Obtaining a TRP on the territory of the AIFC

What a TRP is is described in our article. A temporary residence permit in the Republic of Kazakhstan (TRP) is an official document that allows citizens of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan to stay in the country for a period exceeding the visa-free regime. In fact, it is analogous to a visa for countries with a visa-free regime.

What is the AIFC?

The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) is a financial center for innovation and growth established in Kazakhstan. Companies registered in the AIFC can hire foreign citizens under a simplified procedure without obtaining a work permit. At the same time, documents must be processed through the IFCA platform; there are no other options, and a service fee must be paid.

AIFC has an Expat Centre that handles paperwork for foreign citizens. The legal framework for the Expat Centre’s work with foreign citizens can be found here.

Step-by-step action plan

• Upload documents via the AIFC Portal.
• Application approval and invoicing. The process takes up to 5 business days.
• Pay the invoice / attach the receipt.
• Make an appointment. To submit your documents, you must visit the Expat Centre office.
• After you submit your documents, the AIFC will forward them to the Migration Service.
• Review by the Migration Service may take up to 3 business days.
• Issuance of a temporary residence permit.

List of documents:

• Certificate of state registration of a legal entity (egov.kz);
• Decision of shareholders/founders on the appointment of the first executive in Kazakh or Russian – notarized (depending on the country, an apostille may be required);
• Order on the appointment of the first head in Kazakh or Russian – notarized;
• Power of attorney to represent the company’s interests;
• Notification of arrival (vmp.gov.kz or eqonaq.kz);
• Letter of application from the inviting party;
• Original passport;
• Notarized copy of passport;
• IIN of foreign citizen;
• Notarized consent of the property owner, IIN of the landlord, and copy of the apartment owner’s identification card (other cities are acceptable, not necessarily Astana);
• Certificate of registered property rights (if applicable);
• Employment contract/expert agreement registered in unified accounting system for employment contracts “UASEC”;
• Certificate from ENBEK that the employment contract is registered with ENBEK;
• Copy of a document confirming the employee’s qualifications (higher education diploma/qualification equivalent to a higher education degree) – legalized/apostilled with a notarized translation into Russian or Kazakh;
• Resume (the resume must be certified by the Director or HR and stamped with the company seal);
• Certificate of fingerprinting (from 2025, can be done in another city);
• Payment of the service fee. The AIFC sends an invoice for payment after confirming the application on the platform. The service fee for processing a TRP is 110,000 tenge.
• Foreign citizen registration form (consent form requiring the signatures of the employee and employer; we will provide samples).
• VMS medical insurance (must cover the term of the requested TRP);
• Valid TRP, if any.
• Birth/marriage certificate for family members (notarized);

Notarized consent is required, but online confirmation is not necessary, as the application will be submitted in person at the AIFC, not online.

FAQ

How long does it take to obtain a temporary residence permit? If we consider only the technical deadlines after the application is registered, the process can take 8-10 business days.

Can a temporary residence permit be extended at the AIFC? Yes, a temporary residence permit can be extended for the same period. The extension procedure can be started 15 calendar days before the temporary residence permit expires.

Can the applicant’s family members accompany them? Yes, family members (children under 18 and spouse) are issued a temporary residence permit for the same period. It is necessary to provide a marriage certificate and birth certificates of children with an apostille.