1. VISAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

To enter Kazakhstan, foreign nationals and individuals without nationality will need a visa unless exempt under international treaty.

The Kazakh visa must be pasted into a passport or other identity paper recognised in Kazakhstan and must be valid for travelling. The visa shall give the right to enter and stay in Kazakhstan and exit from it or transit across Kazakhstan.

Depending on the purpose of stay, foreign nationals can get a visa of one of the following types:

Tourist visa - granted to foreigners visiting Kazakhstan as tourists.
Business visa - granted to foreign nationals visiting and staying in Kazakhstan on business (business trip, participation in business negotiations, symposiums, conferences, bids, contract negotiations, participation in expos and fairs, trade deals on international traffic, consulting and auditing services).
Private visa - granted to foreigners, travelling to and staying in Kazakhstan on private trips. 
Investor visa - granted to investors (namely chief executive officers and top managers or representatives of big foreign firms and companies) involved in investing into the economy of Kazakhstan, as well as to members of their families.
Work visa - granted to foreigners travelling to Kazakhstan for work.
Student visa - granted to foreigners travelling and staying in Kazakhstan for studies, study tours, internships etc..
Transit visa - granted to foreigners with no right to visa-free transit to cross Kazakhstan.
Medical Treatment visa - granted to foreigners travelling to Kazakhstan for medical treatment, medical examination, advice etc..
Diplomatic visa - granted to holders of diplomatic passports, holders of international institutions’ passports or national passports, if they are staff members of international institutions (this visa also covers members of their families and members of the families of diplomats working for foreign diplomatic missions and consulates in Kazakhstan, government officials, parliament members, noted public and political figures, honorary consuls and members of their families).
Official visa - granted to holders of official passports, holders of national foreign passports working for foreign diplomatic missions and other offices and international institutions (not diplomatic ones), as well as foreign nationals visiting on business or public trips by invitation from diplomatic missions and international institutions accredited in Kazakhstan. 
Permanent Resident visa - granted to foreigners travelling to Kazakhstan for permanent residency.

1.1 VISA ISSUING

To secure Tourist, Business, Work, Medical Treatment, Student, Investor and Diplomatic visas, foreign nationals (or individuals without nationality) must contact the Kazakh diplomatic mission/consulate in the country of residence and submit:

- Valid passport (or international travel document). The passport should expire not earlier than 3 months upon expiry of the respective visa
- Copy of letter of invitation - indicating the number of a visa support letter issued by the Department of Consular Service of the Kazakhstan MFA;
or
- Written application - instead of a letter of invitation indicating the visa support letter (only for nationals of states referred to in Appendix 4 to secure single Tourist, Business, Diplomatic and Service visa to be valid for up to one month).
Currently the issue of granting a double entry tourist visa valid up to 60 days on the ground of written applications of the citizens from group of countries indicated in Appendix 4 is under consideration

- Completed visa questionnaire
- (available on Visa Rules)
- One photo 3.5 х 4.5
- Proof of consular fee paid
- The consul reserves the right to request other documents.

Tourist visas granted to nationals of the third states under national Kazakhstan law and the Kyrgyzstan law relating to entry, stay and exit from the Republic of Kazakhstan or the Kyrgyz Republic, shall give holders the right to freely enter and exit during visa validity period via multilateral crossing points in districts of the Kyrgyz Republic’s Issykkul, Talas and Chu Provinces and in districts of Kazakhstan’s Almaty and Zhambyl Provinces adjoining the Kyrgyz Republic, except for areas where access by foreign nationals is restricted (the list of states of which citizens are allowed to enter on Tourist visas to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is currently being defined).

To secure a private visa, foreign nationals must contact Kazakhstan’s diplomatic mission/consulate in the country of residence and submit:
- Valid passport (or international travel document). The passport should expire not earlier than 3 months upon expiry of the respective visa;
- Original private letter of invitation written by Kazakh interior authorities;
- Filled-in visa questionnaire;
(available on  Visa Rules);
- Photo 3.5 х 4.5
- Proof of consular fee paid

The following documents must be submitted instead of the original copy of the private invitation issued by the internal affairs authorities of Kazakhstan for Private visa issuance:

