I entered Belarus, the last dictatorship in Europe after 92 days in the Schengen zone, meaning a two days overstay which immigration ‘overlooked upon’ exit. No worries, I’ll go to Ukraine afterwards with a shiny visa I’d get in Minsk and forget about the whole overstay thing.
A couple embassy visits later, I wasn’t going to be getting a Ukrainian visa; multiple (non-official) people said it was due to the beard – not going down that rabbit hole…time to evaluate the options.
- Fly to a non-Schengen country
- Fly to a Schengen country
- Enter Russia (non-Schengen) overland
- Enter the Schengen zone overland
Meditation solves all problems right?
Option 1: Flights out of Minsk are expensive, minimum 130€ for a flight to a non-Schengen country. Not a good option for my tight budget.
Option 2: I should get turned away at immigration due to being over the 90 day limit already. Not ideal and would not want to deal with that given the option 1 would be the next alternative.
Option 3: They aren’t giving Russian visas to foreigners from the embassy in Minsk at the time of writing. No deal.
Option 4: Take the train ‘illegally’ from the border Brest to Terespol, Poland and then fly to Georgia. The budget-friendly option. I sent out a plea on Facebook enquiring: “What happens if I leave Belarus but am not allowed in Poland, and am in no man’s land?”.
I chose option four.
No one could give me a firm answer for this situation, not even Wikipedia! I was taking a slight risk. Would I become Edward Snowden’s apprentice? If you’re looking for more information, this post has good information if you are not sure what to do when you have overstayed your visa.
Do note, it is possible to visit Europe with a criminal record so it’s not exactly the end of the world if you’ve overstayed your visa in most situations or want to come into Europe despite some past mistakes.
The Border Town of Brest
My train of thought: this particular border near Brest,(Belarus isn’t a major tourist destination) is seldom crossed in a situation like mine so it’s safe to bet on them not even considering the legalities of it all.
September 22nd was BC day (border crossing day), allowing me enough time to figure out an alternative route if denied at the border (Belarus visa was valid until September 30th).
The train from Brest to Terespol is only 20 minutes, so with an extra 20 minutes either side of that for immigration stuff the whole ordeal would be over in an hour.
Train No. 120, be good to me!
I bought my ticket after leaving Good Morning Hostel, and headed towards immigration a few metres away. This was the easy part, leaving Belarus – so I thought. With a lack of communication, it was soon pointed out I should have left Belarus on September 18th, not September 30th like stated on my visa. Um what?
When you cross into Belarus, you’re given a piece of paper from immigration that you need to get registered within five days of arriving (if staying in the country longer than three days). I got my registration sorted after a few failed attempts, and confirmed to the registration lady I’d leave on the 29th or 30th. For some reason she wrote the 18th!
Note: Always check your paperwork.
The immigration lady chatted to her boss man, who came over. After switching his gaze between my passport and I, eventually signaling to the lady to let me go (no repercussion). Yay! Step one complete.
One of the many trains of the day
As I walked onto the train everyone looked at the random bearded guy with a backpack. I sat down and didn’t really sit still. Before I knew it, it was time to join the next immigration queue.
I was 5th in line at the immigration queue, feeling bad for the people queueing up behind the silly backpacker. Not bad enough to go to the back of the line.
The immigration boss seemed harmless, early – mid thirties, a head full of hair. Seemed like a relaxed fella. Handing over my passport, he flicked through the pages. Probably checking for a previous EU entrance stamp, hidden away in the top left of page 40.
After a few more looks through the passport, I think given my passport having a few visas/stamps worked in my favour. He stamped me through and I proceeded to go buy a coke while waiting for the next train to Warsaw.
Never been so glad to be in a train station (Terespol)
Success!
I made it into Poland successfully after a wonderful time in Belarus. It is somewhat common to overstay the Schengen visa yet there’s no set rules about how you’ll be treated. Personally, not wanting to suffer a huge fine on a tight budget I’m due to fly to Georgia on September 28th, making it a total overstay of eight days. Given Poland let me in, hopefully they will let me leave with no harm done. Fingers crossed!
Update: No issues at all.
Hi.. Im from Bangladesh.. I’ll come Belarus 25 august in student visa for 1 year… Can i go any Europe union county like Poland,lithuania etc ?? Plz reply my comments
Hi Reza,
According tho this page, you will likely need a visa to visit the Schengen zone http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/who-needs-schengen-visa/ (note, I’m not qualified to give visa advice)
Hi jub iam sevar from iraq. I want to get from belarus to germany is there any checkpoint if i go by my car or is there any other ways
Hey Sevar, there is an official border cross between Belarus and Germany
I’d advise you look on a map for that one.
Obviously Germany and Belarus don’t border one another, but there is a border crossing to pass from Belarus to Poland/Germany 😉
Hi. I and my family pass than Russian and arrived to Belarus. But we have not visa. And we will go to Germany. But I don’t know which way is safe. If you want help me.
