Visa Policies in Kazakhstan

Visa free entry

Citizens of the following countries and territories can visit Kazakhstan without a visa:

Up to 90 days:

  •  Armenia (28 Apr 2008)
  •  Belarus (7 Jun 2002)
  •  Georgia (21 Jun 2007)
  •  Kyrgyzstan (5 Jul 2012)
  •  Moldova (5 Jan 2007)
  •  Mongolia (2 Jan 1995)
  •  Russia (7 Jun 2002)

Up to 90 days within 180 day period:

  •  Ukraine (27 Feb 2002)

Up to 30 days:

  •  Azerbaijan (23 Apr 2010)
  •  Serbia (28 May 2011)
  •  Tajikistan (7 Jun 2002)
  •  Turkey (2 Apr 1992)
  •  Uzbekistan (26 Jun 2003)

Up to 30 days, for a maximum total stay of 60 days within any 180 day period:

  •  South Korea (29 Nov 2014)

Up to 30 days within 180 day period:

  •  Ecuador (31 Aug 2016)

Up to 30 days within year period:

  •  Argentina (1 Nov 2014)
  •  Brazil (6 Sep 2016)

Up to 14 days:

  •  Hong Kong (26 Jul 2012)

  Turkmenistan— residents of Balkan Region have visa free access to Atyrau Province and Mangystau Province for up to 5 days.

A visa-free agreement (30 days within year period) was signed with  Cuba in December 2015. It is yet to be ratified.

Visa-free program

Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa for stays of fewer than 30 days as part of a visa-free policy for countries with the large foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan’s economy. 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 and then to 43 in January 2017. These countries are:

  • European Union All EU citizens
  •  Australia
  •  Canada
  •  Chile
  •  Iceland
  •  Israel
  •  Japan
  •  Malaysia
  •  Mexico
  •  Monaco
  •  New Zealand
  •  Norway
  •  Singapore
  •   Switzerland
  •  United Arab Emirates
  •  United States

Visa replacement

Nationals of the following countries who hold valid tourist visas of Kyrgyzstan are able to visit the border districts of Almaty and Jambul regions of Kazakhstan within the validity of such visa: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Non-ordinary passports

Only holders of diplomatic passports of Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Vatican City and only holders of both diplomatic and service/official passports of Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Romania and Slovakia can visit Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 90 days. Only holders of diplomatic passports of Egypt, Poland and Qatar and only holders of both diplomatic and service/official passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Cuba, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkmenistan and Vietnam can visit Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 30 days.

Visa not required for 30 days within 180 day period for holders of passport of United Nations (laissez passer).

Visa-free agreement for diplomatic passports was signed with Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands and for diplomatic and service/official passports with Sri Lanka.

Pre-arranged visa on arrival

Pre-arranged visa for a stay of up to 1 month can be obtained on arrival for nationals arriving from a country without a Kazakh diplomatic mission. The fee is approximately US$80, 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
  • Astana International Airport
  • Atyrau Airport
  • Oral Ak Zhol Airport