The Migration Agency of Sweden has updated its legal position regarding Belarusian citizens’ inability to renew their national passport. It now recognizes that Belarusians returning to Belarus to renew their passports may face politically motivated persecution, including detention.
This decision is the result of long-term, systematic work by the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the People’s Embassies of Belarus, the Belarusian diaspora in Sweden, and human rights organizations. After the regime banned consulates from issuing passports in 2023, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office held a series of meetings with the Swedish Government and Migration Agency, providing evidence of repression and detentions at the border.
In practice, this means that Belarusians in Sweden now can obtain:
- An alien’s passport (främlingspass). If your passport is expiring or has already expired, Sweden considers you a person who is unable to obtain a new one in practice. This may allow you to obtain a Swedish alien’s passport.
- A residence permit without a valid Belarusian passport. Applicants may be exempt from the passport requirement if they cannot obtain one within a reasonable period through the Belarusian consulate or authorities in Belarus. Under current circumstances, the Migration Agency recognizes that Belarusians abroad do not have this option. As a result, applications for obtaining or extending a residence permit may be considered even without a valid passport.
It is important to clarify that the updated legal position applies only to the requirement to have a valid Belarusian passport when completing migration procedures. Other criteria for obtaining legal status in Sweden on various grounds remain unchanged.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Diplomatic Advisor, Dzianis Kuchynski: “We have worked for a long time to help European countries understand that traveling to Belarus to obtain a passport can be a direct route to prison for many people. Sweden’s decision shows that steps to make life easier for Belarusians are possible. I sincerely thank all Belarusians and members of the diaspora in Sweden, the People’s Embassies of Belarus, civil society organizations, and activists who continued to advocate for this issue. This is our shared achievement and an example for other European countries that we must continue working and advocating for the interests of Belarusians”.
