Belarusian nationality law
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Belarusian Citizenship Act | |
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Parliament of Belarus | |
Long title
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Enacted by | Government of Belarus |
Status: Current legislation |
Belarusian nationality law regulates the manner in which one acquires, or is eligible to acquire, Belarusian nationality, citizenship. Belarusian citizenship is membership in the political community of the Republic of Belarus.
Belarusian citizenship is acquired and terminated in accordance with the
History
Belarusian citizenship from 1917 to 1991
Regulations regarding Belarusian citizenship were issued by the Belarusian government from 1917-1991 and by the government of the
The Aliens Decree was issued on 4 August 1922, by the
- persons who left the country without proper permission of Soviet government
- persons who struggled against the Soviet government
- persons who had the right to claim Belarusian SSR citizenship, but had opted to not claim it
Children of Belarusian SSR citizens born in the territory of the Belarusian SSR acquired citizenship at the time of birth. If only one parent held Belarusian SSR citizenship, then the citizenship of the child was determined by joint declaration of his or her parents. Without such a declaration, the child acquired citizenship of the Belarusian SSR automatically, while still retaining the right to acquire the citizenship of the non-Byelorussian parent upon becoming adult.
According to the Code of Marriage, family and guardianship of Belarusian SSR promulgated in 1927:
- children of Belarusian SSRcitizens acquired citizenship by birth
- children of a Belarusian SSR citizen and a non-citizen acquired citizenship by birth if one of the parents had permanent residence in the Belarusian SSR
- children of a Belarusian SSR citizen and a non-citizen who were living abroad acquired citizenship by birth upon joint declaration of the parents
The Citizenship Act of the USSR (1930) and the Citizenship Act of the USSR (1931) declared that citizens of the USSR who lived in the territory of a Soviet Republic would become citizens of that Republic, unless they chose citizenship of another Soviet Republic in connection with their ethnic origin.
Up to the dissolution of Soviet Union, citizenship legislation became increasingly centralised. Legal norms regarding Belarusian citizenship by birth were revoked in order to bring Belarusian family law in accordance with the Principles of Legislation on Marriage and the Family of the USSR and the Union Republics (1968).
Belarusian citizenship from 1991 to 2002
The first citizenship act after the Belarusian declaration of independence was adopted on 18 October 1991.
The Citizenship Act (1991) has not declared succession of citizenship of the
Belarusian citizenship could be acquired:
- by birth
- by naturalization
- by registration (since June 1993 amendments)
Citizenship by birth could be acquired if both of the parents were citizens of the
Citizenship by naturalization could be gained if the applicant:
- had permanent residence in Belarus for 7 years preceding application
- had sufficient knowledge of one of the state languages (Belarusian or Russian)
- had a legal source of income in Belarus
Citizenship Act (2002)
Acquisition of citizenship
Belarusian citizenship can be acquired:
- by birth
- by naturalization
- by registration
Citizenship by birth can be acquired by a child if one of the parents is a Belarusian citizen or both of them are permanent residents of Belarus.
Citizenship by naturalization can be gained if the applicant:
- had permanent residence in Belarus for 7 years preceding the application
- has enough knowledge of one of the state languages (Belarusian or Russian)
- has legal income
- has no foreign citizenship, or will lose the foreign citizenship after acquisition of Belarusian citizenship, or has renounced his citizenship
The required period of residence can be reduced for several categories of people, including ethnic Belarusians, the descendants of ethnic Belarusians born abroad, people who held Belarusian citizenship in the past, and people who have made significant contributions to development of Belarus.
Citizenship by registration can be acquired by:
- people who held Sovietcitizenship and their descendants
- a child of a Belarusian citizen
- an adopted child
Termination of citizenship
Belarusian citizenship can be terminated by:
According to the Nationality Act, only persons 18 years and older may renounce their citizenship, under 18s must have a renouncing application submitted by their parent(s).
- loss of citizenship, such as by entering the military service, police service or government service in another state.
Visa requirements
In 2017, Belarusian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 67 countries and territories, ranking the
See also
References
- ^ "Global Ranking - Visa Restriction Index 2017" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.