How to set up a correspondent office in Belarus

Correspondent Offices of a foreign media outlet may be opened, as decided by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.

To obtain permission to open a correspondent office, the head of a foreign media outlet shall send a letter to the Council of Ministers requesting to open a Correspondent Office (hereinafter referred to as Request) written on the official letterhead of such media outlet.

The letter shall be sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic or Consular Offices of Belarus in a relevant country.

The Request shall indicate:

· Purpose(s) of the opening of a Correspondent Office;

· Full title of the Foreign Media Outlet;

· Location, postal address of the editorial office of a foreign media outlet or legal entity that is authorized to be the editorial office of such foreign media outlet;

· Date of the governmental registration of the foreign media outlet;

· Where, when and who established this foreign media outlet, its ownership form;

· Specialization, circulation and frequency of the foreign media outlet output;

· Projected location of the Correspondent Office in Belarus;

· Persons authorized to conduct business on behalf of the Correspondent Office.

The following papers shall be attached to the Request:

· Code of Practices applicable in the correspondent office;

· Copies of the documents confirming the governmental registration of the foreign Media outlet.

The Request and Code of Practices for the correspondent office shall be set out in either official language of the Republic of Belarus.

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus shall decide whether to open a correspondent office.

Once the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus has decided to open a correspondent office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a certificate about the opening of correspondent office (hereinafter referred to as Certificate) signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his or her Deputy, registers and submits it to the person conducting business on behalf of the correspondent office within three months after the application has been received.

The Certificate shall indicate:

· Title of the foreign media outlet;

· Date of issue and registration number of the Certificate;

· Registration number and date of the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on the opening up of the Correspondent Office;

· Expiry dates of the Certificate.

The Certificate is valid from one to three years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall provide the Certificate to a person who is authorized to conduct business on behalf of the Correspondent Office, upon presentation of a document, confirming his or her authority to conduct business on behalf of the Correspondent Office issued by the foreign media outlet.

Opening a Correspondent Office may be denied in the event that:

· Documents are not submitted as provided in Paragraph 4 of the present Regulations;

· The request does not meet requirements as provided in Parts 1, 2 and 4 of Paragraph 4 of the present Regulations;

· Code of Practices for the correspondent office do not meet requirements as provided in Part 4 of Paragraph 4 of the present Regulations;

· The documents submitted contain deliberately erroneous details;

· Professional activities of the foreign media outlet contradict the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

In case the request is refused, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform the foreign media outlet about the refusal within 10 days indicating reasons for refusal.

The Correspondent Office shall be opened up within six months after the Council of Ministers took the relevant decision.

After the Correspondent Office is opened, it shall send samples of its stamp as well as information about its location, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, and bank account to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 10 days.

Failure to make use of its right to open a Correspondent Office within six months from the date of the decision by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus renders the Certificate bull and void.

The Certificate may be renewed. To this end, the head of the foreign media outlet shall, not later than two months before the expiry of the Certificate, send a letter to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the renewal of the Certificate along with Code of Practices applicable in the correcpondent office and copies of the documents confirming the governmental registration of the foreign Media outlet.

The renewal decision shall be taken by the Council Ministers of the Republic of Belarus within two months from the date of the application's receipt.

A decision to close a Correspondent Office may be taken by:

· Foreign media outlet;

· Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus as requested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in case of systematic violations (two or more times per year) of the media legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Our contact details at the Press Service are: ul.Lenina, 19, 220030, Minsk; tel. (00375 17) 327 5154; fax (00375 17) 210 42 51; e-mail:press@mfa.gov.by

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