3.1.2. Border control upon return

Security agencies conduct systematic and routine checks of mobile phones at border crossings314 and check and detain individuals returning from abroad.315 Upon crossing the border from Lithuania or Poland, individuals are reportedly subjected to brief interrogations.316 The checks on border crossings target links to organisations designated as extremists – including through donations to funds classified as extremist317– as well as signs of support for anti-government activities,318 including following independent media outlets,319 participation in demonstrations abroad, and expressing support of Ukraine.320

Border guards routinely check individuals who have been abroad for more than six months, as well as those holding foreign residence permits or having travelled to Ukraine321 and Ukrainian nationals entering Belarus.322 The checks can take place at any border point, including airports. However, in practice, most returns occur through land borders due to the lack of direct air connections with most of the European countries.323 In January 2026, Viasna reported on the increase in checks at the border.324

At border crossings, authorities reportedly employ specialised software to extract and analyse data from travellers’ devices as well as ‘interconnected Telegram bots’ to extract detailed personal information. Furthermore, individuals documented in the Besporiadki database, which logs individuals convicted in criminal or administrative proceedings related to protest activity, are subjected to mandatory, intensified screenings, such as ‘deep-level searchers’ and ‘exhaustive interrogations’ every time they cross the border.325

According to a human rights specialist, individuals linked to anti-government activities of opposition face a ‘real risk of arrest and imprisonment’. The source described the assessment by the authorities as largely arbitrary.326 Where content considered as extremist is identified, individuals may be detained immediately after interrogation327 and placed in temporary detention facilities in border towns and subjected to fines or administrative arrest, with criminal proceedings initiated in some cases.328 Individuals might be also obliged to appear at a police station at a place of their registration in the country, where they may be detained and placed on the list of persons who are prohibited from leaving Belarus. This list is not public, but a person can check this information about themselves329 in the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.330

As reported by Viasna, at least 55 individuals were detained upon return to Belarus in the period between January and September 2024: while some of them faced administrative penalties, 17 of those detained were charged with criminal offenses.331 In one case described by the Human Rights Watch in May 2025, a businessman with past links to an opposition candidate in the 2020 elections, who left Belarus due to threats from the authorities, was repeatedly questioned, had his phone scanned, and was threatened with arrest by border guards and KGB officers during his short visits to the country.332 In December 2025, independent outlet BG. Media reported on large-scale checks, mobile phone inspections, and interrogations at the Polish-Belarusian border which affected students, individuals holding foreign residence permits, and people who had not visited Belarus for an extended period of time.333

Some travellers choose to travel to Russia first and to cross Belarus from Russia, since border checks on Russia-Belarus border were previously less strict. However, by early 2026, this route has become less safe, as Belarusian border guards started conducting checks on this border as well, subjecting persons to interrogations, including about their voting history, participation in past protests, and attitude toward the war in Ukraine.334 Consequently, arrests have also been reported at the Belarusian-Russian border.335