As scheduled, the TLScontact visa application centre in Minsk closed its doors on 30 June 2026, ending its contract with the Italian Embassy. A notice on the centre’s website reminds applicants that uncollected passports have been transferred to the embassy and that online accounts will be deactivated. From 1 July a new—yet unnamed—service provider will take over appointments for Schengen and national visas to Italy. Applicants with ‘Live Queue’ numbers higher than 35 884 must wait for new instructions. The switch forms part of the embassy’s tender to improve biometric capture and reduce wait times that last year reached six months during peak season. Practical tips: Companies arranging business travel from Belarus should factor in a temporary pause in appointment availability. All supporting documents must now be submitted directly to the embassy, and courier return of passports is suspended until the new provider reinstates the service. Data protection: TLScontact confirmed that all applicant data have been handed to the embassy and deleted from its own systems in line with EU GDPR requirements.
Source: TLScontact
