Visa policy of Turkmenistan

In accordance with the law, citizens of all countries require a visa to enter Turkmenistan unless they have special passports. To obtain a tourist visa for Turkmenistan, all foreign citizens must supply an invitation letter issued by a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan.

Holders of a letter of invitation issued by a company registered in Turkmenistan with a prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may obtain a visa on arrival valid for 10 days, and extendable for another 10 days.

Visa exemption

 * 🇺🇳 United Nations Laissez-Passer — From 2023, foreign citizens with UN passports were allowed up to 30 calendar days from the date of arrival in Turkmenistan without a visa to come to Turkmenistan, stay in it, travel outside it, cross the border, and cross the territory in transit the territory of Turkmenistan. Foreign citizens who are employees of the United Nations or its specialized agencies accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, as well as members of their families, were exempt from visa issuance during the period of work in Turkmenistan.

Non-ordinary passports
Holders of diplomatic, official and service passports of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and holders of diplomatic passports of Estonia, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan do not require a visa to visit Turkmenistan for up to 30 days each visit. Holders of diplomatic passports of Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States may obtain a free visa on arrival.

Special permit
A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Kerki, Hazar, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.

Admission restrictions
Entry and transit is refused to holders of passports of the following jurisdictions:

Visitor statistics
Turkmenistan is generally considered one of the most isolationist and least visited countries in the world. In comparison with other countries with strict visa policies, very few foreigners are granted a Turkmenistani visa. Directly after independence, in the 1990s, Turkmenistan was a slightly more open country than it is now, and in 1998, for example, 300,000 foreigners visited the country. Between 2000 and 2013, however, the number of visas issued decreased significantly, due to the enacted isolationism, the Turkmen government's self-professed neutral status and totalitarian regime.

Links

 * State Migration Service of Turkmenistan