On Liberalization of Procedure for Crossing State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan

 By the Decision of the Interdepartmental Commission on Preventing the Occurrence and Spread of the Coronavirus Infection in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (IDC) dated February 7, 2022, amendments to “The procedure for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan from May 11, 2020 for the Period of Quarantine Restrictions” were made.

According to the amendments, the requirement to obtain an IDC permit was excluded when entering Kazakhstan by air for foreign citizens from states with a visa-free regime (introduced unilaterally or under bilateral agreements), as well as citizens of states with which, by decision of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, direct air communication has been resumed (up-to-date information is posted regularly on the informational resources of the Committee for Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

As of today, Kazakhstan has established visa-free regime with 19 states, based on bilateral agreements (agreement with Cuba is on the ratification stage).

Additionally, from January 1, 2022, the 30-day visa-free regime for entry into Kazakhstan was restored for foreign citizens from 54 countries.

Thus, at the moment, citizens of 73 countries of the world have the right to visit Kazakhstan without issuing visas and obtaining permits from the IDC through the country's international airports.

However, the mentioned facilitation of entry and transit travel facilities applies to the persons arriving to Kazakhstan only by air. In other instances, permit from IDC is still required.

At the same time, in all instances, it is mandatory to comply with relevant quarantine restrictions and visa requirements, unless otherwise provided by the international agreements concluded by the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In addition, the departure of citizens of Kazakhstan to foreign countries through the country’s international airports is allowed, and the time limit for the frequency of border crossings has been reduced from 30 days to 15 days.

The full text of the “Procedure for Crossing the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan from May 11, 2020 for the Period of Quarantine Restrictions” and the list of countries for which a visa-free regime is in effect, can be found at the link: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/article/details/24379?lang=ru