Belarus
 

I am British and I`m travelling eastern Europe this summer by motorcycle. I would like to visit Belarus and intend to apply for a visa but I dont want to book hotels in advance. I have read on another old thread that you can get away without supplying proof of reservation...just name the city and hotel. Is this the case? Any other advice re motorcycling in Belarus and the rest of eastern Europe would be very useful. thanks!

I am going to bump this question as I have the same issue. I would like to apply for a 30 day visa and roam the country on our own without booking hotels. But the companies I contacted all insist on having at least a few night bookings trough them.

Anybody in the knows on alternative companies or methods?

Having a private invitation would help.. but not sure what implications are for the private individual.

Thanks in advance!

Same questions
 

Hello
How did things go or still in planning stages also?

I,ve the same questions , I,m planning to transit though Belarus into Russia at the end of this month( June). I,d rather have more than just 48 hours that the transit visa gives .
I read on older threads that they don,t accept hotel bookings though booking.com , is this still true?
Can it be only one night ( booking)?
On the application form they ask for invitation letter. really required?

If its just a transit visa , is none of the above necessary? and is that the easiest method?
What if you go over 48 hours?

Hi Kiwi,

As I am running out of time, I have given up on Belarus and will detour. All the people (companies mostly) I talked to give me the same story: LOI is required, and only issued when actually booking and paying for your entire stay. I have found a few agencies that were - reluctantly - willing to only book(and pay) for, for example, 5 nights in a hotel and then they would sponsor a 30-day visa. That is still to costly for me... but at least it is an option.

Everybody advised me to get a Belarussian citizen to invite you. That would be relatively hassle-free and you'd be able to get 30 days easily without any intermediate parties involved.

Time to make some Belarussian friends :-)

The info on the realrussia website is correct and summarizes the situation quite nicely: Real Russia | Visas for Belarus and the region

In 2010 I got a Belarussian 'private' visa, by asking a Belarussian citizen to provide their details. All I needed was a name and address, no 'invitation' was necessary.

I remember thinking that I could just as well have made an address / name up... perhaps not the most scrupulous thing to do, but maybe worth a try?

That said, procedures may have since changed.

Belarus is a cool place, if you have some experience in Russia you may find yourself quite surprised at how different it is. Minsk and Brest Fortress are definitely worth visiting if you like Sovietica, and the south of the country can be very pretty.

Belarus Visa experience and attempt into Russia
 

Hello
I went for my Belarus Transit visa in London, was quite easy at first on my NZ passport.
Real friendly service when I applied and used there 48 hour servic price.
Was Monday when I applied and they said it would be ready to pick up next day but I had jobs to do and they were closed on Wednesdays so didn,t pick up till Thursday.
Just got handed it then.
Now my mistake. I intended to Cross into Russia as my third country this was all made clearly on my application form including which border I intended to cross at.
At this border I was then arrested for entering ilegally into Russia and fined 2000 Roubles. They were quite relaxed about it and only following their orders.
Think they would have just called me a idiot and sent me back if not for orders.
Story is much longer and they didn,t have a translator at the border.

My lack of research.

So unless someone knowns something else , foriengners cannot cross into Russia from Belarus.

So I had a third day in Belarus.

And The Belarus Embassy In London certainly didn,t try to correct my application.

Yep, this has been a rule for a year or two.

Unfortunately, on top of the fine, you may find that you are now barred from Russia for 3 to 5 years, though you won't know until you try to cross an international border or apply for a new visa.

Hope this doesn't happen to you,

EO