Polish embassy issued 370 thousand visas to Belarusians this year

The consular section of the Polish embassy in Minsk and General Consulates in Hrodna and Brest issued almost 370,000 visas to Belarusians during 11 months in 2015. 25% of visas were free of charge - mostly for young people or students, Poland's Charge d'Affaires Michal Chabras told reporters on Tuesday.

Responding to the question from Euroradio, he noted that the number of visas issued this year was almost the same as last year. He explained the decrease by delays caused by the new biometrics system. Many visas were also issued for 2-3 years. Almost 200 000 Belarus citizens received long-term visas.

Visa rejections amounted to less than 1%. Michal Chabras noted "one has to be very special in order to see your application rejected."

Poland will open 8 new visa centers in Belarus not later then in July 2016. They are designed to facilitate the visa issue process for Belarusians. The centers will charge their customers 15 EUR/person.

Photo: Еўрарадыё, ria.ru