Approved by the Order of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan № 11-1-4/719 as of December 20, 2024.
Rules for accreditation of foreign media representative offices and their correspondents
Chapter 1. General provisions
1. These Rules for Accreditation of Foreign Media Representative Offices and Their Correspondents (hereinafter - the Rules) are developed in accordance with Article 30 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mass Media, subparagraph 88) of paragraph 15 of the Regulations on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1118 dated October 28, 2004, and determine the procedure for accreditation of foreign media representative offices and their correspondents.
2. Professional journalistic activities of foreign media representative offices and their correspondents in the Republic of Kazakhstan is carried out based on accreditation.
3. The following terms and definitions apply in these Rules:
1) media – a periodical print edition, TV, radio channel, internet edition;
2) applicant – an authorized person of a foreign media representative office applying for accreditation in the Republic of Kazakhstan of a representative office of a foreign media representative office or its correspondents.
Chapter 2: Procedures for accreditation, refusal, suspension and revocation of accreditation of foreign media representations
Paragraph 1: Procedures for accreditation and refusal to accredit foreign media representations
4. To accredit a foreign media representative office, the applicant shall submit the following documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter - the Ministry) by hand or through the Ministry's official e-mail address accreditation@mfa.kz (hereinafter - the official e-mail address):
1) a signed free-form application for accreditation of a foreign media representative office with the submission of documents confirming the applicant's credentials;
2) constituent documents (agreement) and (or) charter of the foreign media representative office (if available);
3) documents issued in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state and confirming the registration of the foreign media representative office;
4) information about the foreign media representative office, including the full name of the foreign media representative office, history of its activities, legal address, and contact details.
Documents issued, compiled or certified according to the established form by competent authorities of foreign states shall be accepted subject to legalisation, unless otherwise provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan or an international treaty ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Documents compiled in a foreign language shall be accompanied by their duly certified translation into the state and (or) Russian languages.
5. In case of submission of an incomplete set of documents according to the list provided in paragraph 4 of these Rules, and (or) documents with expired validity period, the Ministry within 3 (three) working days from the date of submission of documents shall return them to the applicant without consideration.
The return of documents shall not be grounds for refusal to process such documents in case of the re-application after the reasons for the return of documents have been eliminated.
7. Within 2 (two) months from the date of receipt of the documents specified in paragraph 4 of these Rules, the Ministry shall review them and notify the applicant in writing:
1) on accreditation of a foreign media representative office;
2) on refusal to accredit a foreign media representative office stating reasons for such a decision.
The term for reviewing documents shall be extended by a substantiated decision of the head of the Ministry or his/her deputy for a reasonable period of time, but not more than 2 (two) months due to the need to establish actual circumstances relevant for their correct review, of which the applicant shall be notified within 3 (three) working days from the date of extension of the term.
7. A decision to refuse accreditation of a foreign media representative office shall be taken in following cases:
1) establishment of the fact that the applicant has provided false information (documents) when applying for accreditation;
2) court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to suspend or terminate the publication of a foreign media representative office or the distribution of foreign media products in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan comes into force;
3) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a foreign media representative office.
8. Accreditation of a foreign media representative office shall be valid for 5 (five) years.
9. If the notification of accreditation of a foreign media representative office is lost, the applicant shall submit to the Ministry by hand or through the official e-mail address a signed free-form application for its replacement.
The Ministry issues a second notification of accreditation of a foreign media representative office within 5 (five) working days from the date of acceptance of the application.
10. The applicant shall notify the Ministry of the amendments to the information specified in the notification of accreditation of a foreign media representative office, as well as the foreign media documentation submitted to the Ministry, as specified in subparagraphs 2), 3) and 4) of paragraph 4 of these Rules, not later than three (3) working days from the date of the amendments made.
Paragraph 2: Procedure for suspension and revocation of foreign media representative office accreditation
11. Suspension of a foreign media representative office accreditation shall be performed in the event of:
1) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to suspend the publication of a foreign media representative office or the product distribution of a foreign media representative office in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period and on the terms specified in such a ruling of a court of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2) failure to provide information to the Ministry in accordance with paragraph 10 of these Rules;
3) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the foreign media representative office.
