural areas, the additional payment for urgency will be 1 BV, and the term for issuing a passport is 15 calendar days from the date of application.
5. If the passport has expired
This is almost the same as not having a passport. With an expired passport, they will not be hired, they will not take for consideration documents on issuing a loan or registering those in need of better housing conditions, they will not be placed in a sanatorium. With such a passport, it is impossible to cross the border of a state with which there is an agreement on visa-free travel. However, even a ticket to Moscow or Lvov is prohibited from selling on an invalid passport.
The absence of a passport for a teenager over 14 years old, as well as an expired passport, are administrative offenses for which, in accordance with Art. 23.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Belarus, a citizen can be warned or fined up to 4 BV.
6. New surname
Most often, women change their surnames after marriage or after a divorce. In this case, the passport must be exchanged within one month from the date of the change of surname.
7. Passport for a child born abroad
Mixed marriages, when one of the parents is a citizen of Belarus, the other is a citizen of a foreign state, is not such a rarity. Some families, when choosing a maternity hospital, prefer foreign ones. How is the passport of the child carried out in this case?
You need to understand that marriage with a foreigner does not automatically give citizenship of another country, at first a Belarusian receives only a residence permit in the host country. But a child already at birth receives the citizenship of both parents, and sometimes a third - of the country of birth, which remain until the age of 18.
After the birth of a child, a citizen of Belarus must contact the embassy of our country and obtain a certificate for the child to return to Belarus. Then, when visiting Belarus for the first time, you need to issue a passport for the child. In the event of family conflicts, when a foreign citizen tries to claim sole rights to a child, having a Belarusian passport and obligatory consular registration at the Belarusian embassy gives protection to our state.
Important: a parent with Belarusian citizenship must personally apply for a Belarusian passport to a child living abroad, and he also receives a child's passport. A power of attorney sent from abroad to third parties (grandparents, other relatives) to obtain a child's passport is not valid in Belarus.
8. The procedure for crossing the border by children
For a minor to travel to countries with a visa-free entry regime, including Russia and Ukraine, a personal passport with an unexpired validity is required. The same applies to parents. Recall that for trips to countries with a visa-free regime, passports are suitable, the validity of which is specified up to 25, 45 or 100 years of a citizen.
If a child is sent abroad with one of the parents, no additional permissions from the other parent are required, even if the parents are divorced, unless one of the parents does not agree with the procedure for the minor to travel abroad and such procedure is determined by the court.
If a child goes on vacation with his grandmother or other relatives, as well as as part of an organized children's tourist group, a written consent to travel abroad from both parents is required. You can issue such a document at a notary public by paying a state duty of 0.5 BV.
9. Passport as a pledge
We may require a passport as a pledge in the most unexpected places: from a provincial hotel to a catamaran rental. The request is completely illegal! In accordance with Art. 23.54 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for a fine of 4 to 5 BV for officials who require a passport as a pledge.
10. Why do I need a photocopy of a passport
First of all, those who travel abroad need to take care of it. Pickpockets are an international phenomenon, and they can pull out a passport and wallet in both Cairo and Milan. That is why it is worth playing it safe and making a copy of the passport, which should be kept separately from the document itself. In case of theft of a passport abroad, it is necessary to apply with a statement to the local police, then to the Belarusian embassy. If you have a photocopy of your passport, the time for issuing a certificate of return to Belarus will take less time, since it will be easier for the employees of the diplomatic mission to identify the identity of the victim.
11. Passport lost, stolen
If your passport is lost, you must contact the Citizenship and Migration Unit as soon as possible. From now on, the passport number will be entered into the database of invalid documents. If the passport is stolen, then the police department, which was contacted about the theft, issues a certificate to the victim and, on its basis, a new passport is issued.
Important: It happens that a stolen passport is thrown to a person or he finds a lost one and does not process a new one - this is a gross mistake. Firstly, it is still necessary to draw up a new document, since the old one is invalid in the database and there is no way back. Secondly, the returned passport must be handed over to the citizenship and migration unit.
Helpful Hints:
- If you apply for a passport to a minor upon reaching the age of 13, then the document will be issued without charging a state fee and valid for 10 years.
- The written consent of the parents for the child to travel abroad can be obtained free of charge at the citizenship and migration departments.
- To exchange a passport, you do not need to wait for a period of 9 years and 11 months, you can start registering a new pastor after 9 years and 1 day, which equally applies to passports issued before 2012.
Oksana YANOVSKAYA