200 000 foreigners visited Belarus visa-free - Interior

Interior Ministry's migration department head Aliaksei Biahun. A screenshot from video
Interior Ministry's migration department head Aliaksei Biahun. A screenshot from video

Belarus' Ministry of Internal Affairs has recorded no increase in the number of offences committed by foreign tourists since the introduction of the visa-free program, Interior's Migration and Citizenship Department head Alaiksei Biahun said in an interview with ONT TV.

200 000 people have taken use of the visa-free program to visit Belarus, he said. Biahun admitted there were some offences committed by the Interior Ministry takes prevenative and organizational measures to minimize these risks.

The police official also said that some people still try to cross the border showing a 2018 FIFA World Cup Fan ID. "Russia has extended the visa-free regime till 1 January 2019 for the Fan ID holders. Those people can stay on the territory of Russia without a visa but it does not apply to the territory of Belarus. We regularly detect the whole groups of such fans," Biahun said.