Get out!

An information for dissatisfied soldiers from Belarus

Ever thought about it?

Should we be recruited into the military to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine?

Why should I fight in another country that has not attacked us?

Why do we have to shoot at civilians?

Here you will find advice on what you can do.

If you leave the army....

Studying in Germany

If you have an admission to enter a university, you can try to start or continue your studies in Germany. An entitlement may exist if you have already studied for two or three semesters. If you are not yet studying, you must first check whether your school-leaving certificate is recognized. More information.

If the school-leaving certificate does not entitle the holder to take up a course of study in Germany, a Studienkolleg can first be attended. This is a preparatory course for university studies. Good German language skills and a successful entrance exam are required. More information.

The university itself decides which German language skills are required. As a rule, it corresponds to level B2 of the European Framework of Reference.

To start studying in Germany, you need to apply for a visa. For this you will also need proof of funding for your studies, about €10,000 per year (2022). More information.

If you want to apply to study at universities or colleges in Germany, you must apply to the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Foundation for University Admission), to the Arbeits- und Servicestelle für Internationale Studienbewerbungen (Work and Service Center for International Student Applications - uni-assist) or to the universities themselves. More information.

Asylum application in the European Union

You can apply for asylum in Poland, Finland, the Baltic States, Hungary and many other countries in Western Europe. To do so, you must go to a refugee reception centre in the respective country and register there. You will also give your personal data there. Data about your person and your travel route will be registered.

Please note that in Western Europe there is an agreement between the countries that the asylum application is handled where you are officially registered first. Therefore, if you apply for asylum, e.g. in Lithuania, Lithuania must also process the asylum application. If you still travel on to other Western European countries, you will be returned to the first country of reception to process the asylum application.

If you apply for asylum, after a few days you will have a hearing with an office from the relevant refugee reception centre. In this hearing, you will first be asked again about your travel route. After that, you will have the opportunity to state your reasons for applying for asylum. An important argument can be that you wanted to escape a war of aggression against another country. Since there are preparations for war on the part of Belarus, but the country has not participated directly in the war yet, it is very important that you make clear why you fear such a war participation. Describe as precisely as possible your reasons and what you have done to avoid being involved in the war.

It is also important that you can provide documents and identification if possible: Military identification badge, military ID, draft card, orders about your place of deployment, etc.

The reception of refugees differs depending on the country. However, you must assume that as an asylum seeker you will be housed in a reception centre with many other refugees and will also be required to live and reside there during the asylum process. Opportunities to work are severely limited. The asylum procedure itself can take several months, sometimes even years.

We recommend that, if possible, you contact counseling centres for refugees in the respective country before submitting your application. These counseling centres can also put you in touch with lawyers. Advice is also available from the Belarusian organization Nash Dom via info(at)nash-dom.info.

This is an initial briefing. We keep up-to-date information as well as further links at the central web address https://www.connection-ev.org/get.out.2022

Who we are: We are a coalition of organizations and individuals from Western Europe who want to support anyone who does not want to participate in the war effort.

For further questions you can contact us via
get.out.2022(at)gmx.de
+49 157 824 702 51 (in Russian language)

An information for recruits and soldiers from Belarus, published on 27.8.2022

Keywords:    ⇒ Belarus