Foreign National Entered Kazakhstan After a Ban: Legal or Mistake? Clarification from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan

In July 2025, our organization was contacted by a foreign citizen who had been denied entry into the Republic of Kazakhstan due to a ban of which he had not been previously informed. We submitted an official request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Republic of Kazakhstan to clarify the legality of the ban, as well as to obtain information regarding its duration and the foreign national’s further options for staying in Kazakhstan.

Chronology of Events

• The foreign national first visited Kazakhstan at the end of 2023 and remained until early 2024. Upon leaving the country, he had overstayed by approximately 7 days. However, at one of the border checkpoints, he was allowed to exit without a formal protocol being issued and without paying a fine.
• A few months later, when visa-free days became available again, he re-entered Kazakhstan and promptly obtained a one-year temporary residence permit (TRP). However, he again overstayed by a few days, and upon departure, the situation repeated itself: he was allowed to exit the country without an administrative protocol being issued.
• Later, during an attempted re-entry, he was denied entry and learned on the spot that a ban had been imposed on him, allegedly due to a violation committed in early 2024. On the same day, he was informed that a fine of 15 Monthly Calculation Indices (MCI) had been issued against him, of which he had previously not been notified. He paid the fine on the day he was denied entry.

Request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Official Response

In our official inquiry, we stated that:

• Both violations were less than 10 days in duration, and therefore, under Clause 4, Article 517 of the Administrative Offences Code (AOC) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, they do not warrant deportation;
• No administrative protocols were issued at the border;
• The foreign citizen had not been notified of the entry ban.

The response from the Border Service of the National Security Committee (NSC) of Kazakhstan stated the following:

• The foreign national had indeed been held administratively liable for violating migration laws in early 2024 and was fined 15 MCI;
• According to Article 48 of the Law “On Population Migration”, entry into Kazakhstan is restricted for foreign nationals who have not fulfilled administrative penalties imposed during their previous stay;
• Once the penalty (fine) is fulfilled (paid), the entry restriction is lifted, and the foreign citizen is eligible to re-enter Kazakhstan.

Conclusion and Further Actions

Although no administrative penalty was documented during the foreign national’s departure from Kazakhstan on both occasions (according to his statement), the fine issued on February 18, 2024, was considered unpaid and, thus, served as the formal basis for the temporary entry ban.

After the fine was paid, there were no remaining grounds for the entry restriction. As confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the foreign citizen now has the right to re-enter Kazakhstan.

We thank the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Border Service for their clarifications and recommend that, in similar situations, all foreign nationals check for any outstanding fines or restrictions before crossing the border, even if no sanctions were imposed at the time of departure.