12. Revocation of accreditation of a foreign media representative office shall be performed in the event of:
1) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to discontinue publication of a foreign media representative or distribution of foreign media products in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan enters into legal force;
2) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan (or) authorised bodies (officials) of the Republic of Kazakhstan for violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan enters into legal force;
3) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the foreign media representative office within 1 (one) year after the suspension of accreditation.
13. When suspending or revoking the accreditation of a foreign media representative office, the Ministry notifies the foreign media representative office in writing of the suspension or revocation of its accreditation not later than 3 (three) working days from the date of the decision.
After eliminating the circumstances that served as grounds for suspending the accreditation of a foreign media representative office, the Ministry shall, within 3 (three) working days, resume accreditation and notify in writing of this decision.
Chapter 3: The procedure for accreditation, refusal, suspension and revocation of accreditation of a foreign media correspondent
Paragraph 1: Procedure for accreditation and refusal to accredit a foreign media correspondent
14. Accreditation of a foreign media correspondent is performed by the Ministry on a permanent or temporary basis regardless of the citizenship and permanent place of residence of the foreign media correspondent.
15. Accreditation of a foreign media correspondent is performed for the following period of time:
1) for permanent accreditation - up to 1 (one) year, but not longer than for the term of accreditation of the foreign media representative office;
2) for temporary accreditation - for the period specified in the foreign media representative office's application, but not longer than 3 (three) months.
16. For permanent accreditation of a foreign media correspondent, the applicant or foreign media correspondent submits to the Ministry by hand or through the official e-mail address:
1) a signed free-form application for permanent accreditation of a foreign media correspondent;
2) a document confirming the credentials of the applicant, and in the case of a foreign media correspondent, a document confirming labour or other contractual relations with the foreign media representative office;
3) completed accreditation form in compliance with the Annex 1 to these Rules;
4) 3x4 size digital photo;
5) a copy of a foreign passport (for a foreigner), a certificate of a stateless person (for a stateless person) or an identity document (for a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan);
6) a copy of the Ministry's notification on accreditation of a foreign media representative office in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
7) materials (publications, articles) of a foreign media correspondent related to the Republic of Kazakhstan and published by the foreign media representative office of the last 6 (six) months prior to the date of application submission (for foreign media correspondents having had permanent accreditation during this period).
17. For temporary accreditation of a foreign media correspondent, the applicant or the foreign media correspondent shall submit the following to the Ministry by hand or through the official e-mail address:
1) a signed free-form application for temporary accreditation of a foreign media correspondent indicating the accreditation period, purpose and date of the planned event in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is submitted not later than 15 (fifteen) calendar days prior to the date of the said event;
2) documents specified in subparagraphs 2), 3), 4) and 5) of paragraph 16 of these Rules.
18. In case of submission of an incomplete set of documents according to the lists provided in paragraphs 16 and 17 of these Rules, and (or) documents with expired validity period, the Ministry shall return them without consideration within 3 (three) working days from the date of submission.
Return of documents is not a reason for refusal to consider them in case of re-application after elimination of the reasons for return.
19. The Ministry shall review the documents and notify in writing the person who applied for accreditation within 2 (two) months from the date of receipt of documents for permanent accreditation specified in paragraph 16 of these Rules:
1) on permanent accreditation with the issuance of an accreditation card of a foreign media correspondent (hereinafter - accreditation card) in the form according to Annex 2 to these Rules;
2) on the refusal of permanent accreditation to a foreign media correspondent stating the reasons for such a decision.
20. The Ministry shall review them and notify in writing the person applying for accreditation within 15 (fifteen) calendar days from the date of documents’ receipt for temporary accreditation specified in paragraph 17 of these Rules:
1) on temporary accreditation with issuance of accreditation card in the form compliant with Annex 3 to these Rules;
2) on the refusal of permanent accreditation to a foreign media correspondent stating the reasons for such a decision.
21. The period for documents’ review for permanent and temporary accreditation of foreign media correspondents is prolonged by a substantiated decision of the head of the Ministry or his/her deputy for a reasonable period of time, but not more than 2 (two) months due to the need to establish actual circumstances relevant for their correct review, of which the person applying for accreditation is notified within 3 (three) working days from the date of prolongation.
