How can a foreigner enter a Belarusian higher education establishment

Over 11.000 foreign students study in Belarus today. The top-3 countries which send their citizens to receive education in Belarus are Turkmenistan (about 5.000 people in 2011/2012), Russia (1.900 people) and China (1.300 people).

Do you want to become one of them? Follow this scheme:

Select a higher education establishment.

You can find the list of state and private higher education establishments on the web-site of the Ministry of Education. All necessary information about each of them, including the list of specializations, rules of admission, terms of payment, etc., can be found on the information portals www.interfax.by;

Send by fax with note “For dean’s office on work with foreign students”:

application with request to enter the higher education establishment with the indication of the faculty, specialty and specialization, educational form (day, extramural), full mailing address, e-mail or fax number for contact and receiving the invitation;

copies of the passport pages with personal information (with the indication of the name in Latin letters, passport number, its term of  validity, country) and their certified translation into Russian;

copies of documents about education (full, secondary, higher) and their certified translation into Russian.

Wait for the official invitation.

Apply (if necessary) to the Belarusian consulate with the request to issue an educational visa.

Come to Belarus to pass an official interview.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: foreign applicants which received an official invitation to pass an interview, should supply the following to the higher education establishment:

— the original of the certificate (document) on education and its notarized translation into Russian with the indication of the studied subjects and the marks (grades) received;

— the original and notarized copy of the birth certificate;

— medical certificate on the health status (absence of HIV diseases, tuberculosis, hepatitis) and the possibility to live in the climatic conditions of Belarus, its notarized translation into Russian;

— passport with educational visa to enter the Republic of Belarus;

— 10 photographs 4x6 cm.

If, following the results of the interview, you received marks from 4 to 10 points, you will have to learn and sign the rules of stay of foreign citizens in the Republic of Belarus. Sign a contract on education and pay before the start of education half (50%) of the amount for the first year of education, as well as settle a contract of medical insurance to receive emergency medical care with one of the state insurance companies. Moreover, before education one should pass an additional medical examination in the city students’ polyclinic (paid service: from USD 90 to USD 120).

All foreign citizens admitted for education should contact the education and methodics department of the higher education establishment to register the temporary stay and temporary residence on the territory of Belarus. The cost of registration of the temporary stay amounts to about USD 8, the temporary residence – about USD 40. The unavailability of registration is the violation of the law of the Republic of Belarus.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: education in Belarus is mostly in Russian. Some higher education establishments of the Republic of Belarus teach students in English. For example, in 2012 BSUIR carried out the enlistment of students in the foreign language in 5 specialties:

— “Telecommunication networks”

— “Information security in telecommunications”

— “Automated information processing systems”

— “Programming support of information technologies”

— “Engineering-psychological supporting of information technologies”

EAEU students are on special terms in Belarus

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus offers applicants from EAEU countries several ways of entering Belarusian higher education establishments.

It is necessary to submit to the admission committee certificates of centralized testing and, like for citizens of Belarus, to participate in the general contest for the entrance to the budget department or submit documents to the stipendiary department.

Citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan are offered to apply on terms provided for foreign citizens, following the results of the interview.