Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Almost every day Belarusians tell me about problems with passports and legalization of stay abroad. They message me hoping to find out how the launch of the new Belarusian passport project is progressing. So I decided to share the latest news.
Right now we are working on producing the first passport samples. We have initiated procurement of materials needed for their printing. After the first samples are ready, we will send them to the governments of partner countries with a proposal to recognize the new document. We are already consulting with foreign politicians, informing them about our actions and plans.
Parallel to our political work at the international level, we are working on establishing an issuing authority. This is a body that will be responsible for all stages of passport issuance – from receiving applications and verifying them to printing passports and storing data. Ensuring security at all stages of the passport issuance process is crucial for us.
It is worth mentioning that the passport does not remove the need to legalize the stay in a specific country. Visas and residence permits will still be required.
Dear Belarusians, launching production and achieving recognition of the new Belarusian passport is far from easy. We are the first to go down this path not only in our country but also in the world. Our team is developing many technical and legal mechanisms from scratch. I truly hope for your patience and support. I promise to keep you informed of any changes”.
