Belarusian refugees ask Lithuanian MFA to facilitate visa acquisition for their relatives

The authors ask the Lithuanian authorities to facilitate the acquisition of entry visas for close relatives of refugees, writes «Radio Svaboda».

If such visits are classified as humanitarian cases, the visa application procedure could be accelerated through the MFA's mediation, as provided for by Lithuanian law, the authors of the appeal believe.

«The refugees themselves cannot go to Belarus; some have not been able to see their parents or close relatives for years, because they also face problems with visiting Lithuania — it's almost impossible to get a visa, as currently the Lithuanian MFA only helps in cases of serious illness or death of a person. Therefore, our idea is for visits by close relatives to be recognized as a humanitarian case, for which the MFA, by law, provides mediation,» Natalia Kalegava, one of the authors of the appeal and head of the volunteer organization «Dapamoga,» told Svaboda.

The authors of the appeal propose their list of categories of relatives who could count on the mediation of the Lithuanian MFA when obtaining a visa, and want to know the detailed procedure for submitting a visa application in such a case.

«Because people need to know exactly what documents will be required, within what timeframe the application will be reviewed, and how each invited person to Lithuania will be checked,» Natalia Kalegava explained.

She believes that the safety of relatives should not suffer at the Belarusian border:

«At the border, a relative might only be asked where they got their visa to Lithuania. The person will answer that their son or daughter has Lithuanian documents and invited them. That's all. No one hides that they are going to meet a close relative, even if they are a "triple extremist." They already have lists of "extremists," and meeting someone in Belarus is not yet a reason for arrest. And the fact that they finally managed to get a visa is a different, completely legal matter.»

According to Kalegava, the list of signatories to the appeal will be strictly confidential, handed over to the MFA as a separate appendix, and will not be published anywhere.

Activists will collect signatures for the appeal to the Lithuanian MFA until November 23 at the «Zamak» shelter in Vilnius.

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