Visitors to Kazakhstan must obtain a visa from one of the Kazakhstan diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.
Kazakhstan's visa and other migration policies are also implemented in accordance with the mobility rights arrangements within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the rules of the single market of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Visa policy map
Visa exemption Ordinary passports Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries and territories may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for the following period:
90 days 2 2 1 1ID 1IP 1 2 1 1
30 days 6
C 15 5
13
14 days C 44 C
ID - May enter with an ID card. IP - May enter with an internal passport. C - For Chinese citizens with People's Republic of China passports, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports or Macao Special Administrative Region passports only. 1 – 90 days within any 180-day period. 2 – 90 days within any 365-day period. 3 – 60 days within any 180-day period. 4 – 42 days within any 180-day period. 5 – 30 days within any 180-day period. 6 – 30 days within a year.
Visa exemption program Citizens of the following countries may enter Kazakhstan without a visa for 30 days as part of a visa-free policy for countries with the large foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan's economy. These visitors can stay for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period (counted from the first entry).
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, then to 43 in January 2017 and to 54 in September 2019.
All European Union member states
Date of visa changesCitizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan have never required a visa to enter Kazakhstan.
2 March 1992: Turkey 2 January 1995: Mongolia 28 May 2011: Serbia 26 July 2012: Hong Kong 15 July 2014: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States 1 November 2014: Argentina 29 November 2014: South Korea 15 July 2015: Australia, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Monaco, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland 31 August 2016: Ecuador 6 September 2016: Brazil 1 January 2017: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia 10 March 2018: United Arab Emirates 29 September 2019: Bahrain, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vatican City 8 July 2022: China, India and Iran 14 September 2022: Maldives 28 February 2023: Andorra 25 April 2023: Albania 26 July 2023: Nicaragua 6 January 2024: Seychelles 25 May 2024: Vietnam 24 October 2024: Macau 20 November 2024: Saint Kitts and Nevis Cancelled: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: 22 October 1993 (was resumed in 2017) Hungary: 6 November 1996Was applied under visa exemption agreement between USSR and HungaryAgreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Hungary about the order of mutual visa-free trips of citizens with diplomatic and service passports. See Article 7.3 (in Russian) (was resumed in 2015) Turkmenistan: 1 March 2001 Cuba: 10 January 2005Was applied under visa exemption agreement between Cuba and USSR
- residents of Balkan Region have visa-free entry to Atyrau Province and Mangystau Province for up to 5 days.
Non-ordinary passports Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or service passports of the following countries may enter and remain in Kazakhstan without a visa:
All European Union member states1 2 D S 5 D S 5 D S 3 D S 4 D S 6 D S 6 D S 6 D S 4 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 7 D S 3 D 3 D S 8 D S 6 D S 6 D S 6 D S 6 D S3 D S 3 D S 6 D S 3 D S 4 D S 4 D S 6 D S 6 D S 6 D S 3 D S 3 D S 6 D S 3 D S 3 D S 6 D S 6 D S 7 D S 6 D S 1 D S 6 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 6 D S 4 D S 7 D S 5 D S6 D S 4 D S 6 D S 6 D S 7 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 6 D S 3 D S 6 D S 4 D S 3 D S 6 D S 6 D S 6 D S 1 D S 3 D S 6 D S
D - Diplomatic passports S - Service passports 1 – 90 days for diplomatic passports, 30 days for service passports. 2 - For citizens of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands: 90 days for diplomatic passports; for citizens of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia: 90 days for diplomatic or service passports; for citizens of Croatia, Ireland, Malta, Sweden: 30 days for diplomatic or service passports. 3 – 90 days 4 – 90 days within any 180-day period. 5 – 90 days within any 365-day period. 6 – 30 days 7 – 30 days within any 180-day period. 8 – 14 days
A visa is not required for holders of a UN Laissez-Passer for up to 30 days within any 180-day period.
Future changes Kazakhstan has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:
Country Passports Agreement signed on Diplomatic, service 25 September 2026 Diplomatic, official, service 25 September 2026 Diplomatic, official 25 January 2024
In December 2018, it was announced that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan planned to mutually accept visas from February 2019, but this was delayed. In March 2019, it was reported that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were "ready to launch" a joint visa program that could extend to neighboring countries. All approvals have already been obtained, all that remains is to work out the technical details and equipment.
Electronic visa (e-Visa) Citizens of other countries (except Afghanistan, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Timor-Leste and Yemen) may obtain an e-Visa.
Kazakhstan issues business, investor, medical treatment and tourist e-visas. Holders of an e-visa must arrive via Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (Astana) or Almaty International Airport (Almaty).
