Lukashenko bans issuance of Belarusian passports abroad

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree prohibiting the country's diplomatic institutions abroad from issuing, renewing and changing Belarusian passports to citizens.

The decree is published on the website of the Belarusian President, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the document, Belarusians will be able to get or change a passport only in the internal affairs bodies at the place of last registration. The decree will come into force from the moment of publication on the National Legal Internet Portal of Belarus. The government is expected to take no more than three months to implement the decree.

On December 14, Belarusian Parliament adopted a bill, which proposes to deprive Belarusian citizenship by birth for extremist activities and causing serious harm to the interests of the state. Earlier this year, the law was signed by Alexander Lukashenko.