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28 May 2020

Over 3,000 foreign nationals acquire Belarusian citizenship every year

Over 3,000 foreign nationals acquire Belarusian citizenship every year
Aleksei Begun. An archive photo

MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) - More than 3,000 foreign nationals and stateless persons acquire Belarusian citizenship every year, Head of the Citizenship and Migration Department of the Belarusian Internal Affairs Ministry Aleksei Begun told the media in Minsk on 28 May, BelTA has learned.

Aleksei Begun informed that on average more than 3,000 foreign nationals and stateless persons acquire Belarusian citizenship using the simplified procedure every year.

“We hope that due to the liberalization of certain provisions, the number of people who will become naturalized citizens will increase," Aleksei Begun said.

The matter is about the amendments to the law on citizenship of the Republic of Belarus. On 28 May the bill was reviewed by the Standing Commission on Human Rights, National Relations and the media of the House of Representatives. Aleksei Begun noted that the bill contains a number of novelties related to the liberalization of the procedure of acquiring the Belarusian citizenship.

BelTA reported earlier that foreigners who receive vocational education in the country will be entitled to use the simplified procedure for acquiring the Belarusian citizenship. The period during which a person must live continuously in Belarus is reduced from 7 to 5 years.

Those who have received higher education in Belarus and have been working in the country for at least three years will be able to use the preferential procedure of acquiring the citizenship. It is expected that the simplified procedure will apply to foreign nationals who have been married to a Belarusian for at least three years, have children - citizens of Belarus.

Another innovation is about the restoration of citizenship in a simplified manner of people those who have reached the age of 18 and who have returned to Belarus for permanent residence.

The amendments also stipulate that persons who participated in terrorist or other extremist activities that have inflicted serious harm on the interests of Belarus will be stripped of their Belarusian citizenship. This measure will apply only to those who have acquired citizenship not by birthright.

The list of grounds for refusing to terminate the Belarusian citizenship has also been expanded. The authors of the bill propose to extend this rule not only to defendants but also to suspects in criminal cases. According to the MP, this will eliminate situations when a person, being under investigation, applies for relinquishing the citizenship in order to avoid punishment.

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