Ukraine is preparing a bill to help Belarusians solve the problem of expired documents
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has officially responded to the appeal of the public association "Belarusian Community of Ukraine" regarding the situation of Belarusians with expired passports. The head of the association, Alyaksei Frantskevich, announced on Facebook that he had received a response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Illustrative image. Photo: Lookby.media
"The response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs states that Belarusians who cannot return to Belarus due to the threat of political persecution can apply for protection in Ukraine in accordance with the Law of Ukraine 'On Refugees and Persons Requiring Additional or Temporary Protection'. Such applications are considered individually, taking into account all circumstances of a specific person.
It is also important that the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed: the State Migration Service has already developed a separate bill that should regulate the issue of documenting foreigners and stateless persons, including citizens of Belarus, who are unable to obtain or exchange passport documents due to the actions of Lukashenka's regime and the inability to obtain a passport outside Belarus.
At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that it did not support another bill, which provided for the issuance of documents on humanitarian grounds, as it believes that the proposed mechanism could lead to subjective assessment of documents and does not ensure the necessary legal certainty," writes Alyaksei Frantskevich.
He draws attention to the positive fact that the problem is officially recognized by Ukrainian state bodies, and work on its resolution continues. Those who have already encountered the problem of an expired passport, refusal to exchange documents, or other difficulties with legalizing their status in Ukraine are asked to report this, as it is important for further dialogue with state bodies.