Obtaning electronic visa to Kazakhstan

Citizens of some countries can obtain an electronic visa to enter Kazakhstan. The visa is issued on the basis of an invitation letter with a visa support number.

Electronic visas can be issued for the following purposes:

1. Tourism (B12).
2. Business trips (B1, B2, B3).
3. For medical treatment (С12).

For how long is an electronic visa can be issued? Can a multi-entry visa be issued?

Electronic visas are only for single entrance. There is no possibility to get multiple ones. Endurance of visas: B1, B2, B3, B12 – single entry for up to 90 days. The period of stay on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is no more than 30 days. The validity period of the C12 visa is 180 days. The period of stay on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is no more than 90 days.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Foreign citizens can arrive and depart from Kazakhstan on the basis of electronic visas only through the checkpoints of international airports. Land border crossing is impossible, as well as through airports that do not have international status. The status of international airports in Kazakhstan has the airports of Astana, Almaty, Atyrau, Aktau, etc.

How long does the process take and what are the advantages compared to the standard process?

The standard process for obtaining a visa consists of two stages:

1. Registration of an invitation letter in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. Pasting a visa at the Embassy of Kazakhstan abroad.

The procedure for obtaining an electronic visa also consists of 2 stages:

Step №1 remains unaffected, as is the case with the standard process. The inviting party issues an invitation letter and receives a visa support number. The process takes an average of 5 working days from the date of registration of the invitation. In rare cases, consideration of documents is extended up to 30 calendar days due to approval by the National Security Committee.

The difference lies in step №2: a foreign applicant does not need to visit the embassy and, accordingly, pass an interview. The visa is issued through the visa and migration portal online. First you need to register on the portal. Then the personal data of the foreign citizen is filled in, indicating the data from the invitation letter; then the passport data is verified and confirmed, the amount of the consular fee is paid, and upon completion the visa will be ready in the personal account.

An electronic visa is issued within 30 minutes. The visa is valid only for the main applicant and is not issued for accompanying persons.

Step-by-step instructions for obtaining a visa on the portal:

1. Authorization of a foreign citizen on the visa and migration portal.
2. Click on the “electronic visa” window.
3. Select the country, the multiplicity of the visa and click on the “get a visa” window.
4. Fill in the information (invitation number, passport data).
5. Proceed to the payment of the consular fee.
6. In the “Visas” section, get an electronic original visa with a QR code.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: when entering / leaving, as well as staying in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreign citizens must have an electronic visa in printed form together with the original passport. After the arrival of a foreign citizen in Kazakhstan, the receiving party is obliged to notify the Migration Service within 3 working days. If a foreigner has changed his passport, then an electronic visa must be obtained again.

Who can get an electronic visa to Kazakhstan?

According to the current visa regulations, citizens of 109 countries can apply for one of the categories of single-entry electronic visas (e-Visa) to Kazakhstan, according to Appendix 4-4 to the Rules for Executing Invitations and Issuing Visas.

