Forum: travel.stackexchange.com
Tags: <visas><russia><belarus>
Title: Do I need a visa to visit Belarus if I have a Russian visa?
Question: I am a U.S. citizen living in Russia with a multi-entry student visa. I noticed that on my migration card it lists the Russian Federation as well as the Republic of Belarus. Do I need to get another visa if I want to visit Belarus, or is what I already have sufficient?

Answers:
sents: text: In short the answer is yes you do need a separate visa for Belarus.
text: Your Russian Student Visa doesn't allow you to enter Belarus.
text: The reason that it has the names of both countries is because the form they use is exactly the same.
text: From the US Embassy in Moscow : Although Russia and Belarus use the same migration card, travelers should be aware that each country maintains its own visa regime.
text: U.S. citizens wishing to travel to both nations must apply for two separate visas.
text: A traveler entering Russia directly from Belarus is not required to obtain a new migration card, but at his or her option may do so if blank ones are available at the time of entry.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/1372/Karlson
score: 15
sents: text: Definitely do need a Belarus visa even if there is no passport control between Russia and Belarus.
text: Flights between Belarus and Russia are domestic with no passport control.
text: Random document checks do happen by Belarusian authority on the train and airport as it happened to me once at the airport.
text: Also, the police can stop you to check your documents.
text: You don't want to be caught without a visa
text: and it's not difficult to get a visa, too.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/48172/Scott K
score: 2
sents: text: Yes you do need a VISA and for stays over one month you need an invitation from someone.
text: I think that the frontier between Russia and Belarus is open for Belarusian and Russian citizens, but not for foreigners.
text: Also, you need to register in Belarus within 5 working days of your arrival.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/51817/Difficult_Traveller
score: 2
sents: text: New Russia-Belarus visa agreement (2020-07-01)
text: As of 2020-07-01, you no longer need a separate visa , as Russia and Belarus recognise each others visas.
text: See news articles from Belarus Feed , Belarusian Telegraph Agency , TASS , and intourist .
text: See also this answer about crossing the Russia-Belarus border .
text: Warning as of 2020-07-07: another source in Russian, dated 2020-07-01, states it will take several more months until it actually takes force.
text: These sources contradict each other.
text: Either it's already in force, or it will be soon (and as of July 2020, the 2019-2021 Coronavirus Pandemic means few travellers should make the overland EU-Belarus-Russia trip anyway).
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/2509/gerrit
score: 2
sents: text: Similar to the Schengen Zone, Russia and Belarus do not have passport control between the two countries.
text: With that said, http://mfa.gov.by/en/visa/ doesn't appear to explicitly list any exception for travel from Russia, so, technically, you might still need to have a visa in case you're subject to a random check.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/6598/cnst
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Generally  you do need a VISA and for stays over one month you need an invitation from someone. However, as of 2020-07-01  you no longer need a separate visa, as Russia and Belarus recognise each other's visas. With that said,  http://mfa.gov.by/en/visa/  doesn't appear to explicitly list any exception for travel from Russia, so, technically, you might still need to have a visa in case you're subject to a random check.
There is some debate as to whether a separate visa is needed to visit Belarus from Russia. The most up-to-date information suggests a visa is not needed, but the situation has still not been clarified 100%.