Belarusians who came from Belarus to Lithuania due to political persecution will be able to get a foreigner’s passport. This was announced by the Director of the Lithuanian Migration Department, Evelina Gudzinskaite. She stressed that earlier several dozens of such passports were issued in the country every year, but now the number of issuances will be much higher. According to Gudzinskaite, this will be a serious challenge for the Migration Department.
“This is very important news. Those who are afraid to return to Belarus think in a panic what they will have to do. <…> It is difficult to say exactly how many such Belarusians there are in Lithuania, but we are talking about several thousand Belarusians who may need it,” – Delfi quotes Gudzinskaite. She notes that only those Belarusians who cannot return to Belarus for political or humanitarian reasons can apply for a foreigner’s passport.
Lithuania’s actions are a response to Alexander Lukashenko’s decree of September 4 on the ban on issuing and exchanging Belarusians to Belarusians in diplomatic missions abroad. Now, in order to obtain a new document, Belarusians need to apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the place of the last registration at the place of residence.
Alien’s passport is a travel document issued by some countries of the European Union to foreign citizens who are unable to obtain a document of their citizenship.
