Belarus
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Belarus (Беларусь) is a state in eastern Central Europe with Minsk as its capital. The population is about 10 million out of which nearly 20 % live in the Capital. Official languages are Belarusian and Russian. Belarus is divided in six oblasti (provinces) with the biggest cities as name giving: Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev and Vitebsk. These oblasti have subdivisions, the rayony.
Travel Bureaucracy
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Visa
Foreigners usually need to have a visa to enter Belarus legally. This does not concern citizens of Russian Federation, Ukraine, Poland and some other countries. To get a visa European Union citizens do not need an invitation. Short term visas (up to 30 days) are issued by Belarusian embassies and consulates for some 65 Euro (express visa costs twice as much). For stays of more than 30 days at a stretch or more than 90 days in a year foreigners need a residence permit.
When applying for a visa you have to tell where you will live during the stay. Usually later nobody controls this.
Additionally to the visa on the border control you get a migration card. One half of it will be kept by the border-guard, the other half they collect when you leave the country. To avoid problems one should not loose it.
Registration
After crossing the border to Belarus one has got three work days time to register. The easiest way to do this is in a hotel. But for couch surfers this way is not always the best one. If you want to do the registration your self, you have to go with your host, that himself must be registered at the place you want to register, to the Ovir of the rayon. There you'll get a bank connection to pay the registration fee (a few dollars). For the registration you also need an health insurance of Belgosstrakh. No other insurance (i.g. travel insurance from your home country) will be accepted! You get the insurance in any filial of Belgosstrakh for about one Dollar a day.
The registration stamp will be on the paper of the insurance. When leaving the country this document will be controlled, if you don't have it, you can be fined.
Find everything you have to know more detailed on this web-site. This company also offers help with getting a visa.
CouchSurfers
Many CouchSurfers are ready to host you or show you around. But still, in Belarus CouchSurfing is not yet as popular as Hospitality Club. There is a Belarus CouchSurfing group that is quite active. The only active city group is the one in Minsk. The Brest group is hardly to be called a group yet.
