On September 7, the state carrier "Mensktrans" announced that it limits the sale of tickets for international flights for holders of national visas of category D of the European Union member states.

At the same time, "Mensktrans" did not explain the reasons for such a step.

The innovation immediately caused a wave of questions from Belarusians who use international bus flights.

At the moment, this is the only way, apart from personal transport, to cross the border between Belarus and the European Union.

Tickets for "Mensktrans" buses are no longer sold at bus station ticket offices without a visa.

Additionally, visas are checked by bus drivers.

"They say that two passengers were turned away at the border in recent days," wrote one of the users of the Belarusian chat room in Vilnius.

"I don't know the specifics, but I trust the source."

Other users of the reluctance chat point out that the problems with holders of Polish national visas arise due to the reluctance of "Mensktrans" to let them on buses going to Vilnius from Minsk.

People are offered to hand in already purchased tickets and get to Poland in another way.

What is a national D visa?

A category D visa is a visa issued by a specific EU member country for a long-term stay on its territory.

It does not prohibit visiting other countries of the European Union or the Schengen Agreement, but it has other goals.

Category D visas are usually issued to students, participants of cultural exchange programs, work and humanitarian visas also have this category.

The main difference from tourist visas lies in the duration of the authorized stay on the territory of the country that issued such a visa.

It can be 180 or even 365 days.

Multischengen usually allows you to stay on the territory of the European Union for no more than 90 days out of 180, even if such a visa is issued for a period of one year or more.

Category D also includes humanitarian visas, which after the events of 2020, the authorities of Poland and Lithuania began to issue mass visas to Belarusians.

At the moment, this is the only type of visa that citizens of Belarus can get at the embassies of the mentioned countries.

Are they allowed to enter Lithuania with a Polish national visa of category D and vice versa?

They let

However, border guards have the right to clarify the purpose of the visit and ask about the further route.

As a rule, it is enough to inform that the final destination of your trip is the country that issued the national visa of category D. At the same time, the Polish national visa allows you to legally stay in the territory of another EU country for 90 days, including in Lithuania.

In practice, Lithuanian and Polish border guards often let Belarusian citizens with category D humanitarian visas pass without further clarification.

Questions may arise for D work visa holders who, in addition to the visa, must also have a copy of the employment contract, but for some reason cannot show it.

How do private carriers respond to D visas?

As Svaboda learned, private carriers do not yet limit the boarding of passengers on their buses who have national visas of category D. Drivers and stewards have the right to ask to show a valid visa, as well as to verify passport data, however, on the bus to Vilnius with a Polish visa you will be arrested.

"Our company accepts such passengers for boarding," said the Belarusian representative office of the major carrier Ecolines.

- There are no restrictions yet, it is necessary to have a valid passport and a visa of a country of the European Union.

The same is said by other private transporters who take people from the cities of Belarus to the countries of the European Union, mainly to Lithuania and Poland.

Restrictions have been imposed so far only by state-owned companies.

As an employee of the tourist sphere told Svaboda, the restriction imposed by "Minsktrans" is rather a way to avoid additional delays at the border related to passenger checks.

The price of a trip from Minsk to Vilnius remains relatively high, you need to pay about 31-35 euros for a ticket.

The trip from Vilnius to Warsaw, which is three times longer in terms of kilometers, costs about 20-25 euros.