National News

Lithuania to simplify visa application procedures for some Belarusians after it enters Schengen zone

Lithuania agreed in principle to simplify the visa application procedure for some Belarusian nationals after the country implements the Schengen agreement, head of the consular department of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus Andrei Giro told reporters. He stressed that the agreements are provisional. People over 65, young people under 16 and the disabled are supposed to get multi visas valid for three years. “We failed to reach the same agreement with Poland,” Andrei Giro noted. The Foreign Ministry held consular consultations on the visa issue with Lithuania on September 18-19 and with Poland on October 2-3. The negotiations resulted in an agreement that the maximal stay of the Belarusians in the abovementioned countries and the Lithuanians and the Polish in Belarus will be 180 days (now it is 90 days). The Lithuanian and Polish parties confirmed that the visas issued by their embassies now will be valid after January 1, 2008, though they will not be valid for travel in the Schengen zone.