Belarus closes its consulate in New York

The Consulate General of Belarus in New York will cease its work on October 21, 2021. This is stated on official website of the diplomatic mission.

The statement notes that this happened "at the request of the American side."

Citizens of Belarus residing in the territory of the New York consular district (including Canada), after closing, will be able to apply for consular actions in Embassy of Belarus in the USAlocated in Washington DC. Embassy address: 1619 New Hampshire Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 20009; phone: +1 202 986 16 06.

Citizens of Belarus who are permanently registered at the Consulate of New York will be transferred to permanent consular registration at the Embassy in Washington from November 1, 2021. Citizens of Belarus who have previously registered for a personal appointment at the consulate in New York until October 15, inclusive, will be able to apply for consular actions. After October 15, access to the office of the Consulate General will be terminated.

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Acceptance and processing of documents sent by mail will cease from October 8, and telephone consultations are also unavailable from that day. Documents received after October 8 will be handed over to the Belarusian embassy in Washington no earlier than November 1.

“In order to avoid the loss of postal items, we recommend refraining from sending documents to the address of the Consulate General and sending documents to the address of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States starting from November 1, 2021,” the diplomatic mission advises.

These steps came after the regime of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in August, in response to new US sanctions, demanded that Washington reduce the staff of its embassy in Minsk to five by September 1. In addition, from October 17, US citizens will have to obtain a visa to enter Belarus.