The new law on the procedure for entering and leaving Belarus will come into force on March 30

March 26, Minsk /BELTA/. A new law on the procedure for entering and leaving Belarus will come into force on March 30. This was reported to BELTA by the State Border Committee of Belarus. The new law will replace the previous one, which was approved back in 1993. Since then, significant changes have occurred in the republic and abroad, including in public consciousness. All this required adjustments in border legislation as well. Work on the draft of the new law has been underway since 2004, and the State Border Committee has taken an active part in it. In addition to clearer regulation, for example, of the procedure for temporarily restricting the right to travel abroad, the document also contains some quite revolutionary provisions. One of them is the possibility for minor Belarusian citizens to travel abroad accompanied by one of their legal representatives without documented consent from the other. For example, a mother traveling abroad with her child will not be required by border guards to have the father's consent or documents confirming his absence. If one of the parents is against sending the child abroad, they have the right to apply to the court with a statement to determine a different procedure for the minor's departure from Belarus. Information about such a child will be included in the database of citizens whose right to leave Belarus is temporarily restricted. In general, the law details the specifics of minors leaving the country, including those who have the status of orphans or children left without parental care. Their departure for treatment, rehabilitation, or consultations is regulated. The law specifies the list of documents confirming the status of a legal representative of children and who can certify written consent. In addition, the new law defines the procedure for enforcing decisions on temporary restriction of citizens' right to leave the country and on granting permission to leave the country for a specific period, as well as the procedure for registering the permanent residence of our citizens abroad. The normative act establishes uniform grounds for temporarily restricting the right of Belarusian citizens to leave the republic. Departure may be temporarily restricted, for example, if a citizen possesses information constituting a state secret, is a suspect or accused in a criminal case, or if a civil lawsuit has been filed against them in court. The grounds also include the failure to fulfill property, tax, or alimony obligations without valid reasons. The right to leave may be restricted when a citizen is a debtor in a case of economic insolvency. This list also includes evasion of appearance for conscription for military service. However, these grounds will now become optional, and the decision to include citizens whose right to travel abroad is temporarily restricted in the database will be made individually for each specific person. Currently, this database contains information on more than 100,000 Belarusians. In accordance with the new law, the state body or other legal entity (their list is clearly defined by law) that has made a decision to temporarily restrict a citizen's right to leave Belarus must send the citizen a corresponding notification no later than one day from the date of such decision. A similar notification will be sent in case of lifting the restriction. At the same time, in some cases, even those whose data are contained in the database will be able to leave Belarus. They may be granted permission to leave for a specific period due to the need for urgent medical treatment, participation in criminal proceedings outside the republic, or due to the serious illness or death of a close relative living abroad. Overall, the new law is aimed at ensuring the constitutional right of citizens to freely leave Belarus and return without hindrance. Its development utilized the experience of Germany, Sweden, the USA, France, CIS countries, and the provisions of the document comply with generally recognized international norms.-0-