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Multiple-entry visas account for 70% of visas issued by Polish Embassy in Belarus in 2015
MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) – Almost 70% of the Polish visas granted to Belarusians in 2015 were multiple-entry, head of the consular section of the Polish Embassy in Belarus Marek Pedzich said at a press conference on 25 February, BelTA has learned.
“2015 saw a considerable increase in the number of multiple-entry visas issued by the Polish consular offices in Belarus. There were almost 270,000 of them. The number of long-term visas also rose. By year-end 2015 it was up by 70% from 2014. Most of them were tourist visas,” Marek Pedzich said.
All in all, in 2015 the Polish consular offices granted Belarusians around 400,000 national and Schengen visas, almost as many as in 2014. Some 25% of the Schengen visas were given free of charge.
Marek Pedzich pointed out that since the beginning of 2016 there has been no decline in the demand for Polish visas. “Quite the opposite. While in February 2015 we granted some 12,000 visas, we expect that by the end of February 2016 the figure will stand at 14,000. Many exciting events will be held in Poland in 2016, and we hope that our country will become an important tourist destination for Belarusians,” the Polish diplomat noted.
Four Polish visa application centers will open in Belarus by 1 March – in Minsk, Brest, Grodno, and Gomel. When filing the documents visa applicants will be charged a visa fee (?60) and a service fee (?15). The service fee will be paid in the Belarusian rubles. Booking is required. It can be done online or through the call center.
Visas will still be issued by the Embassy in Minsk or the consulates of Poland in Brest and Grodno. Later Polish visa application centers will be opened in Mogilev, Baranovichi, Pinsk and Lida. The dates will be announced later.