Changes

|pop = 9,500,000 504 700 (2017)

|currency = Belarusian Ruble (BYRBYN)

72% of the population live in towns and cities, and virtually all the population speaks Russian as their first language. In rural areas a mix of Russian and Belarusian may be spoken, but it is '''not''' a good idea to try to speak Belarusian (in the capital of the country you will especially be frowned upon by the police, as Belarusian is the language of governmental opposition). It is therefore better to make destination [[signs]] in Russian when hitchhiking.

Freedom of speech is very restricted in Belarus, try not to ask too many questions about mr. Lukashenko, people might get in trouble when saying something bad about their politics.

[[File:IMG 20170717 154059.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Light-returning reflectinve band. This little thing can save you about 10€ when you meet the policy at the road]] '''Note''': In Belarus you have to wear a flicker (light-returning elementor reflective band) when you are on the road after sunset. The [[police]] have a plan to get some amount of violators each month, so the possibility of penalty (about € 10) is quite high. It's better to buy a flicker (it costs from € 1), and it's not a problem – now they are sold in any shop in Belarus. And it's [[hitchhiker's safety|a good idea]] to use them anyway when [[hitchhiking at night]]. 

== Number plates Visa ==Foreign citizens of 74 countries, who '''both enter''' and '''leave''' via Minsk International Airport, can enter Belarus for up to 30 days '''without visa''' (since July 27, 2018). This does not extend to persons coming to Belarus by plane from Russia, as well as to those who would fly out via Russia (such flights are considered as internal ones and do not have border control). Nevertheless you have to fulfil several requirements to be able to enter the country without visa. For more information check web-pages of the Belorussian MFA and State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus: [http://mfa.gov.by/en/visa/visafreetravel/e0ced19bb1f9bf2c.html ''Information on visa-free travel via the checkpoint "Minsk National Airport"'']<br>[https://gpk.gov.by/en/border-crossing/ ''Border crossing rules for foreign citizens''] [[File:Belarus_regional_visa-free_provisions_in_Grodno_and_Brest_regions.png|220px|thumb|right|Part of Belarus covered by Brest and Hrodna regional visa-free provision]]Additionally, you can also enter some parts of the country overland without a visa for up to 15 days. In order to visit Brest and Hrodna regions for 15 days without visas you need to get visa-free travel documents at least 72 hours before your journey to Belarus.

Belarusian number plates end with a number of For more details check the region the car is registered in. * 1 - Brest* 2 - Viciebsk* 3 - Homiel* 4 - Hrodna* 5 - Minsk (region)* 6 - Mahiliov* 7 - Minsk (city)See Wikipedia article on following link: [httphttps://en.wikipediabezviz.orgby/wikien/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Belarus Belarussian vehicle registration plates''Belarus visa free''] for more info.

== Visa ==Most countries' citizens need a For an old-fashioned visa to visit Belarus. If so, try follow this procedure:Try to find someone on Couchsurfing/BeWelcome/TrustRoots who'd be willing to "invite" you to Belarus(thus you could apply for a "private visit" visa), as this would save you a lot of money in the visa application process - the only way to get a regular tourist visa is through an overpriced agency, which would be eager to book hotels on your behalf. Some embassies may be satisfied with a confirmed hotel booking, without an agency letter, but that would be up to their discretion. ''However'', most Belarussian Belarusian embassies will issue a "private visit" visa without a letter of invitation or other supporting documents where only the personal info of the inviting person would suffice if the visa duration is less than 30 days. In some cases, they may however ask for a copy of the inviting person's passport but again that would be up to the discretion of the embassy personnel.

Easiest option - they'll do it for you automatically and you won't have to worry about it. In some rare instances, they may charge extra for registration, so do ask if registration is included.

You'll have to visit the local "Migration Department" within 5 business days('''including Saturday!''') '''with your as well as your host's passport'''(they don't have to be there in person, but if you don't speak Russian, it's best that they are). TheyYou'll ask you to fill out a form and pay a fee at a local bank branch(the fee is around EUR 10). It might sound scary, but it's relatively straightforward. It is advisable that you You should register with your first host upon arrival to Belarus for the entire duration of your stay(until your visa expires) - you won't have to worry about/pay for registration again. Legally, you should re-register if you stay somewhere else for more than 5 days, but no one will bother you about this and you can always say "I got here yesterday" :)...

