Belarus allows Poles’ visa-free entry at all EU border checkpoints.

March 1, BPN. Belarus has allowed visa-free entry for Polish citizens at all border crossings with the European Union, the State Border Committee’s press office said on March 1.

“Given the high demand for the Belarusian visa waiver program, the country’s leadership has decided to allow visa-free entry for Polish citizens at all Belarusian checkpoints on the border with the EU,” it said in a press release.

The new rule will be valid from March 2 to December 31.

Previously, Polish citizens could only enter Belarus without visas from their country.

On December 21, Alaksandr Łukašenka extended Belarus’ visa waiver program for citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland for 2023.

It was declared that the decision was taken “to confirm the openness” of the republic and its focus on “good neighborliness and stronger international relations.”

The authorities of the neighboring countries called on their compatriots not to visit Belarus for security reasons.

On February 10, Poland closed the key Bobrowniki border checkpoint until further notice. Interior minister Mariusz Kamiński argued that it was “an important matter of national security.”

The Belarusian foreign ministry protested to Marcin Wojciechowski, the Polish chargé d’affaires, against Poland’s action. The diplomat was told that this “totally unacceptable” step exacerbated the “difficult” situation on the Belarusian-Polish border and violated “the rights of thousands of citizens of Belarus, Poland and many other countries.” The ministry underscored “counterproductivity of any attempts to put pressure on Belarus.” Warsaw took this step after a Belarusian court sentenced a reporter of Polish origin, Andrzej Poczobut, to eight years in prison on charges widely believed to be politically motivated.