The Head of the Sports and Tourism Department of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee Oleg Andreichik answers.
- When the decree of the President of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka No. 422 "On the establishment of a visa-free entry and exit procedure for foreign citizens" comes into force?
- The decree was signed on December 26 and comes into force on January 1, 2018. Since the new year, the visa-free zone is expanding. Also from this day, tourists will get the right to stay with us not for five days, as it was before, but ten.
- What territories in the Grodno region are referred to the visa-free zone?
- First, the visa-free regime will operate in the Grodno region, it all entered the tourist and recreation park Awgustow Canal. Let me remind you that previously foreign visitors without visas to visit were opened the Awgustow Canal and the surrounding area, as well as the oblast center. Secondly, visa-free tourists will be able to stay in the Svisloch district. It entered the tourist and recreational zone "Brest", the territory of which can also be accessed without a visa.
- Where can foreigners without visas cross the border?
- To visit the Grodno region, visa-free tourists will be able to enter through the Bruzgi (Kuznitsa Belostotskaya) checkpoints, the Privalka (Raigardas), as well as the Lesnaya (Rudavka), Privalka (Shviandubre), the Grodno railway checkpoint and the Grodno airport checkpoint.There are also separate checkpoints for visiting the tourist and recreational zone "Brest": Brest (Terespol), Domachevo (Slovatichi), Peschatka (Polovtsi), the point of simplified crossing Pererov (Bialowieza), the Brest (Terespol) railway checkpoint, Brest ", Brest airport checkpoint.
- Will a visa-free tourist who has come to the Grodno region be able to travel to the Svisloch region, where visa-free travel also operates?
- A visa-free tourist who came to the Grodno region is not allowed to leave the territory of the tourist and recreational park "Awgustow Canal". If the traveler is interested in the Svisloch region, he should plan a trip to the tourist and recreational zone "Brest" and enter through the corresponding checkpoints.
- Citizens of which countries can come to us without a visa?
- This right can be used by citizens of 73 countries, including residents of the Order of Malta and Hong Kong, which is a special administrative area of the People's Republic of China. Also persons who have the status of a non-citizen in Latvia and stateless persons who permanently reside in Estonia can travel without visas.
- What documents shall a visa-free tourist have?
- Passport, medical insurance, migration card. The most important thing is a document granting foreign citizens the right to visit the tourist and recreational park "Awgustow Canal" or the tourist and recreational zone "Brest". To arrive on a visa-free basis, foreigners will be able only through Belarusian travel agencies that have special certificates of compliance and have the right to issue documents for a visa-free visit. After the conclusion of the contract with the tour operator, the tourist will receive confirmation of the right to enter without a visa and purchase tourist services.
- Can a visa-free tourist visit the Grodno and Svisloch regions without the tour operator?
- No. In case the tourist wants to visit certain places and objects, you just need to compile an individual program with the tour operator. It is clear that its term should not exceed ten days.
- Are there specific requirements for places to stay overnight?
- Visa-free tourists are required to book places in hotels, sanatoria, agro-homesteads or rent apartments. This does not apply to those who come with an excursion for one day.
- Shall visa-free tourists register at the Citizenship and Migration Service?
- Registration is necessary, it should be completed within five days. As a rule, registration issues help to solve employees of hotels or estates, in which tourists stay.
- Can foreign tourists already register to visit the Grodno region in 2018?
- Yes, registration on the internet resource grodnovisafree.by for those who plan to visit the tourist and recreation park Awgustow Canal has already been launched. According to the Brest Oblast Executive Committee, in the near future registration will begin for those who wish to enter without a visa to the tourist and recreational zone "Brest", including in the Svisloch region.It seems that the number of foreign visitors should increase at times. We do everything to attract them. For example, a
calendar of events for 2018 has been developed and is freely available on the Internet. This is for event tourism. In connection with the new rules of the visa-free regime, our health resorts in Porechie and Ozera, as well as the beauty of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, will be available to foreigners. More and more people want to see the Awgustow canal and other tourist pearls of the Grodno region. Since the beginning of the previous decree on visa-free entry, we have bean already visited by more than 50 thousand tourists.
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