This is the most complicated option. Hotels will only register you for the duration of your booking. Once you check out, you're no longer considered registered and the 5 day period does not apply any more. Therefore, if you then stayed stay with someone through couchsurfing, you'd need to register immediately, in person, as is described in option 2. If you register with a host first (regardless for how long) and '''then''' stay at a hotel, your previous registration becomes void and the hotel registration applies, so the moment you check out you need to re-register somewhere else (either stay in another hotel or register with a host - again the 5 day period won't apply). You could ask the hotel to not stamp your card, so that your previous registration is still valid during and after your hotel stay but this is technically illegal and up to the receptionist's discretion. ([[user:uncle_sam01|uncle_sam01]] got his hotel stamp on a sticky note with a "you-naughty-boy" gesture from the receptionist...)

Belarus is neither in the [[European Union]] nor in the [[Schengen Agreement|Schengen]] Common Travel Area, and most non-[[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] nationals would require a visa to enter the country. However, since July 2018 there is a possibility to enter the country without visa for citizens of about 80 foreign countries. See "Visa" section.  You can check [http://gpk.gov.by/en/maps/ochered.php border crossing queues] and find more [http://gpk.gov.by/en/maps/ detailed info about border crossings] at the web-site of State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus.

=== With [[Latvia]] (from east to west)===* [https://www.google.com/maps/place/55%C2%B043'06.5%22N+26%C2%B052'27.4%22E/@55.718463,26.8721013,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d55.7184603!4d26.8742901?hl=en Urbany (BLR) / Silene (LV)] (bel. Урбаны, rus. Урбаны) – located on [[P3]] some 20 km to the north-west from [[Braslaŭ|Braslaŭ]] on the way to [[Daugavpils|Daugavpils]].* [https://www.google.com/maps/place/55%C2%B049'14.4%22N+27%C2%B037'32.0%22E/@55.820655,27.6233543,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d55.8206521!4d27.6255431?hl=en Ryhoraŭščyna (BLR) / Paternieki (LV)] (bel. Рыгораўшчына, rus. Григоровщина) – located on [[P20]] some 25 km to the west from [[Vierchniadzvinsk|Vierchniadzvinsk]] or 95 km to the north-west from [[Polack|Polack]] on the way to [[Krāslava|Krāslava]] - [[Daugavpils|Daugavpils]].