1. Algerian People’s Democratic Republic
2. The Republic of Angola
3. Principality of Andorra
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Aruba
6. Commonwealth of the Bahamas
7. People’s Republic of Bangladesh
8. Barbados
9. Republic of Belize
10. The Republic of Benin
11. Plurinational State of Bolivia
12. Bosnia and Herzegovina
13. Republic of Botswana
14. The State of Brunei Darussalam
15. Burkina Faso
16. Republic of Burundi
17. The Kingdom of Bhutan
18. Republic of Vanuatu
19. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
20. The Gabonese Republic
21. The Cooperative Republic of Guyana
22. The Republic of Haiti
23. Republic of the Gambia
24. Republic of Ghana
25. The Republic of Guatemala
26. Republic of Guinea
27. Republic of Guinea-Bissau
28. Republic of Honduras
29. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
30. Grenada
31. Republic of Djibouti
32. The Commonwealth of Dominica
33. Dominican Republic
34. Arab Republic of Egypt
35. Republic of Zambia
36. Republic of Zimbabwe
37. Republic of India
38. Islamic Republic of Iran
39. Kingdom of Cambodia
40. Republic of Cameroon
41. Republic of Kenya
42. Republic of Kiribati
43. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
44. People’s Republic of China
45. Comoros
46. Republic of the Congo
47. Republic of Costa Rica
48. Republic of Ivory Coast
49. Republic of Cuba
50. Lao People’s Democratic Republic
51. Kingdom of Lesotho
52. Republic of Liberia
53. The Lebanese Republic
54. Republic of Mauritius
55. Islamic Republic of Mauritania
56. The Republic of Madagascar
57. Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao)
58. Republic of North Macedonia
59. Republic of Malawi
60. Republic of Mali
61. Republic of Maldives
62. Kingdom of Morocco
63. Republic of the Marshall Islands
64. Micronesia
65. Republic of Mozambique
66. The Republic of the Union of Myanma
67. Republic of Namibia
68. Republic of Nauru
69. Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
70. Republic of Niger
71. Federal Republic of Nigeria
72. The Republic of Nicaragua
73. Republic of Palau
74. Republic of Panama
75. Independent State of Papua New Guinea
76. Republic of Paraguay
77. Republic of Peru
78. Republic of Rwanda
79. Republic of El Salvador
80. Independent State of the Republic of San Marino
81. Samoa
82. Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
83. The Kingdom of Eswatini
84. Republic of Seychelles
85. Republic of Senegal
86. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
87. Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
88. Saint Lucia
89. Republic of Suriname
90. Republic of Sierra Leone
91. United Republic of Tanzania
92. Togolese Republic
93. Kingdom of Tonga
94. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
95. Tuvalu
96. Tunisian Republic
97. Turkmenistan
98. Republic of Uganda
99. Eastern Republic of Uruguay
100. Faroe Islands
101. Republic of Fiji
102. Central African Republic
103. The Republic of Chad
104. Montenegro
105. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
106. The State of Eritrea
107. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
108. South Africa
109. Jamaica

How much does it cost to apply for an electronic visa?

When issuing an invitation, the receiving party pays a state fee of 0.5 MCI (1725 tenge in 2023).

The amount of the consular fee paid on the visa and migration portal is 60 USD for a tourist visa, 80 USD for a business visa, 80 USD for a medical visa.

Who is exempt from paying consular fees?

1. Members of foreign official delegations and accompanying persons traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2. Foreigners traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in events of national and international significance (symposiums, conferences and other political, cultural, scientific and sporting events);
3. Foreigners traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan at the invitation of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4. Foreigners traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan with humanitarian aid,
5. Employees of international organizations
6. Foreigners traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan at the invitation of foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices, as well as international organizations accredited in the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity
7. Foreigners – holders of diplomatic and service passports
8. Children under 16 years of age on the basis of the principle of reciprocity
9. Persons of Kazakh nationality who are not citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan
10. Former citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan permanently residing abroad and traveling to the Republic of Kazakhstan for the funeral of close relatives
11. For issuing investor, official, and diplomatic visas
12. For issuing repeated visas instead of primary visas containing errors made by officials of the service provider.

What are the requirements for a passport of a foreign citizen?

When issuing visas for foreign citizens, there are certain passport requirements. Even if there is an approved and agreed visa support number, this does not guarantee the issuance of a visa.

The applicant’s passport must meet the following criteria:

• it should not cause doubts about the authenticity and belonging to its owner, contain marks, reservations, notes, erasures and corrections, torn or embroidered pages.
• must have at least 2 blank pages intended for visas, with the exception of visa recipients for departure from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• its validity period must expire no earlier than 3 months from the expiration date of the requested visa, with the exception of visa recipients for departure from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• must not have marks on the extension of the validity period.

Regarding the existence of at least 2 blank pages: logically, this is not required to obtain an electronic visa. At the same time, there is such an interpretation in the legislation and without exception for electronic visas.

Can foreign employees work with an electronic visa?

Electronic visas are issued for the purpose of tourism, business trips and medical treatment. Each of these categories of visas does not give the right to work, receive remuneration or conclude an employment contract. Visas granting the right to work are described here.

Can family members get visas as accompanying persons?

Unfortunately, no. Electronic visas are issued in those categories that do not provide accompanying persons.