Visa policy of Kazakhstan



Visitors to Kazakhstan must obtain a visa from one of the Kazakh diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.

Ordinary passports
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for the following period:

ID - May enter with an ID card. IP - May enter with an internal passport. 1 - 90 days within any 365-day period. 2 - 90 days within any 180-day period. 3 - 30 days within any 1-year period. 4 - 30 days within any 180-day period. 5 - 30 days, 60 days within any 180-day period. 6 - 14 days, 42 days within any 180-day period.

Visa-free program
Citizens of the following countries may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for 30 days as part of a visa-free policy for countries with the large foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan's economy. These visitors can stay for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period (counted from the first entry).

The program was initially started on 15 July 2014 providing unilateral visa free access to 10 countries and in July 2015 it was further extended to a total of 19 countries, then to 43 in January 2017 and to 54 in September 2019.


 * 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan - residents of Balkan Region have visa-free entry to Atyrau Province and Mangystau Province for up to 5 days.

Non-ordinary passports
Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or service passports of the following countries may enter and remain in Kazakhstan without a visa:

D - Diplomatic passports S - Service passports 1 - 90 days for diplomatic passports, 30 days for service passports. 2 - For citizens of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia: 90 days for diplomatic or service passports; for citizens of Austria, Croatia, Ireland, Malta, Sweden: 30 days for diplomatic or service passports. 3 - 90 days 4 - 90 days within any 365-day period. 5 - 90 days within any 180-day period. 6 - 30 days 7 - 30 days within any 180-day period. 8 - 14 days

A visa is not required for holders of a UN Laissez-Passer for up to 30 days within any 180-day period.

Future changes
Kazakhstan has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:


 * In December 2018, it was announced that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan planned to mutually accept visas from February 2019, but this was delayed.
 * In March 2019, it was reported that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were "ready to launch" a joint visa program that could extend to neighboring countries. All approvals have already been obtained, all that remains is to work out the technical details and equipment.

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)
Citizens of other countries (except Afghanistan, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Timor-Leste and Yemen) may obtain an e-Visa.

Kazakhstan issues business, investor, medical treatment and tourist e-Visas. Holders of an e-Visa must arrive via Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport or Almaty International Airport.

Visa required in advance
Citizens of the following countries and territories must apply for a visa at a Kazakhstan embassy or consulate:

Pre-arranged visa on arrival
A pre-arranged visa for a stay of up to 1 month may be obtained on arrival for citizens arriving from a country without a Kazakh diplomatic mission. The fee is approximately 80 USD, and they must hold an invitation letter and obtain an approval from the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They must enter via one of the following ports of entry:


 * Aktau Airport
 * Almaty International Airport
 * Atyrau Airport
 * Oral Ak Zhol Airport
 * Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport

Visa types
Kazakhstan issues 39 types of visa.

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

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