A Belarusian woman from Germany brought her children to her homeland — threatened not to let them leave without Belarusian passports

Sviatlana shared her story on social media. The woman says that her children have German and Russian citizenships, which they received from their father — Sviatlana is divorced from him. The children do not have Belarusian passports.

Before traveling to Belarus, Sviatlana wrote to the Belarusian consulate. She was informed that her children should enter Belarus without problems: they do not need a visa, as they are EU citizens, and they do not need permission from their father either.

Thus, by August 1, Sviatlana and her children were supposed to be in Belarus. But at passport control on the Belarusian side, the woman heard something that made her reconsider her plans:

"The passport control officer said: 'Do you know that your children are obliged to have a Belarusian passport and Belarusian citizenship?' This is due to the fact that the children's mother is Belarusian.

We have traveled to Belarus many times before with the children on German and Russian passports, and everything was okay."

Sviatlana was given a condition — they would be allowed into Belarus, but she would need to get Belarusian passports for her children, otherwise they would not be allowed to leave the country. But she does not want to do this, as she sees no point and fears it will cause additional problems for them.

"My children already have two citizenships. Yes, Belarus has such laws, but I don't understand them, and it's absurd. It turns out the law has been in effect for a long time, but since January of this year, they have tightened control over this issue."

According to the Law "On Citizenship", it makes no difference where a child was born: if at least one parent has Belarusian citizenship, then the child is automatically considered a Belarusian. Such a young Belarusian without a passport can enter their homeland with a foreign passport or a return certificate.

However, within the country, their foreign documents will have no legal force. Then, if a Belarusian passport is not obtained, in the eyes of the Belarusian authorities, the child will not have legal documents to leave the country.

Sviatlana ultimately decided to cancel the trip:

"I couldn't risk my children like that. It's not a given that I can get Belarusian passports for my children in Belarus without their father. And honestly, I don't need them, and my children don't need them.

They owe nothing to Belarus, they were born in Germany and already have two citizenships. If they are 18 years old and come there, what will happen to them? Only God knows."

Sviatlana hints that since her children are boys, if they get Belarusian passports, they could be conscripted into the army. But the fact is that Belarus considers them its citizens even without passports. Therefore, if they come to their mother's homeland at conscription age, they will again not be allowed back without a Belarusian passport, and according to current laws, such a passport cannot be obtained without a certificate from the military enlistment office.

• 2
• 0
• 8
• 16
• 0
• 4
• 12
• 0