While there is an exclusion for some countries (with the UK, Ireland and Iceland being one of them), the general rule is that you do need to obtain a visa to visit Kazakhstan, wrote MFA's press service.

Starting from 1 January 2019, Kazakhstan introduced a pilot mode of the procedure for obtaining a single entry visa for foreigners in electronic format. The electronic visa is issued through the Visa and Migration Portal.

An electronic visa is issued based on an invitation from the Kazakh side, which is issued in the migration service units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. Tourist electronic visas are issued to citizens of 117 states, business and medical treatment visas – to citizens of 23 states.

The passport provided by the recipient of a visa should meet the following criteria:

- should not cause doubts in authenticity and belonging to its owner, have reservations, notes, erasures and corrections, torn or unsewn pages;

- should have at least 2 blank pages;

- should expire no earlier than 3 months from the expiry date of the requested visa;

- should not have marks of extension.

When the travel document (passport) is replaced, the electronic visa must be obtained again. In case of discrepancies between the information in the electronic visa and in the travel document that proves the identity, the electronic visa is considered invalid and this may serve as a reason for refusing entry to Kazakhstan.

Foreigners can enter/exit the territory of Kazakhstan using a valid electronic visa only through the checkpoints of international airports of Nur-Sultan and Almaty. When crossing the state border and during his/her stay in Kazakhstan, the foreigner must have the passport and the printed electronic visa.

Foreigners with electronic visas are exempt from registration with the migration service authorities. The inviting side must inform the migration authorities about the foreigners staying with them within three working days from the date of their arrival.

Visa and Migration Portal (step-by-step e-visa issuance algorithm):

- in order to obtain an electronic visa, the foreigner should register on the website of the Visa and Migration Portal;

- go to the “electronic visa" section and confirm the invitation;

- learn about the requirements for obtaining an electronic visa;

- enter the invitation number (sent by the inviting side) and fill in the passport details;

- after confirming the invitation, confirm the compliance of the information in the electronic visa and in the travel document that proves the identity;

- pay the consular fee online (it is important to return to the personal account of the portal after payment);

- print the electronic visa (the visa is formed on the personal account);

- present the printed electronic visa when passing through passport control at international airports in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.

List of countries whose citizens may obtain an electronic single entry tourist visa to enter Kazakhstan

1. Algeria

2. Andorra

3. Angola

4. Antigua and Barbuda

5. Aruba

6. The Bahamas

7. Bahrain

8. Bangladesh

9. Barbados

10. Belize

11. Benin

12. Bhutan

13. Bolivia

14. Botswana

15. Brunei

16. Burkina Faso - Upper Volta

17. Burundi

18. Cambodia

19. Cameroon

20. Central African Republic

21. Chad

22. China

23. Colombia

24. The Comoros

25. Republic of the Congo

26. Costa Rica

27. Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

28. Cuba

29. Democratic People's Republic of Korea

30. Djibouti

31. Dominica

32. Dominican Republic

33. El Salvador

34. Eritrea

35. Ethiopia

36. Faroe Islands

37. Fiji

38. Gabon

39. Gambia

40. Ghana

41. Grenada

42. Guatemala

43. Guinea

44. Guinea-Bissau

45. Guyana

46. Haiti

47. Honduras

48. India

49. Indonesia

50. Jamaica

51. Kenya

52. Kiribati

53. Kuwait

54. Laos

55. Lebanon

56. Lesotho

57. Liberia

58. Liechtenstein

59. Macao

60. Macedonia

61. Madagascar

62. Malawi

63. Maldives

64. Mali

65. Marshall Islands

66. Mauritania

67. Mauritius

68. Micronesia

69. Montenegro

70. Morocco

71. Mozambique

72. Myanmar (Burma)

73. Namibia

74. Nauru

75. Nepal

76. Nicaragua

77. Niger

78. Nigeria

79. Oman

80. Palau

81. Panama

82. Papua New Guinea

83. Paraguay

84. Peru

85. Philippines

86. Qatar

87. Rwanda

88. Saint Kitts and Nevis

89. Saint Lucia

90. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

91. Samoa

92. San Marino

93. Sao Tome and Principe

94. Saudi Arabia

95. Senegal

96. Seychelles

97. Sierra Leone

98. South Africa

99. Sri Lanka

100. Suriname

101. Swaziland

102. Tanzania

103. Thailand

104. Togo

105. Tonga

106. Trinidad and Tobago

107. Tunisia

108. Turkmenistan

109. Tuvalu

110. Uganda

111. Uruguay

112. Vanuatu

113. Vatican

114. Venezuela

115. Viet Nam

116. Zambia

117. Zimbabwe

List of countries whose citizens may obtain an electronic single entry business and medical treatment visa to Kazakhstan:

1. Bahamas

2. Bermuda

3. Burundi

4. Cambodia

5. Cuba

6. Greenland

7. Haiti

8. Honduras

9. Indonesia

10. Kuwait

11. Laos

12. Macao

13. Macedonia

“The Qazaq Times”