Press releases

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to France with concurrent accreditation to Spain Pavel Latushko said that the center will create additional opportunities for strengthening the people-to-people ties between Spain and Belarus. “It will also help bolster our economic relations, humanitarian exchanges, and cooperation in tourism. We have made a considerable step towards stronger relations between Belarus and Spain,” Pavel Latushko noted.

Head of the Western Europe Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Aleksei Zhbanov noted: “The relations between Belarus and Spain are developing very rapidly. The visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei to Spain gave a powerful impetus to them. We hope that the opening of the Spanish visa application center will be followed by the establishment of a Spanish embassy office or embassy in Belarus. We would welcome such developments.” He also expressed hope that Spanish visa application centers will be set up in Belarus’ regional capitals.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Spain to Russia and concurrently to Belarus Ignacio Ibanez Rubio said that the new visa application center will provide high-quality services, and that the number of Belarusian tourists traveling to Spain will increase every day. “We would like to see more Belarusian businessmen in Spain,” he added.

Director of the Spanish visa application center Ruslan Lobanok noted that the first visa application center was opened in Minsk in 2013 but stopped its operations due to certain circumstances. Tourists, business representatives had to apply for a visa at the Consulate General of Spain in Moscow.

“With the opening of the center, it will be much easier for Belarusians to get a visa. Agencies and tourists have already expressed their appreciation. The center will help bring the two nations even closer. Spain is among the five countries most popular with Belarusian tourists,” Ruslan Lobanok said. “We carry out all the procedures necessary for getting a Spanish visa, but we have no influence on the consulate and its visa decisions. The visa application center will reduce the workload on the consulate,” he added.

The new center started to accept the visa application documents even before it was officially opened. Since 30 June it has issued nearly 150 visas.

Apart from the visa application fee of €60 (€35 for children aged 6 to 12; kids under 6 years of age are exempt from the fee), the center also collects a service fee of €15. The fees can be paid in Belarusian rubles only.

The center accepts applications from 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday.