OREANDA-NEWS. May 15, 2008. At present Belarusians do not require visas to enter a CIS member-state except for Turkmenistan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, in line with the Bishkek agreement on visa-free travels for citizens of member-states of the Commonwealth of Independent States of October 9, 1992 visa-free travels are available to all citizens of the member-states if personal identification documents or citizenship identification papers are provided.

Initially the agreement was signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, with Georgia joining later. However, at present member-states tend to leave the agreement. Turkmenistan left the agreement in 1999, Russia — 2000, Kazakhstan — 2001, Uzbekistan — 2001. In the post-Soviet space mutual travels of citizens have been regulated lately by bilateral agreements, which are more effective instruments, easier to implement and to take into account peculiarities of bilateral relations.

The Republic of Belarus has signed bilateral agreements on visa-free travels for citizens with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.

Travels between Belarus and Turkmenistan require visas and are regulated by an intergovernmental agreement. The document allows free travels only for holders of diplomatic and service passports, members of aircraft, sea craft crews as well as train crews.

In EurAsEC an agreement on mutual visa-free travels of citizens of November 30, 2000 is in effect. The member-states are Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. A list of documents, which confirm the identity of the holder, citizenship and grant right to enter, leave, travel in transit, stay in a EurAsEC member-states, has been defined. For Belarusians such documents are passports, service passports, diplomatic passports, national seaman identity cards, and laissez-passers.

Thus a passport allows a Belarusian to cross EurAsEC borders and entrance permission stamps are no longer required.