=== With [[Poland]] (from south to north)===* [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=13433892993726185330,51.771666,23.569832%3B8225709824099370420,51.760479,23.611216&saddr=63+%4051.771666,+23.569832&daddr=Unknown+road+%4051.760479,+23.611216&sll=51.766075,23.590525&sspn=0.017263,0.04549&ie=UTF8&ll=52.722986,25.378418&spn=4.325896,11.645508&z=7 Damačava (BLR) / Sławatycze (PL)] (bel. Дамачава, rus. Домачево) – vehicular crossing located some 40 kilometres south of Brest.* "[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=13034915224636727578,52.069786,23.642091&saddr=2%2FE30+%4052.069786,+23.642091&daddr=52.073732,23.673027&mra=mi&mrsp=1,0&sz=16&sll=52.074073,23.666546&sspn=0.008573,0.022745&ie=UTF8&ll=52.070116,23.646183&spn=0.068588,0.181961&z=13 Brest (Varšaŭski most (Warsaw Bridge)) (BLR) / Terespol (PL)]" (bel. Брэст (Варшаўскі мост), rus. Брест (Варшавский мост)) – the biggest crossing point located on [[E30]] near [[Brest (Belarus)|Brest]]. Crossing is possible only in a vehicle. Opposite to what you could guess, the crossing is hassle free and the police not more unfriendly than elsewhere. Prepare yourself Be prepared for a long waiting time, if . If there is a lot of traffic, even very long waiting time. Even when there are just two or three cars in front of you, you can find yourself waiting for several hours.* "[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=18391996812509845743,52.106891,23.558036%3B5287091177967822326,52.110654,23.561225&saddr=68+%4052.106891,+23.558036&daddr=52.116665,23.564816&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=16&sll=52.114886,23.566296&sspn=0.008565,0.022745&ie=UTF8&ll=52.516221,24.483032&spn=2.172906,5.822754&z=8 Kazlovičy(BLR) / Kukuryki (PL)]" (bel. Казловічы, rus. Козловичи) – for trucks only. Located at the north-western edge of Brest.* "[httphttps://mapswww.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=13433892993726185330,51.771666,23.569832/place/52%C2%3B8225709824099370420,51B028'11.760479,23.611216&saddr=63+0%4051.771666,22N+23%C2%B021'30.569832&daddr=Unknown+road+1%405122E/@52.7604794697112,+23.611216&sll=51.7660753561643,23.590525&sspn17z/data=0!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d52.017263,04697082!4d23.04549&ie3583531?hl=UTF8&ll=52.722986,25.378418&spn=4.325896,11.645508&z=7 Damačavaen Piasčatka (BLR) / Połowce (PL)]" (bel. ДамачаваПясчатка, rus. ДомачевоПесчатка) – vehicular crossing located some 40 kilometres south of on [[P16]] 60 km to the north-west from [[Brest (Belarus)|Brest]] on the way to [[Bielsk Podlaski|Bielsk Podlaski]] - [[Białystok|Białystok]].*"[https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Przejście+graniczne+Białowieża+-+Piererow/@52.6693897,23.8421252,13.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x47205d08a089cf39:0x7d8b7f4d91f4e07!8m2!3d52.6686046!4d23.8582331?hl=en Pieraroŭ (BLR) / Białowieża/Puszcza Białowieska(PL)]" (Беловежская пущаbel. Перароў, rus. Переров) - – small, pedestrian-only crossing in the middle of the beautiful Bialowieza Forest. EU citizens can visit (for 72 hours) the Belorussian part of the forest, as well as the village of Kamianiuki '''without a visa'''(check [http://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/belovezhskaya-pushcha requirements for visa-free entrance]). Since the crossing is for pedestrians/cyclists only, you'll are likely to be the only person there. There aren't too many parked cars, but just enough to get you picked up to the nearest village on the Polish side (it's not very far, so you can walk, as well). On the Belorussian Belarusian side, you can either try hitching hitch-hiking towards the nearest village of Bely Lesok Biely Liasok (bel. Белы Лясок) (there'll be plenty of tourists and only a single road for cars) or you can walk through the forest to Kamianiuki(about 16 km, it's the official "entry" village to the forest on the Belarussian Belarusian side). From Kamianiuki, you can either hitch-hike, or if you don't have time, take a marshrutka maršrutka (mini-bus) to the bus terminal in Brest. If you're lucky, you can also hitch a ride with one of the park's employees.*[https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/53%C2%B007'22.0%22N+23%C2%B053'54.6%22E/@53.1227709,23.8964963,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d53.1227684!4d23.8985041?hl=en Bierastavica (BLR) / Bobrowniki (PL)] (bel. Бераставіца, rus. Берестовица) – located on [[P99]] 80 km to the south from [[Hrodna|Hrodna]] or 40 km to the west from [[Vaŭkavysk|Vaŭkavysk]] on the way to [[Białystok|Białystok]].*[https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/53%C2%B031'29.9%22N+23%C2%B040'06.3%22E/@53.5249652,23.6662313,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x0:0x0!2zNTPCsDA3JzIyLjAiTiAyM8KwNTMnNTQuNiJF!3b1!7e2!8m2!3d53.1227684!4d23.8985041!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d53.5249617!4d23.66842?hl=en Bruzhi (BLR) / Kuźnica (PL)] (bel. Брузгі, rus. Брузги) – 20 km to the south-west from [[Hrodna|Hrodna]] on the way to [[Białystok|Białystok]].

If you want to avoid the long waiting times at the Brest (Varšaŭski most (Warsaw Bridge )) / Terespol border crossing is to you can take a train from Terespol to Brest. It goes 3 times a day and costs 17 Zlotyzłoty. You can only pay in zlotys złotys only but there is an exchange office in at the train station. (July 2016) [https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3456263616train station]. (August 2018)