Hi Reza,
I’m not sure which passport you hold, but given Poland is in the EU, as long as you are allowed int Germany you will be allowed into Poland. As far as I’m aware, there are no dangerous land route crossing over from Belarus to Poland, so which ever is quickest/cheapest will work for oyou 🙂
Hi Job.
We have Iranian passports. I am looking for one person help us. Because I don’t know safe borders Belarus to Poland if pass.
We are family with 2 children’s. My problem is when crossing than border,what doing Poland & Belarus police with us.
Hi Mr Job. I hope, you always good time. If possible for you answer me. Thanks
we are also thinking to cross belarus poland border, if you found any solution pls tell me.thank you
I want to go brest to poland illegal through. Train plz tell how can i go i have 150 us dollar and i agree tp pay
I cannot help you Fsisal. There is no way for me to get you across the border, nor should you try unless you have valid visas.
Hi jub
i am sudhir from india.is there need visa to enter from belarus to poland??
Hi Sudhue, you will need to check what the Schengen visa rules are for Indian passport holders.
Mr. Jub, Kindly respond to the previously asked questions…
Your info and guide would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
HI King,
Which question are you wanting answered?
hi, iam from bangladesh now stay in Belarus.. how can I go Poland
Hi Fahim,
You’ll need to visit the Polish embassy in Minsk to get the latest information.
You can see their page here: https://poland.visahq.com/embassy/belarus/
Cheers
Am a Nigerian I stay in Russia can go to belarus for a land tour or Poland. Kindly reply me thanks
Hi Fahim, I’m not qualified to answer. Please check embassy websites.
Hi Mr jub
I am from nepal and I came here to read Russian language in Belarus and I have 1 year visa but I want to inter schengen country like Poland or other so u say that from brest to trepsol I good way to inter Poland in that time does police check or not
Hi Rajiv, by police, I assume you mean immigration? If so, yes, they will check. Didn’t see any police though. As long as you have the right visas, you’ll be able to cross easily. Good luck.
How can we get Poland visa like tourist visa from Belarus to cross legally
hi jub how can i cross the border thhough the train pla help me
Hi Daniel,
As per the post, simply turn up at the station and buy a ticket. Email me at jub (at) tikitouringkiwi (dot) com if you have specific questions.
hi sir,
i am from Pakistan and have belarus busines visa.i want to cross lithuania border.so how its possible
Hi Imran,
I’m not sure of the Pakistani visa requirements for Lithuania entry. Best to check out the relevant embassy site.
Hi I have Ukraine tourist visa along with my family and I want to enter Poland illegally because I have 3 children’s in my family can suggested me the save way I have money to pay someone who help us like 5 thousands US dollars.
Hi David,
I’d recommend going through official channels. I cannot be of help.
Hello, I am Indian and I will be in belarus or Ukraine on tourist visa … how can I enter Poland illegally … will I able to reach safely to Poland ? Is there any agency who can take money and help me … reply me thank you
Hi Harish,
Follow the embassy websites and enter legally with appropriate visas.
Cheers
Hello,is there any means to enter any schengen country from Belarus through water or sea?
Belarus is definitely land locked Yanick 🙂
hi jub
if I come belarus by student visa and than I want to go in polland.is it possible??
Hi Rezaul, I have no idea where you’re from or what the visa status for entering POland is for you. You need to research yourself. Cheers
hello Jub i hope ur good..umm axually am moving to minsk in january for work,i have a contract for 2 years..i am tunisian cityzen but i would like to move to poland exactly maybe 300km away from Brest
my question is “is it legal that i can move to poland” and second if not legal,ther is any solutions ?
thyank u verry much and best regards
Hey Mehdi,
I’m not sure of any of the legalities for Tunisians. Embassies and Govt agencies are the best bet.
Good luck. Cheers,Jub
Hi jub ..
Im from kurdstan iraq
if icome to belarus and then can i going to germany by crossing border illegally
And how ??
Hi Paiwast, as annoying as borders are. Cross them legally, it’s for the best. I have no idea how to do it illegally. Cheers, Jub
Hello Jub, I want to enter Belarus but I have no documents. I ran away for my life safety through the high sea from Libya. How do I go about it?.
Hi Onui,
I have zero idea. Sorry. Talk to official agencies, and good luck. Cheers, Jub
Why so many people asking about illegal entry to Poland? It is not possible and you can be fined and imprisoned. Search google some Indians are caught this way and they are behind bars now.
Hey Ishtiaq, it’s bamboozling me too lol. They may be just be random lines drawn on a map, but we do have to respect them! Cheers, Jub
I think we should not go illegally because, in the end, we end up getting caught and goes behind the bars, I am also planning to move to Europe but right now I don’t have money for that.
Hey Robert,
You’re probably right 🙂 And rule breakers are not ideal right! Where are you living currently?
Jub