Opposition office moves to streamline Schengen visa appointments in Minsk

November 22, BPN. The Office of the Belarusian opposition leader Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja intends to fight intermediaries who provide assistance for a fee in making online appointments with Schengen visa centers in Minsk, Cichanoŭskaja’s aide Franak Viačorka told BPN.

Starting November 28, all Polish visa centers in Belarus will start verifying their customers via the Interbank Identification System. Its verification code will be valid for one hour, with a temporary block imposed after ten unsuccessful verification attempts.

“This is the result of our work,” Viačorka said. “It is only the first step, but an important one. The problem has not yet been completely solved, but we will work to ensure that all visa centers operating in Minsk take similar measures.”

Many intermediary companies abused the system of online appointment booking for Schengen visas which led to large queues, increased waiting times, and high fees for the intermediary services.