Visa policy of Azerbaijan

Visitors to Azerbaijan must obtain a visa from one of the Azerbaijani diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens eligible for an electronic visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an electronic visa.

All visitors must have a passport valid for at least 3 months.

Overview
The applicant's passport must be valid for at least 3 months longer than the expected validity period of the visa requested.

If the applicant's passport has less than 3 months remaining before the expiry date, the visa will not be issued.

All entrants who plan to stay for more than 15 days are required to register their location with the State Migration Service on arrival (except citizens of Kazakhstan, who are only required to register if they intend to stay more than 30 days).

Ordinary passports
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries may enter Azerbaijan without a visa for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted):

ID - May enter with an ID card in lieu of a passport. 1 - 30 days. 2 - 90 days within any 180 day period.

In addition, according to Timatic, nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro may enter Azerbaijan without a visa for a maximum stay of 90 days, while nationals of China and Malaysia may enter Azerbaijan without a visa for a maximum stay of 30 days, though nationals of China are limited to three visa-exempt entries. However, this is not supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, which does not list these nationals as being visa-exempt.

Non-ordinary passports


Holders of diplomatic, official, service or special passports of the following countries and territories may enter Azerbaijan without a visa for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted):

D - Diplomatic passports O - Official passports S - Service passports Sp - Special passports PA - Passports endorsed for "public affairs" 1 - 30 days 2 - 14 days 3 - Temporarily suspended.

Visa on arrival
Citizens of the following countries may obtain an electronic visa, valid for a maximum stay of 30 days, on arrival at any international airport:

The cost of an electronic visa on arrival is US$30, except for nationals of Japan, who are exempt from visa fees.

Citizens of the United States could formerly obtain a visa on arrival in Azerbaijan if arriving on a direct flight from New York City, valid for a maximum stay of 30 days. As of 2024, no airline operates direct flights between New York and Baku, so U.S citizens are not eligible to obtain a visa on arrival unless they meet another condition.

Conditional visa on arrival

 * Citizens with a residence visa issued by the United Arab Emirates may obtain a 30-day tourist visa on arrival in Azerbaijan. They must present their valid visa or residence permit along with their passport.
 * Citizens with a valid permanent residence card issued by any country of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may obtain a 30-day tourist visa on arrival. They must present their valid residence permit along with their passport.
 * Travellers holding a letter of consent from the State Migration Service may obtain a visa on arrival in Azerbaijan.

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)
Azerbaijan introduced an e-Visa in January 2017. The system is known as the ASAN viza and visas are issued for a single-entry visit of up to 30 days. The e-Visa should be printed and presented together with the visitor's passport (which must be valid for at least three months beyond the expiry date of the visa) at the border checkpoint.

There are 2 types of e-Visa application: a standard application, which costs 20 USD and takes up to 3 working days, and an urgent application, which costs 55 USD and is processed within 3 hours. In addition to the visa fee, applicants must pay a 5 USD service fee.

Citizens of the following countries and territories may obtain an e-Visa:



In 2017, British travel magazine Wanderlust rated Azerbaijan's electronic visa as the easiest visa to obtain in the world.

There are plans to expand the ASAN system to issue electronic visas for Azerbaijani citizens travelling abroad. As of January 2018, Morocco was selected, and negotiations were also underway with Lithuania.

Standard process
If a traveler does not meet the citizenship requirements for a visa exemption, visa on arrival, or electronic visa or wishes to work or study, they must apply for a physical visa with their nearest Azerbaijani diplomatic mission. Visitors may apply by mail or appointment, and the application form may be filled out online. Single-entry and transit visas cost 20 USD and multiple-entry visas cost 250 USD.

When applying for a visa, the applicant must present the following:
 * A completed application form
 * A valid travel document and a photocopy of its information page
 * Two color, passport-regulation photographs
 * Proof of legal status in the country of application, if applying from a country other than one's own
 * Payment for visa application fees (by certified check)

Invitation
In addition, for all visas except transit visas, the applicant must present a valid invitation. The required invitational documents differ depending on the type of visa applied for. For tourist visas, the applicant must provide proof of a hotel booking within Azerbaijan and confirmed flights in and out of the country. For private visit visas, the applicant's host in Azerbaijan must provide a notarized copy of both their identity card and an invitation letter. For all other visa types, they must receive permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before applying for a visa.

To obtain permission, the inviting party in Azerbaijan must file the following documents in person at the MFA office in Baku:
 * A completed application form (available online)
 * A letter from the inviting person or organization stating the purpose of the visa sought after, the length of the invitation, the number of required entries, and the diplomatic mission that the invitee will apply for a visa from
 * A copy of the passport of the invitee
 * Proof of payment of the 4 AZN application fee, paid through a bank or online

If a legal representative submits the documents, they must also provide proof of the power of attorney and a copy of their identity card. If the inviting party is an individual, they must also present a copy of their tax number registration letter and proof of address.

Visa facilitation
In 2013, Azerbaijan concluded a visa facilitation agreement with the European Union (excluding Ireland) which reduces the number of documents required to justify the purpose of the trip, provides for the issuance of multiple-entry visas, limits the processing time and reduces or eliminates fees for many categories of European Union citizens.

Admission restrictions
Due to the state of war with Armenia, Azerbaijan prohibits entry and transit to citizens of Armenia and other countries of Armenian descent. Exceptions have been made during certain high-profile international events, such as the Europa League.

The Government of Azerbaijan strictly prohibits the entry and transit of foreign citizens to the exclaves of Karki, Yuxarı Əskipara, Barxudarlı and Sofulu, which are de jure part of Azerbaijan but under the control of Armenia, without the prior consent of the Government of Azerbaijan.

Foreign citizens who entered these territories without permission may be denied entry and transit to Azerbaijan and may be included in the "list of persona non grata".

Entry and transit is refused to citizens of Kosovo, even if not leaving the aircraft and proceeding by the same flight. Azerbaijan also does not recognize the passports of Abkhazia, the Sahrawi Republic, Somaliland, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

Visitor statistics
Most visitors arriving in Azerbaijan were from the following countries of nationality: