Belarusians abroad are offered to get an RR passport and earn money — a dubious scheme
Not only savvy truckers, but also other dealers are trying to take advantage of the benefits offered by the RR series passport.
What is the essence of the matter?
In Belarus, there is a procedure called official departure for permanent residence (P.M.Zh.) in another country. It is absolutely not mandatory, but it offers certain advantages and some disadvantages.
Previously, Belarusian citizens who officially departed for permanent residence in another country received a special RR series passport.
For the last few years, RR series passports have not been issued; instead, stamps are put in a regular passport indicating permanent consular registration, but colloquially this procedure is still referred to as obtaining an RR passport.
Official departure for permanent residence allows one to come to Belarus in a car with foreign registration as a foreigner — that is, without leaving a financial guarantee equal to the customs duty for importing this vehicle.
To Permanent Residence and Back to Belarus
But Belarusians can not only officially depart for permanent residence in another country but also return to their homeland.
A person who has officially departed for permanent residence abroad, upon returning to Belarus, can bring their property that they owned in another country without paying customs duty.
This list also includes cars. The main thing is that such a car or other vehicle must have been registered in the country where the person departed for permanent residence for at least six months before returning to Belarus.
Belarusian truckers took advantage of this loophole in the legislation, whose Lithuanian customs began to seize cars on suspicion of circumventing sanctions.
Moreover, the list of items that can be brought to Belarus without customs duty upon return from permanent residence is not limited to cars.
In addition to one passenger car, a foreigner moving to Belarus for permanent residence, or a Belarusian returning to their homeland, can bring a car trailer and a motorcycle without duty. But no more than one unit of each type of transport.
Illustrative photo. Photo: Nasha Niva
The list of goods is not limited to vehicles alone. Returning from permanent residence abroad, one can import other personal belongings without duty, including various household appliances.
In simple terms, a person can drive a car with foreign registration, take a trailer loaded with various equipment and other items, import all of this without paying customs duty, and the next day leave Belarus and enter on a motorcycle, which will also enter the country without duty.
Therefore, the savings on customs payments with such a set can amount to tens of thousands of euros.
For example, the full customs duty for a car with a three-liter engine that is already five years old is 15 thousand euros.
Illustrative photo. Photo: Nasha Niva
If you add an expensive motorcycle costing 10-15 thousand euros to the set, that's another 3200-4800 euros in customs duty savings. And there's also a trailer and other smaller items.
Instead of disabled people and large families, they are looking for RR passport holders
Because of this, some savvy dealers are starting to look for people who can help them pull off this scam.
A few days ago, a Belarusian truck driver blogger spoke about looking for people willing to earn money through this loophole. He suggested that there's a real opportunity to earn for those who have such a passport but lack money or simply the desire to buy and then sell a car themselves.
One of Nasha Niva's interlocutors said that he was offered to participate in a similar scheme last year.
How much do they pay?
A man who already holds an RR passport said that he was offered 5000 euros for participating in such a deal.
For this, he had to register a car and a motorcycle in his name. The interlocutor says that at least until the news about the seizure of cars by Lithuanian customs, the topic of importing cars without customs duty by obtaining an RR passport was very popular in trucking circles.
The man even heard about a reward of 10 thousand dollars, though he himself considers such an amount unlikely.
Illustrative photo. Photo: Nasha Niva
There is no established fixed rate, as in the case of customs clearance for cars for beneficiaries. Some are looking for those willing to pull off such an adventure for 2000 euros plus payment of all expenses for obtaining an RR passport.
At the same time, the interlocutor notes that it's not uncommon for those who "return" to Belarus, in addition to a car for themselves, to register a motorcycle or trailer for friends, relatives, and so on, for a fee. They also bring some used household appliances in the same manner.
One opportunity for a lifetime
Despite the relative simplicity and benefit, a person can use the privilege of importing their own property without paying customs duty only once. By selling this right to another, the person will no longer be able to do so if they truly need it at some point.
As for the popularity of this scheme, according to the observations of the trucker, most people who get an RR passport do so to be able to travel to Belarus in cars with European license plates.
Moreover, in the context of sanctions, having a car with European license plates removes any travel restrictions for Belarusians that apply to cars with Belarusian registration.
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