First 30 days in Belarus for Russian speakers: a checklist of what to do and in what order

In brief

As of 6 November 2026, the first 30 days in Belarus depend on your passport. Visa-free entry is 30 days for citizens of 76 countries who arrive and leave through designated airports, with a cap of 90 days per calendar year (travel pages); Russian citizens live under the Union State regime and the registration terms for them were not confirmed. For a longer stay, official guidance summaries say registration is needed after 10 days, while tourist pages say 5 days, so ask the migration office. A temporary residence permit costs a state fee of 2 base units (about BYN 80-90) and takes one to three months according to one law-firm blog. Banks differ, and Russian-issued Visa and Mastercard have not worked there since 2022. This is a checklist, not legal advice.

What depends on your passport and status

Belarus is not one set of rules.

• Citizens of Russia live under the Union State agreements, which make staying and working simpler than for other nationalities, according to a legal portal. A work permit is still described as needed for employment. We could not confirm the registration deadline for Russians, so ask the migration office.
• Citizens of 76 countries can enter visa-free for 30 days, but only through the designated airports, including Minsk National Airport, with a total of 90 days in a calendar year. Citizens of some neighbouring countries have longer terms under separate arrangements.
• Everyone else needs a visa or another legal basis before arrival.

For visa-free entrants, travel pages report a mandatory travel health insurance of at least EUR 10,000 and a migration card issued on arrival. Check the insurance requirement before you fly. If you are a returning citizen with a Belarusian passport, the rules for foreigners do not apply to you; this article is written for a foreigner settling in the country.

Property is a separate topic. Read the documents guide documents from Russia and the CIS for a property purchase abroad if you buy, but owning a flat does not by itself give you a right to stay.

Days 1 to 3: the minimum that cannot wait

• Keep the passport, the migration card and the address of your accommodation together. Registration and banks ask for all three.
• Confirm where you are registered. If you stay in a hotel, ask the hotel in writing whether it registers you with the migration authorities. If you rent, ask the landlord what the registration procedure requires.
• Buy private health cover (see the health section below).
• Get a local phone number. We did not find the SIM rules for foreigners in this pass, so we do not state them. Banks reportedly want a Belarusian number for payment confirmation codes; one source advises buying a local SIM.
• Photograph your documents and keep the copies online.

Week 1: registration of your stay

Sources disagree on the deadline. A summary of official guidance says foreigners staying more than 10 days must be registered; the Ministry of Internal Affairs news of 2023 says the general rule is registration within 10 days at the place of actual stay; tourist pages say 5 days or 5 working days. We could not settle this, so treat 5 days as the cautious limit and ask the migration office.

What the sources add: - Foreigners can register online through the unified e-services portal portal.gov.by free of charge, according to one summary. Hotels normally register their guests. - Citizens of some countries have registration-free arrangements; a page lists agreements with several countries including Russia and Kazakhstan, but it is a summary and its list is not reliable enough to quote. - A source that says no registration is needed for 30-day stays conflicts with the official guidance, so we treat it as unreliable.

Practical order: prepare the passport, the migration card, the lease or the host's confirmation and the address, register, and keep the confirmation. Missing the deadline can have consequences for your stay, but we did not find fine amounts, so we do not give any.

Weeks 2 to 4: residence permit, bank and health

Residence permit

If you plan to stay beyond the visa-free period, you need a temporary residence permit or, later, a permanent one. A law-firm blog (Harant) says the procedure follows the law on the legal status of foreigners and Council of Ministers Resolution No. 144, that the state fee is 2 base units (about BYN 80-90 in 2026) and that the whole process takes one to three months. It says the procedure is simplified for citizens of Russia and Kazakhstan, that bases include marriage to a citizen or to a foreigner who already has permanent residence, and that permanent residence follows at least 5 years under a temporary permit. Highly qualified specialists and investors are also mentioned.

Two warnings. One forum question says a tenancy agreement would no longer suffice for Russians from 9 July 2026, but the date looks wrong and we do not rely on it. A forum question also mentions a psychiatric-register certificate, which is a visitor's question, not an official requirement. Ask the migration office for the current list of documents and the basis that fits you. We did not find an official list.

Bank account and payments

Banks differ. The sources we found agree on a few points: - Passport. If it is not in Russian or Belarusian, a translation certified by a notary or an authorised person is required. - A Belarusian phone number, because banks are reluctant to attach accounts to foreign numbers and payment confirmation codes need a local one. - A card for a non-resident costs about BYN 250 plus BYN 350 for the plastic, according to a travel blog. - A foreign-currency account (USD or EUR) for a non-resident needs a minimum balance of about BYN 20,000 plus USD or EUR 300 per card as of April 2026, according to the same blog. That is a travel service, not a bank, so check it with the bank.

Payment systems: the same sources say Russian-issued Visa and Mastercard have not worked in Belarus since 2022, that foreign cards of these systems are not accepted everywhere, and that cash or purchases work only at banks and terminals of institutions not under sanctions. A named list for February 2026 includes Priorbank, BSB Bank, Paritetbank, BNB-Bank and Statusbank, but we did not open any bank page. One bank raised the fee for accepting cash Russian roubles to 20% according to a news report. Plan how you will pay before you arrive, and do not rely on one card. For more on refusals, documents and alternatives, see the resident bank account guide.

Health cover

We did not find how a newcomer joins the public system. Travel pages report a mandatory EUR 10,000 policy for visa-free entrants. If you stay, buy private cover with hospital care and ask the clinic what it accepts. For choosing a policy, see health insurance and doctors after moving abroad.

Driving, school and other things not covered here

We did not find reliable rules for the driving licence, school registration or utility contracts, so we do not state them. For licences in general, see driving licence abroad. Tax residency is a separate question, see tax residency when relocating.

Mistakes people make

• Assuming the hotel registered you when it did not, or that a 30-day visa-free period removes every obligation.
• Planning on the registration terms of another nationality.
• Entering without the required travel insurance and finding out at the border.
• Counting on a Russian-issued Visa or Mastercard.
• Opening a bank account without a Belarusian phone number.
• Treating a travel-blog minimum balance as a bank's rule.
• Waiting until the last days of the visa-free period to ask about a residence permit.

One-page checklist

• Before travel: required travel insurance, entry route through a designated airport if you rely on the visa-free regime.
• Day 1: passport, migration card, address in writing, phone number.
• Day 1 to 5: confirm registration; the safe limit is the shorter term in the sources.
• Week 1: health cover, payment plan that does not depend on a Russian-issued card.
• Week 2: ask the migration office about the residence basis and documents.
• Week 2 to 4: bank account after asking the bank for its list.
• Keep: confirmations of registration and receipts, with dates.
• Ask in writing: every rule you could not confirm here.

FAQ

How many days can I stay in Belarus without a visa? According to travel pages, citizens of 76 countries can stay 30 days visa-free if they arrive and leave through designated airports, with a cap of 90 days in a calendar year. Check your own passport's terms before you book.

How soon must I register? Sources disagree: 10 days in an official-guidance summary and a 2023 Ministry of Internal Affairs report, 5 days or 5 working days on tourist pages. Treat the shorter term as the safe one and ask the migration office.

Do Russian citizens need to register? Russia is covered by the Union State regime, but we could not confirm the exact registration terms for Russians. Ask the migration office rather than relying on a forum.

How much does a residence permit cost? A law-firm blog gives a state fee of 2 base units, about BYN 80-90 in 2026, and a processing time of one to three months. We found no official fee table.

Can I use my Russian bank card? According to the sources, Russian-issued Visa and Mastercard have not worked in Belarus since 2022. Plan an alternative and ask a local bank about opening a card.