High Tech Park Admission for Foreign IT Companies in Belarus

HTP admission is open to companies conducting activities from the approved list under Decree No. 8, which covers software development, IT consulting, data processing, AI and machine learning, FinTech, gaming, and over 30 other high-technology categories. The key requirement is that qualifying activities must constitute the primary business of the Belarusian legal entity. We conduct an eligibility assessment at the outset of every engagement to confirm your product and revenue model aligns with the approved activity list before any documentation is prepared.

Yes. Only Belarusian legal entities can hold HTP resident status — foreign companies themselves are not eligible. A foreign investor must first register a subsidiary in Belarus, typically as a limited liability company (LLC), and appoint a local director with statutory executive authority. We manage the full incorporation process, including bank account opening and local representation, as a prerequisite to the HTP admission procedure.

The HTP Supervisory Board requires a structured business plan — typically no longer than 20 pages — covering your company’s activities, product description, target markets, revenue projections, R&D focus, headcount plan, and investment schedule. The document must demonstrate the innovative nature of the business and its contribution to the development of high technologies in Belarus. We prepare this document collaboratively with your team, pre-validating your business model against eligibility criteria and advising on revenue categorisation to maximise the 1% unified tax regime.

The HTP Supervisory Board convenes its admission committee on average once every three months, accumulating applications before each session. From the moment a completed dossier is submitted, the formal review period is up to one month. In practice, the total timeline from initial engagement to admission decision ranges from six weeks to four months, depending on the readiness of your documentation and the timing of the next committee session. We pre-validate your application in advance to ensure it is submission-ready before the next convening date.

HTP residents operate under a preferential fiscal regime valid until 2049. Key benefits include a unified quarterly tax of 1% of gross revenue derived from eligible activities — replacing corporate profit tax and VAT on qualifying income — 0% VAT on export of IT services and software, exemption from corporate profit tax on eligible activities, reduced dividend withholding tax of 9% for Belarusian shareholders and 5% or lower for foreign shareholders under applicable tax treaties, and payroll taxes calculated on the average national wage rather than actual salary, resulting in approximately 50% lower social contributions compared to standard entities.

Yes. HTP resident companies are exempt from the standard work permit requirement for foreign IT specialists, regardless of nationality or seniority. This exemption significantly reduces administrative burden when scaling international development teams from Belarus. We manage the notification procedures with the Citizenship and Migration Department to ensure compliant onboarding for all foreign employees.

Upon a positive decision, the company signs a resident agreement with the HTP Administration formalising the conditions of activity under the preferential regime. We assist with contract execution and onboarding to the HTP reporting ecosystem, which includes quarterly revenue declarations, annual audits, and ongoing notifications to the Supervisory Board Secretariat regarding any changes to business activities or corporate structure.

HTP admission is not a form-filling exercise — it requires substantive alignment of your business model with eligibility criteria, defensible documentation in bilingual format, and proactive engagement with the HTP Administration throughout the review cycle. Missteps in activity classification, business plan drafting, or statutory timing can result in resubmission requests, procedural delays, or denial of resident status. Our team has direct experience across software development, FinTech, AI, gaming, and other eligible sectors, and maintains an established working relationship with the HTP Administration.

To apply for HTP residency, you must submit a complete set of documents to the HTP Supervisory Board Secretariat, including:

1. Application form — a formal request for admission as an HTP resident.
2. Business plan — a structured document covering eligible activities, product description, target markets, revenue projections, headcount plan, and R&D focus, prepared in accordance with the form approved by the Belarusian Government.
3. Constituent documents — the company’s charter and certificate of state registration, with certified translations where required.
4. Information about the company’s founders and director — personal data and identification documents for key officers.
5. Description of planned IT activities — a clear explanation of how the company’s operations align with the list of activities permitted for HTP residents under Decree No. 8.

For newly established Belarusian subsidiaries of foreign companies, historical financial statements are not required. Financial projections are included within the business plan itself. Our specialists manage the full document preparation process, ensuring every submission meets the substantive and procedural requirements of the HTP Supervisory Board.