22. A decision to deny permanent and temporary accreditation of a foreign media correspondent is executed in the case of:
1) the establishment of the fact that the person applying for accreditation has provided false information (documents) when applying for accreditation;
2) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a foreign media correspondent;
3) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to suspend or terminate the publication of a foreign media representative office or the distribution of products of a foreign media representative office in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan enters into legal force;
4) the absence of accreditation of a foreign media representative office of which the correspondent is an employee (for permanent accreditation).
23. In case of loss of an accreditation card, the applicant or a foreign media correspondent submits to the Ministry by hand or through the official e-mail address a signed free-form application for its replacement.
The Ministry issues the accreditation card within 5 (five) working days from the date of acceptance of the application.
24. The foreign media correspondent shall inform the Ministry of the amendments to the information specified in the accreditation form not later than 3 (three) working days from the date of amendments made.
Paragraph 2: Procedure for suspension and revocation of foreign media correspondent accreditation
25. Suspension of foreign media correspondent accreditation is performed in case of:
1) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to suspend the publication of a foreign media representative office or the distribution of products of a foreign media representative office in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan enters into legal force;
2) failure to provide information to the Ministry in accordance with paragraph 24 of these Rules;
3) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a foreign media correspondent;
4) the Ministry's decision to suspend the accreditation of a foreign media representative office that is the employer of a correspondent of a foreign media representative office for the period and on the terms and conditions specified in such a decision (for permanent accreditation).
26. Revocation of accreditation of a foreign media correspondent is performed in case of:
1) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan to discontinue the publication of a foreign media representative office or the distribution of products of a foreign media representative office in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan enters into legal force;
2) a court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan and (or) administrative acts of authorized bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan for violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
3) the Ministry's decision to revocation the accreditation of a foreign media representative office that is the employer of a correspondent of a foreign media representative office;
4) termination of labour or other contractual relations between a foreign media representative office and its correspondent;
5) violation of the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a foreign media correspondent within 1 (one) year after the suspension of accreditation;
6) the applicant or a foreign media correspondent submits an application for early termination of a foreign media correspondent accreditation;
7) absence within 6 (six) months of publication of materials confirming that foreign media correspondent performs journalistic activities in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (for permanent accreditation);
8) court ruling of the Republic of Kazakhstan on bringing a foreign media correspondent to criminal liability;
9) non-compliance with Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
10) termination of the activities of a foreign media representative office whose representative office is accredited in the Republic of Kazakhstan, upon the receipt this information by the Ministry;
11) receipt of information from the state bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the inconsistency of the activities of a correspondent of a foreign media representative office with the officially declared purpose.
27. When suspending or revoking the accreditation of a foreign media correspondent, the Ministry notifies the foreign media representative office and the foreign media correspondent in writing of the suspension or revocation of his/her accreditation not later than 3 (three) working days from the date of the decision.
The accreditation card is submitted to the Ministry within 3 (three) working days from the date of receipt of the notification.
28. After the circumstances that served as grounds for suspending the accreditation of a foreign media correspondent are eliminated, the Ministry resumes accreditation within 3 (three) working days and notifies the correspondent and the foreign media representative office of this decision in writing.
Paragraph 3: Procedure for accreditation of foreign media correspondent included in foreign delegations
29. The accreditation procedure for foreign media correspondent included in foreign delegations to cover international events in the Republic of Kazakhstan at the highest and high levels shall be carried out by the Ministry on the basis of an appeal (note verbale or letter) of a foreign state (international organization) received by hand or through the official e-mail address.
The application shall be accompanied by:
1) a completed form for media accreditation in compliance with the Annex 4 to these Rules;
2) 3x4 size digital photo;
3) a copy of a foreign passport (for a foreigner), a certificate of a stateless person (for a stateless person) or an identity document (for a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
30. The Ministry shall consider and notify the foreign state (international organization) in writing not later than 3 (three) working days from the date of receipt of the documents specified in paragraph 29 of these Rules:
1) on accreditation of a foreign media correspondent;
2) refusal to accredit a foreign media correspondent.
31. A decision to deny accreditation to a foreign media correspondent is taken in case of:
1) the fact of providing unreliable information (documents) is established when applying for accreditation;
2) violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a journalist of a foreign media representative office.