Belarus: Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 1498 of 1999 on Approval of Provision on Refugee Certificate (repealed)

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus of 16 June, 1999 "On Introduction of Amendments and Addenda to the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Refugees", the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus RESOLVES that:

1.   the attached Provision on Refugee Certificate shall be approved.

2.   the Ministry of Labor shall approve:

the form of Refugee Certificate;

instruction on the order of issuance and exchange of the Refugee Certificate;

instruction on the order of control and storage of forms of certificates of refugee;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus

S. Ling

APPROVED

Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus

28 September, 1999, No. 1498

PROVISION On Refugee Certificate

1.         Refugee Certificate (hereinafter – Certificate) is the main document identifying the personality of the foreign citizen or person without citizenship (hereinafter – foreigner) who has been recognized as refugee in the Republic of Belarus in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Refugees".

The Certificate serves as basis for registering the foreigner recognized as refugee and his/her family members by agencies of the interior at his/her place of residence and for obtaining  residence permit for the time of recognition as refugee.

2.         The Certificate shall be issued to a foreigner who has been recognized as refugee and who has reached the age of sixteen years.

Information about members of family of the foreigner who has been recognized as refugee and who have not reached the age of sixteen years shall be recorded in the Certificate of either one of the parents, in case of absence of parents – in the Certificate of their legal representative or in the Certificate of a member of their family who has reached the age of eighteen years and who has voluntarily undertaken the responsibility for behavior, upbringing and support of his/her family members who have not reached the age of eighteen years.

3.         The Certificate shall be prepared by the Committee on Migration of the Ministry of Labor based on its decision on recognition of the foreigner as refugee and [the Certificate] shall be forwarded to regional migration agencies for issuance to the refugee.

4.         The Certificate shall be issued in exchange for the Temporary Certificate or Registration of Application, national (civil) passport and/or other identification documents of the foreigner who has been recognized as refugee.  These documents shall be kept in the regional migration agency for the time of recognition of this foreigner as refugee.

5.         The time of validity of the Certificate shall be established as equal to the time of recognition of this foreigner as refugee and it shall be extended by the regional migration agency according to the extension of the time of recognition of this foreigner as refugee in agreement with the Committee on Migration of the Ministry of Labor for each successive five years.

The refugee shall pass in established terms annual re-registration at the regional migration agency. Re-registration shall be recorded in the Certificate.

6.         The Certificate shall be exchanged in the following cases:

change of the holder's last, first or middle names; discovery of inaccuracies or errors recorded in the Certificate; unfitness for further use;

impossibility of entering records due to lack of space on required pages of the Certificate.

7.         The refugee shall take proper care of the Certificate.  He/she shall immediately notify the regional migration agency as well as agency of the interior at the place of its registration or at his/her permanent place of residence.

In case of loss of the Certificate, a duplicate Certificate shall be issued.

8.         The decision on exchange and issuance of duplicate Certificate shall be made by the Committee on Migration of the Ministry of Labor at request of the regional migration agency and based on the refugee's written request.

9.         The refugee shall be liable for passing the certificate on to another person, for forging and for using a forged certificate in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

10.       The Certificate shall be returned to the regional migration agency or to the Committee on Migration of the Ministry of Labor in the following cases:

loss or deprivation of refugee status;

death of Certificate recipient;

The Certificate returned to the regional migration agency shall be forwarded to the Committee on Migration of the Ministry of Labor.