As the Belarusian government stopped issuing passports in diplomatic representations, Lithuania is offering a “foreigner’s passport” to Belarusian émigrés, while the opposition is planning to have the EU recognise its own alternative documents. Not all are convinced.
Arina was planning to apply to the Belarusian embassy in Vilnius this month to get a new passport, as her current one expires next year. She cannot do it now, because the Minsk government has decided to stop issuing passports outside Belarus, a move targeted at the Belarusian opposition in exile.
“The feeling is very similar to when I was running away. As if you have a home, but it’s not really there,” says Arina. “Now it’s the same, you’re a citizen of a country, but you don’t have a passport.”
To get a passport, Arina would have to go to Minsk, where she faces imprisonment for taking part in protests against Alexander Lukashenko in 2020. “I’m on the run from prison,” she says.
And she is not the only one. The Belarusian opposition in exile calls it desperation on the part of the Minsk regime and an attempt to force Belarusian émigrés to return.
Further reading
“This is a catastrophe, half a million people remain undocumented, without government support, potentially without passports,” says Vilnius-based Franak Viačorka, an adviser to one of the Belarusian opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Without a passport, Belarusians will not be able to travel and may have difficulties proving their legal status.
However, the Lithuanian Migration Department reassures that at least Belarusians in Lithuania will not be left undocumented.
The department plans to issue special passports “recognised abroad and allowing to travel”, according to its head Evelina Gudzinskaitė.
However, the passport is only issued to those with a residence permit in Lithuania.
“There may be cases of a vicious circle,” says Gudzisnkaitė. “A person cannot apply for a residence permit because they don’t have a passport, and can only get a passport once they have a residence permit.”
She assures, however, that each situation will be assessed individually.
Viačorka already has a foreigner’s passport that he took out because his Belarusian passport ran out of pages for visas.
“The problem with the foreigner’s passport is that it is linked to the residence permit in Lithuania, so I have to change it every year. It takes several months,” he says.
That is why Viačorka calls it a temporary solution. But Tsikhanouskaya’s team has a more long-term one, he adds.
The Belarusian opposition is proposing to have an alternative passport it would issue and have recognised by friendly foreign governments.
According to Viačorka, there is already support from the European Commission.
“We are creating sample passports that we will send to Brussels, to countries all over the world, and in three to four months, we will start procedures for having these documents recognised,” he says.
However, Lithuanian politicians and observers have doubts about the alternative Belarusian passport.
“It may have symbolic value, but from the perspective of international law, having one country and two passports sounds unlikely,” says Vytis Jurkonis, associate professor at Vilnius University.
Arina is also doubtful about the document: “It looks nice, but there are a lot of questions about its legal validity.”
Security is another consideration: who would ensure that applicants are properly screened and that their personal data is protected?
Viačorka assures that passports will only be issued after thorough verification.
“Lawyers and governments are sceptical because there was nothing like this before,” he says, adding that alternative passports would be another blow to the legitimacy of Lukashenko’s government and a rallying point for the opposition.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
