Latvians use the simplified border crossing procedure more often than Belarusians
Latvian citizens use the simplified border crossing procedure more often than Belarusian citizens, Denis Glebko, Assistant Head of the Polotsk Border Guard Detachment, told a BELTA correspondent.
According to the border guard detachment, in January-October 2012, more than 8.1 thousand Latvians and about 100 Belarusians crossed the border in a simplified manner. On average, each Latvian entered Belarus nine times.
On February 1, 2012, an agreement between the governments of Belarus and Latvia on a simplified procedure for mutual travel of residents of border areas came into force. At the end of February, the Consulate of Latvia in Vitebsk issued the first permits for local border movement. However, not all residents of border areas can use the right to enter Latvia without a visa, the interlocutor emphasized. The simplified border crossing procedure for residents of border areas of Belarus and Latvia for further stay in the border area is permitted in strictly defined cases.
The border area of Belarus includes border village councils of Verkhnedvinsk, Miory and Braslav districts, the cities of Verkhnedvinsk, Miory, Braslav and the settlement of Vidzy. From the Latvian side - the cities of Daugavpils, Dagda, Krāslava and Zilupe, as well as a number of border parishes - Aglona, Dagda, Daugavpils, Zilupe, Krāslava, Ludza, Rēzekne and Ilūkste regions.