Belarus set to introduce 90-day visa-free system for 35 EU nations

Belarus announced on Wednesday that it would implement a 90-day visa-free system for citizens of 35 European nations.

Citizens of the 35 countries included in the new policy, which include Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, will be permitted to enter Belarus without a visa and remain for up to 90 days a year.

Currently, visitors from such countries can only stay in Belarus for 30 days and must fly into Minsk airport.

According to a statement from the National Border Service, the new regulation will take effect on Friday, July 19.

Minsk is subject to Western sanctions after President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994, permitted Russia to utilize Belarusian territory to send thousands of troops into Ukraine by 2022.

Lukashenko last week withdrew troops positioned to the Ukrainian border, indicating that tensions with Kyiv may be easing.

Belarus has an existing 90–day visa–free regime with neighbours and European Union member states Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Tension is rising between between Latvia, Poland and Belarus.

This week, Latvia banned Belarus-registered passenger cars from entering its territory, as part of a new package of EU sanctions.

In Poland, the Tusk administration has made security with the Belarus border an important focus in the past few weeks.