Visa required in advance Citizens of the following countries and territories must apply for a visa at a Kazakhstan embassy or consulate:
Pre-arranged visa on arrival A pre-arranged visa for a stay of up to 1 month may be obtained on arrival for citizens arriving from a country without a Kazakh diplomatic mission. The fee is approximately 80 USD, 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 Atyrau Airport Oral Ak Zhol Airport Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport
Visa types Kazakhstan issues 39 types of visa.
A Diplomatic visa A1 Issued to foreign dignitaries, diplomats traveling on official business and diplomatic couriers A2 Issued to diplomats accredited to Kazakhstan Service visa A3 Issued to members of the official delegations, accredited mass media journalists, military personnel on official visits and dependents, members of international organizations, diplomatic couriers without a diplomatic passport, service passport holders on official business A4 Issued to administrative-technical and maintenance staff of foreign missions and offices Investor visa A5 Issued to heads and deputy heads and heads of structural divisions of legal entities carrying out investment activities and their family members B Business visa B1 Issued to participants of conferences and meetings, persons accompanying humanitarian aid, lecturers, participants in youth programs and student and school exchanges B2 Issued to persons installing or maintaining equipment or to persons providing consulting and auditing services B3 Issued to persons arriving for negotiations or to the founders or the board directors International road carriage visa B4 Issued to persons engaged in international road transport B5 Issued to aircraft, train and sea and river vessel crews Visa for participation in religious events B6 Issued to persons participating in the activities of religious associations, except for missionary activity Student visa B7 Issued to persons for practical training or internships and their family members Permanent residence visa B8 Issued to persons arriving to register a permit for permanent residence B9 Issued to persons arriving for permanent residence Private visit visa B10 Issued to persons traveling for private reasons, funerals, former compatriots, persons accompanying family members who are citizens of Kazakhstan and spouses or children of ethnic Kazakhs Adoption visa B11 Issued to persons for adoption of citizens of Kazakhstan Tourist visa B12 Issued to persons traveling as tourists Transit visa B13 Issued to persons transiting through the territory of Kazakhstan Exit visa B14 Issued to permanent residents when exiting for permanent residence abroad B15 Issued to persons who have lost their passport in Kazakhstan B16 Issued to persons whose visa validity was reduced B17 Issued to persons under administrative responsibility, not associated with deportation, if there are no reasons for further stay B18 Issued to persons who arrived or are staying without a valid visa, if there are no reasons for further stay B19 Issued to persons who have served criminal sentence or were exempted or whose probationary control or deferral expired B20 Issued to persons who have presented proof of force majeure for overstay B21 Issued to persons who were victims of grave or especially grave crimes B22 Issued to persons charged with criminal offense where the criminal case has been closed or other persons in respect of whom legal restrictions on exit are lifted C Permanent residence visa C1 Issued to ethnic Kazakhs traveling to Kazakhstan for permanent residence Family reunification visa C2 Issued to family members of Kazakhstan national who are permanently residing in Kazakhstan, ethnic Kazakhs and former compatriots with temporary residence permit, foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Kazakhstan as well as business immigrants Work visa C3 Issued to persons traveling to Kazakhstan or persons in Kazakhstan and their family members for the purpose of employment C4 Issued to persons traveling to Kazakhstan or persons in Kazakhstan for self-employment in professions that are in demand in the priority sectors of the economy C5 Issued to business immigrants C6 Issued to seasonal workers Missionary activity visa C7 Issued to persons carrying out missionary activities and their family members Humanitarian purposes visa C8 Issued to volunteers and providers of humanitarian aid and with a view to charity and grants provision Education visa C9 Issued for the purpose of admission to educational organization in secondary, technical and vocational, post-secondary, higher and postgraduate education Private trip visa (ethnic Kazakhs) C10 Issued to ethnic Kazakhs Minor citizens visa C11 Issued to underage persons permanently residing in Kazakhstan or who have arrived to Kazakhstan without a visa or to persons born in Kazakhstan intending to go abroad Medical treatment visa C12 Issued to persons traveling for treatment, medical examination or consultation and accompanying persons as well as persons in Kazakhstan in the event of the need for treatment; persons traveling to Kazakhstan with the aim of caring for close relatives who are citizens of permanent residents of Kazakhstan and who are treated in hospitals or persons in Kazakhstan in case of need to care for close relatives
Admission restrictions Entry and transit is refused to citizens of Kosovo, even if not leaving the aircraft and proceeding by the same flight. Kazakhstan also does not recognize the passports of Abkhazia, the Sahrawi Republic, Somaliland, South Ossetia and Transnistria.
Visitor statistics