Language
Overview
The official languages are Belarusian and Russian, along with Ukrainian, Polish and other ethnic minority languages.
Public Holidays
01/01/2022 New Year
01/07/2022 Orthodox Christmas holiday
03/08/2022 International Women’s Day
03/15/2022 Constitution Day
04/24/2022 Orthodox Easter Sunday
05/01/2022 Labor Day
05/09/2022 day of the victory
07/03/2022 Independence Day
11/02/2022 Dziady (Remembrance Day)
Source: Top-mba-universities.com
Duty free shopping
Overview
The following items can be imported duty-free into Belarus in hand luggage (persons aged 18 and over): 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco products/tobacco; 3 liters of alcoholic beverages or wine; perfume for personal use; Other goods for personal use up to a value of €500 and a total weight of up to 25 kg (by land) or up to a value of €10,000 and a total weight of up to 50 kg (by air). Attention: If you enter Belarus by land more than once within three months, you may only import 20 kg of luggage with a value of €300 duty-free.
Import regulations
Valuables should be declared and the declaration form should be kept well for departure. More information is available from Countryaah.com.
Prohibited Imports
Weapons, ammunition, military equipment, drugs, poisons, psychotropic drugs, narcotics, radioactive and explosive substances, immoral or subversive media directed against Belarus (especially photos and printed matter), beef and beef products. The embassies provide further information. More information is available from Belarusian Customs.
Contact addresses
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
Consulate General in Munich, honorary consulates in Cottbus, Hamburg and Leipzig.
Am Treptower Park 32
Berlin
Germany
+49 (0)30 536 35 90. Consular Dept.: +49 (0)30 53 63 59 36.
http://germany.mfa.gov.by/de
http://germany.mfa.gov.by/de
Consular Dept.: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 09.00-12.00. Telephone inquiries: Mon-Fri 2-4 p.m.
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
Hüttelbergstrasse 6
Vienna
Austria
+43 (0)1 419 96 30 11. Consular Dept.: +43 (0)1 419 96 30 21.
http://austria.mfa.gov.by/de
http:// austria.mfa.gov.by/de
Mon-Fri 08.30-12.30 and 13.30-17.30. Consular department: Tues, Thurs, Fri 09.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.; Telephone enquiries: Mon, Wed 08.30-12.30 and 13.30-17.30 and Tue, Thu, Fri 13.30-17.30.
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
Quartierweg 6
Muri/Bern
Switzerland
+41 (0)31 952 79 14. Consular Dept.: +41 (0)31 952 76 81.
http://switzerland.mfa.gov.by/de
http:// switzerland.mfa.gov.by/de
Mon-Fri 08.00-12.30 and 14.00-17.30. Consular department: Mon, Tue, Thu 09.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.00. Telephone enquiries: Mon, Tue, Thu 08.30-10.00 a.m. and Wed, Fri 09.00-12.00 a.m.
Consulate General of the Republic of Belarus
Schwanseestraße 91 a
Munich
Germany
+49 (0)89 649 57 03 19.
http://germany.mfa.gov.by/de/muenchen
http://germany.mfa.gov.by/de/muenchen
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tel. inquiries Mon-Fri 2-5 p.m.
Business
Business etiquette
Formal dress and punctuality are expected. English, and sometimes also German, is the business language, especially in management. Agreed appointments should be confirmed, business cards should be printed in Russian and German or English. Negotiations are lengthy.
Opening hours
Business hours: Mon-Fri 09.00-18.00.
Business contacts
Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations Breite Straße 29, 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel. +49(0)30 206 16 71 13. Website: www.ostausschuss.de Austrian Chamber of Commerce (Foreign trade in Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe/Central Asia) Wiedner Hauptstraße 63 Tel. +43(0)1 59 09 00 43 22. Website: www.wko.at Joint Chamber of Commerce (JCC) c/o DPS Communications GmbH, Kasernenstrasse 11, 8004 Zurich, Switzerland Tel. +41 (0 )44 226 90 61. Website: www.jointchambers.ch Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Belarus Communisticheskaya Street 11, 220029 Minsk, Belarus Tel. +375 (0)17 290 72 49. Website: www.cci.by
Communication
Phone
Direct dial to all cities, including Minsk (017) and Brest (0162). For international international calls, first dial 8, wait for the dial tone, then dial 10. Public telephones require calling cards, which are available from post offices and newsstands. Gray phone booths are for national calls, blue phone booths are for international calls. The national telephone company is called BelTelecom (Internet: www.beltelecom.by).
Mobile phone
GSM 900/1800. According to Abbreviationfinder.org, network operators are Velcom (Internet: www.velcom.by) and MTS (Internet: www.mts.by). The transmission/reception area is no longer limited to the big cities. Mobile phones can be rented at the airport (Belcel office) and in Minsk.
Internet
There are internet cafes in Minsk and other cities, and some post offices also offer internet access. The main providers are Belpak (website: www.belpak.by) and Atlant-Telekom (website: www.telecom.by). Mobile surfing on the Internet is made possible, among other things, by the chargeable Goodspeed Wi-Fi hotspots (Internet: goodspeed.io/de). Information about free hotspots can be found at www.hotspotlocations.com.
Post office
Airmail to Western Europe takes over 10 days. Larger hotels accept poste restante shipments. The Main Post Office in Minsk (Skoriny 10; opening hours: 08.00-20.00) and the Yubileynaya and Planeta hotels in Minsk provide express mail services. DHL Worldwide Express and Federal Express also have offices in Minsk.
Radio
Since the use of shortwave frequencies changes several times over the course of a year, it is advisable to contact Deutsche Welle customer service directly for the current frequencies (Tel: (+49) (0228) 429 32 08. Internet: www.dw-world.de) to request.
