Foreigners arriving in a foreign country should always pay attention to the rights and obligations that they will have in connection with such a move, as well as responsibility for violating certain legal norms, because knowing your rights in advance will help to avoid irreparable mistakes in the future.
The term deportation is determined by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus. It is understood as an administrative penalty, in which the expulsion of a foreign citizen or stateless person from the country's borders takes place.
Deportation takes place upon loss or termination of the legal basis for the subject to stay or reside in the Republic of Belarus. The loss of the right to stay in Belarus is often associated with the commission of an administrative offense by a foreigner. Deportation is used as a main or additional measure of influence in case of violation of some articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO), for example, illegal border crossing, violation of the law on the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons and others.
The decision to apply deportation is made by the border service, internal affairs bodies, the State Security Committee or the court.
After the adoption of the decision on deportation, a foreign citizen will be deported to one of such states as:
in which the alien has citizenship;
in which he constantly lived until his arrival in Belarus;
from which the visit to Belarus was made;
who expressed a desire to accept a foreign citizen or stateless person;
the applicant for his extradition;
with whom the Republic of Belarus signed a readmission agreement.
Deportation is voluntary or forced. Voluntary deportation is appointed at the request of the person who has been imposed such an administrative penalty, if the competent authorities have no doubt that the subject will leave the country within the prescribed period.
A person who will leave Belarus on a voluntary basis and at the expense of personal funds can independently choose the state and the way of leaving the country.
After buying travel tickets, to leave Belarus, or to determine a different procedure for leaving the country, a foreign citizen is obliged to notify the authority three days before the date of departure that the decision was made to execute the deportation decision on a voluntary basis.
A similar definition with deportation has expulsion. It is used to ensure the national security of the country, public order, protection of morality, rights and freedoms, as well as the health of other people. Expulsion, along with deportation, is a method of expelling foreign citizens or persons from the Republic of Belarus.
Expulsion is applied when a person commits administrative offenses, as well as when leaving a prison, if deportation is not possible.
In the case when deportation or expulsion is applied to a person, the issue of the term of the prohibition of entry into the Republic of Belarus is also resolved.
A ban on entry is not a permit to enter Belarus for a certain period of time, indicating the exact date that such a ban is in effect. You can get a ban on entry without even knowing it, but only at the border at the next entrance to the Republic of Belarus. A ban can be obtained for committing administrative offenses, for example, violation of traffic rules, violation of public order, hooliganism and so on.
The time period for making a person on the list of people who are prohibited from entering the Republic of Belarus is determined by the circumstances that became the basis for making a decision on deportation or expulsion, as well as on the basis of information characterizing the subject and his activities during his stay in Belarus. This prohibition may last from six months to 5 years, and upon expulsion - up to 10 years.
What to do in case of a ban on entry? The first thing you need to start with is to find out for what reasons a citizen cannot get into the territory of the Republic of Belarus. This may be an unexpunged criminal record, an error related to writing his name in the base at customs, a disease that prevents entry, or others. These reasons must be clarified in order to proceed with the appeal of the entry ban. The current legislation provides for 2 options for lifting the entry ban.
The first is the administrative procedure, when it is necessary to apply to the body that imposed the ban stating that you should be excluded from the database of banned persons from entering the Republic of Belarus. After all, this may be a mistake made by a state body in compiling this base.
The second solution to the problem is a statement of claim to lift the ban on entry as part of the process of the case. When preparing a statement of claim, it is necessary to determine the defendant. They in such cases will be the body that directly imposed the ban. It is also very important to pay attention that, according to the legislation, it is impossible to arrive in the territory of the Republic of Belarus with the current entry ban, therefore, representation in such a claim is possible through a representative. A representative in this category of cases can only be a lawyer with a higher legal education. In order for the decision in the case to be positive, it is necessary to take into account and collect all the circumstances that are in your favor and can help the judge determine the evidence as admissible, relevant and sufficient to satisfy your claim. The courts, when considering your claim, will consider the home you are planning to move into, marital status, employment, and so on.
If the matter nevertheless comes to making a decision on the application of deportation, then in this case the suspension of the execution of such a determination is possible. This occurs in the following situations:
The person applied to the court for refugee status, additional protection or asylum. Suspension takes place before a decision is made on this application and the deadline for appealing the decision is expired;
When a person is being recognized in relation to a person or a citizen is a witness in such a case. If there is a petition from the internal affairs body, it is suspended until the end of identification or until a verdict is passed in a criminal case on trafficking in persons;
If the alien is a criminal suspect or accused. The term of suspension is until the termination of the criminal prosecution.
It happens that the law provides for the cessation of deportation. The execution of the deportation order is terminated by the court or the authority that issued the decision if the foreigner cannot be expelled from the Republic of Belarus; subject sentenced to imprisonment; the foreign citizen has died; the wrongfulness of an alien’s act is no longer subject to liability; the deportation order has been canceled; the person has been granted asylum, refugee status or other additional protection in the Republic of Belarus.
It should also be remembered that the court or the body conducting the administrative process may delay the execution of the decision on deportation until six months on its own initiative or at the request of a foreigner.
In case of disagreement with the decision on deportation, a foreign citizen or a stateless person has the right to file a complaint against the decision in this case. Such a complaint shall be sent to the place where the appealed decision was directly issued. For example, in court, law enforcement bodies, the State Security Committee and so on. The details of the relevant complaint shall indicate the name and address of a higher court or authority over the one that conducted the administrative process.
The appeal procedure against the deportation order differs from other administrative appeals in that the complaint in the case in question can be filed only within 5 days from the day the decision was announced. Such a complaint is considered within 3 business days from the date of filing.
If the appeal period is missed for good reason, it can be restored by filing a petition with the court or the official who will consider the complaint. An application may not be granted if there is no good reason to consider the reason for missing the term valid and sufficient.
The following information must be indicated in the complaint text:
The heading indicates personal data: full name, place of residence or location and procedural status in the case of the foreign citizen filing the complaint, as well as addressee data;
Data from the decision that is being appealed (date, number, authority that issued the decision, circumstances of the case);
All information and motivation in your favor that will help cancel the decision.
The complaint should be written in a consistent, understandable and consistent manner with respect to the case file.
If the complaint is filed by a lawyer or other representative, then a document confirming their authority is attached to it.
From the whole article, we can conclude that deportation is an unpleasant process that entails not only expulsion from the country, but also the prohibition of entry back for a long period, therefore you should carefully consider the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, and if there are sufficient and serious reasons to stay try to competently appeal the decision and regain the opportunity legally located in the country.
Allford Group Law Office, TAX № 805090430 All advocates of Allford Group Law Office carry out their activity within the Law Office which is a part of Minsk regional bar association.
