Russia and Belarus signed a protocol on changes to the agreement on equal rights of citizens
10:00, 25 September
Deputy State Secretary of the Union State, Ivan Tsetsersky, commented on the signing of the protocol amending the Agreement between Russia and Belarus on ensuring equal rights for citizens of the two countries. The document was signed during the 30th meeting of the Council of Heads of Migration Authorities of the CIS member states.
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“Today, a very significant and landmark event took place. Representatives of Russia and Belarus signed a protocol on amendments to the agreement on ensuring equal rights for citizens of Russia and Belarus, which significantly simplifies many issues related to the stay of our citizens in the countries of Russia and Belarus. This is another milestone in the large‑scale work aimed at ensuring equal rights for citizens and making the integration processes between Russia and Belarus a little bit easier,” Ivan Tsetsersky noted.
“The protocol establishes the possibility for citizens of one party to the agreement to reside on the territory of the other party’s state without any time limit. At the same time, the need to register citizens of one party with the competent authorities of the other party in the event of their staying on the territory of that party for more than 90 days remains in place,” the Standing Committee explained.
It is possible for citizens of one party to obtain a temporary residence permit in the territory of the other party on the basis of these persons’ citizenship of Belarus or Russia. Moreover, the procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit in the Russian Federation does not apply to citizens of Belarus.
The document provides for the possibility of entry, exit, transit travel, movement, and stay on the territory of Russia for Belarusian citizens using biometric documents for leaving Belarus and entering Belarus, as well as using identification cards. In addition, the timeframe for processing documents to obtain a permanent residence permit for citizens is reduced from three to two months.
In accordance with the protocol, the birth certificate (for children under the age of 14) is excluded from the list of documents of Russian citizens for entry, exit and transit, movement and stay on the territory of Belarus.
"The Protocol is subject to ratification and enters into force on the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification," the Standing Committee said.
