More than 800 families in the Vitebsk region have exercised their right to receive a family capital payment

The most active applications for family capital were submitted in March-April, as noted by the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee, by large families of the Vitebsk region. The residents of the regional center and other large cities of the region are mainly interested in this opportunity.

We remind you that the conditions for obtaining family capital are defined by Decree No. 572 "On Additional Measures of State Support for Families Raising Children," signed by the President of the Republic of Belarus on December 9, 2014. The document provides for a one-time provision of family capital in the amount of 10,000 dollars to Belarusian families upon the birth (adoption) of the third and subsequent children born from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019, inclusive.
– You can apply within 6 months from the date of birth (adoption) of the third and subsequent children, but parents can dispose of the accrued non-cash funds when the child, with the birth of whom the family received the right to family capital, reaches the age of majority, – explains Galina Kirillova, chief specialist of the department for social support of the population and stationary institutions of the committee. – These funds can be used to improve housing conditions, obtain education, social services, healthcare, and form the mother's funded pension. They can be used early for paid medical services for family members, in the manner and according to the list established by the Ministry of Health. Applications for appointment should be submitted to the departments for labor, employment and social protection of city and district executive committees and administrations of Vitebsk.

While this practice is quite common in some countries, it is still a new experience for Belarus, and poorly understood by the population. Here are some of the questions most frequently received by the social support department from local residents.

Specifically, people are interested in whether a maternity capital is granted if, on the date of birth of the third child in the family, there were three underage children, and by the time of application, the eldest has turned 18. In this case, explains Galina Dmitrievna, there is no need to worry. After all, when determining the right to receive family capital, the family composition is determined as of the date of birth of the third and subsequent children. Moreover, even if the coming of age of one child coincides with the birth (adoption) of the third and subsequent children, parents have the right to claim a new form of state assistance.

– The family composition includes children under 18 years of age who permanently reside in Belarus, including adopted children, stepchildren. In addition, it should be understood that the third or subsequent child must be born no earlier than January 1, 2015. This also applies to adopted children whom the spouses took into their family from the beginning of the current year until the end of 2019 and thus gained the right to family capital, – the specialist emphasizes.

Another important criterion is citizenship of the Republic of Belarus. And here, too, situations arise that require additional clarification. Thus, it is important for parents to have confirmation of their citizenship. For example, if the applicant's passport (in case of exchange or obtaining a new one) was issued after the birth of the third child, then it is necessary to request confirmation of the applicant's citizenship of the Republic of Belarus from the citizenship and migration department at the time of the child's birth.

The situation is more complicated for those who once came to Belarus from other countries, but today have a passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus and are also entitled to family capital. For example, if at the time of the birth of the third child, the father and mother had a residence permit and applied after they obtained Belarusian citizenship, they will still not receive this preference. The specialist explains this by the fact that on the day the right to family capital arose (which is equivalent to the birth of the child), neither parent was a citizen of Belarus.

Although family capital is often referred to as maternity capital, it can also be obtained by a man, even if he is the father of only one child, and the other children are from his spouse's previous marriage. The transfer of the right to family capital from wife to husband is possible if the woman, for certain reasons, does not have this right. In this case, it is important that the head of the family is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus and all other conditions specified in the decree are met.

The composition, category (full, incomplete) of the family, the number of minors, the age of the children, the citizenship of the parents, and permanent residence in Belarus (of both or one of them) are determined as of the date of birth (adoption) of the third or subsequent child. In turn, the permanent residence of the children is taken into account as of the date of application by the applicants.

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The aforementioned decree approved another new type of assistance, which now extends not only to large families. Thus, a mother on maternity leave for a child under 3 years of age, in addition to maternity benefits for the baby, can now also receive benefits for older children, provided they have not reached the age of 18. The benefit amount is calculated as 50% of the subsistence minimum (from August 1 to October 31, 2015, it was 1,569,130 rubles).

"The implementation of the decree is aimed at further strengthening the institution of the family, enhancing the social protection of parents raising minor children, and is intended to consolidate the trend of increasing birth rates observed in 2014," summed up Galina Kirillova.

And apparently, it works. As the state finds additional measures to support families, women in the region and the country as a whole are increasingly having second and subsequent children.

Natalia Ryzhkova. Photo by Dmitry Osipov. "Vitebskiye Vesti".