Guidance

Belarus: notarial and documentary services

Documents and certificates available at the British Embassy in Minsk.

The British Embassy Minsk temporarily suspends notarial services due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until further notice.

The British Embassy in Minsk can provide a range of documentary services for British nationals in Belarus. Where local notaries can provide services, the British Embassy will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.

You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an appointment. A member of staff will contact you to confirm your appointment.

Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Belarus, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in Belarus

Consular staff in Belarus can:

  • administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
  • make a certified copy of a British passport, driving licences, divorce decrees
  • prepare a limited range of letters and informative notes to 3rd parties in English or Russian/Belarusian

What to bring to your appointment

See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of identity, and payment for any fees.

Payment

We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard or cash in US dollars on the day of the appointment.

Proof of identity

For all appointments for documentary services you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity. We accept passports as proof of identity.

Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit

This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer. The Embassy will not draft documents for you. You may have to get the document drawn up or checked by a professional.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
  • the correct fee
  • proof of identity

Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit in Minsk

Your marriage or civil partnership should be recognised in the UK if you follow the correct process according to local law. Contact the local authorities in Belarus to find out what you need to do to get married. Belarusian Registry offices, ZAGs, now accept the Affidavit/Affirmation sworn before a British Embassy in Minsk Consular official, which substitute a Certificate of No Impediment.

Please make sure that you certify the signature of a British Embassy in Minsk Consular official with the MFA, Consular Department, located at 37a Karl Marx Street, Minsk, before you submit the document to the local registry office. Please note that the affidavit/affirmation cannot be signed by the notary public of Belarus.

If the affidavit/affirmation is issued by the British Embassy/Consulate in any other country apart from Belarus then the procedure should be the following: The British Embassy/Consulate issues the affidavit/affirmation. Then the British Consular Officer’s signature should be certified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country it has been issued in and then by the Belarusian Embassy/Consulate in this country.

The affidavit/affirmation can be received in the UK and signed by the UK notary public. In this case you should receive an Apostille for this document in the UK for it to be recognised in Belarus.

For information about documents relating to marriage, see getting married abroad.

Make a certified copy of a document

This service is for British nationals who need certified photocopies of the following documents:

  • British passports
  • British driving licences
  • British divorce decrees
  • UK educational documents (only those that have been issued in the UK by a recognised institution)

Please note that if you would like a certified copy so that it can be legalised in the UK you will need to get a copy certified by a UK notary public or solicitor.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • the document that you need a certified copy of
  • the correct fee
  • proof of identity/address

We will not provide certified photocopies of:

  • British marriage, birth and death certificates. You should apply to the General Register Office for copies of these documents
  • non-UK documents including ID documents, passports and driving licences

Book an appointment to make a certified copy in Minsk

Prepare a document in English or the local language

This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our standard letters. In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.

We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it.

We can prepare these documents in English or in the local language. Please ensure you select the correct service and note the difference in fees.

What you will need to bring with you:

  • original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the consulate
  • the correct fee
  • proof of identity

Please contact the Embassy before making an appointment.

Book an appointment to prepare a document in English in Minsk

Book an appointment to prepare a document in another language in Minsk

Download information notes

We have produced the following information notes (also known as standard letters) that you can download free of charge to present to local authorities:

Services provided elsewhere

We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.

UK birth and death registrations in Belarus have been transferred from the British Embassy in Minsk to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in the UK. There are no changes to the entitlement to register a birth or death. The processing time will remain the same. However, you will now need to allow extra time for the documents to be sent to and from the UK. See Register a birth or Register a death for further information.

List of translators/interpreters

A list of English speaking translators/interpreters who may be able to help you with notarial service and translation service. Please note that inclusion in this list does not constitute official endorsement by the British Embassy or the UK government.

Data protection

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.

Disclaimer

This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy / consulate will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.

Published 18 March 2015
Last updated 30 March 2020 + show all updates
  1. Coronavirus update

  2. Notarial and Documentry Services

  3. Update

  4. Information/Generic notes adding

  5. New notarial services August 2017

  6. Option to pay by card added

  7. First published.