- Written application (only for nationals of states referred to in Appendix 4 to receive a single Private visa valid for up to one month);
- Copy of letter of invitation indicating the number of a visa support letter by the Department of Consular Service of the Kazakhstan MFA, written on the basis of invitations from diplomatic missions and other offices of foreign states, international institutions, accredited in Kazakhstan;
- Applications for Kazakh nationals’ family members - husband/wife, /children/parents - escorting foreign national.
In this case the visa may be granted for up to one month, but not more than twice a year during any one 12 month period (this restriction shall not apply to minor foreign nationals, travelling with parents who are Kazakh nationals).
- Notarised copy of the proof of death or international cable in case of serious disease or death of immediate relatives - in which case the visa may be granted for up to one month;
- Personal application and a document confirming relation to a Kazakh national (for instance graph in the passport, certificate of birth in Kazakhstan or copy of the certificate of burial of an immediate relative in Kazakhstan, or proof of rejection of Kazakh citizenship) only to foreign nationals native to Kazakhstan, in which case visa may be granted for up to three months in order to visit the homeland and graves of relatives;
The consul reserves the right to demand the submission of supplementary documentation if necessary.

To secure a permanent resident visa, foreign nationals should contact Kazakhstan’s diplomatic mission/consulate in the country of residence and submit:
- Valid passport (or international travel document). The passport should expire not earlier than 3 months upon expiry of the respective visa;
- Copy of the letter of invitation indicating the number of a visa support letter from the Department of Consular Service of the MFA of Kazakhstan;
- Filled-in visa questionnaire;
(available on  Visa Rules);
- Photo 3.5х4.5; and
- Written application by the foreign national.
- Proof of consular fee paid
The consul reserves the right to demand the submission of supplementary documentation when deemed necessary.

To secure a transit visa, foreign nationals should contact Kazakhstan’s diplomatic mission/consulate in the country of residence or the consular office of the MFA of Kazakhstan at the airport and submit:

- Valid passport (or international travel document). The passport should expire not earlier than 3 months upon expiry of the respective visa;
- Valid visa to the third country (i.e. country of main destination) on the passport is obligatory
- Ticket (air, rail)
- Filled-in visa questionnaire;
(available on  Visa Rules)
- Photo 3.5х4.5
- Proof of consular fee paid
The consul reserves the right to demand the submission of supplementary documentation if necessary.

The change for any reason of the point (indicated in visa support letter) of granting a visa allows diplomatic missions of Kazakhstan abroad to grant a visa where a foreign citizen applies for it.

1.2. VISA EXTENSION PROCEDURE

The visa for Kazakhstan shall be extended by offices of the Consular Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and by migration police departments of the Ministry of the Interior of Kazakhstan, regional interior departments/interior departments and by those of Astana and Almaty cities.

Visa may be extended only if there are documents (licenses, contracts etc.), acknowledging the need to extend the stay of a foreign national in Kazakhstan.

Stay of staff of foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices, international institutions and other offices of foreign states, accredited or registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, shall be extended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan for a period not exceeding the accreditation validity period.

1.3. COST OF VISA

The consular service fee to be paid for handling documents and granting visas shall include approved consular charge on the basis of reciprocity in US Dollars or in the currency of a country where the Kazakh diplomatic mission is accredited. Depending on the cost of living in the country of residence, offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan abroad shall apply various consular charges not higher or lower than the maximum and minimum consular charge rates, approved by Resolution No. 1761, passed by the Government of Kazakhstan 29th December 2001.

Based on key rates the consular charge may reach:
- 10 to 30 US Dollars for single Kazakhstan entry/exit visa - or its extension for up to three months;
- 20 to 60 US Dollars for single Kazakhstan entry/exist visa or exit/entry visa - or its extension for up to three months;
- 30 to 90 US Dollars for double Kazakhstan entry/exist visa or exit/entry visa - or its extension for up to three months;
- 35 to 105 US Dollars for triple Kazakhstan entry/exist visa - or exit/entry visa or its extension for up to three months;
- 100 to 200 US Dollars for multiple Kazakhstan visa or its extension for up to 1 year, and 200 to 400 US Dollars for its extension for up to 2 years;
- 20 to 40 US Dollars for single tourist visa for up to 30 days, and 30 to 60 US Dollars for double tourist visa for up to 60 days;
- 10 to 30 US Dollars for transit visa for up to 60 days.

The Kazakhstan diplomatic, official and investor visas shall be granted free of consular charge.  More information 

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