Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world and the ninth-largest of all, reaching from the Caspian Sea to the Altai mountains on the border with China, with a corner west of the Ural River in Europe. Most of it is steppe and desert, rising in the south-east to the snow peaks of the Tian Shan; the capital, Astana, lies on the northern steppe, and Almaty, the largest city, at the foot of the mountains. Independent since 1991, the country has Kazakh as its state language, and Russian is spoken almost everywhere.
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Visa requirements for Kazakhstan
Holders of American, British, Canadian, Australian, Irish and New Zealand passports need no visa for a visit to Kazakhstan of up to 30 days, for tourism or business. Indian and Nigerian travellers need a visa and confirm the route, the e-visa or an embassy visa, with a Kazakh embassy before booking. Visitors are registered with the migration authorities on arrival at the airport or by their hotel or host.
Before you travel
Admitted at the border
A visitor whose passport needs no visa is admitted at the border for up to 30 days per visit, for tourism or business, with nothing to apply for before the journey.
90 days in any 180
Visa-free visits may be repeated, but together they may not exceed 90 days in any 180-day period.
Work and study need a visa
A visa-free visit covers tourism and business visits only; work, study and longer stays need a visa obtained before the journey.
Registration on arrival
Visitors are registered with the migration authorities, automatically on arrival at the international airports; hotels register their guests, and a private host registers a visitor staying in a home.
The passport
The passport must remain valid beyond the end of the stay and have a blank page for the entry stamp.
Visa types
Visit without a visa
For tourism and business visits where the passport needs no visa: entry is granted at the border.
Kazakhstan e-visa
For tourism and business visits by nationalities that may apply online: the approval is printed and shown at the border.
Embassy visa
For nationalities without an e-visa, and for work, study and longer stays: applied for at a Kazakh embassy or consulate, with an invitation where the visa type requires one.
Guides
Kazakhstan is travelled by corridors: its distances rule out crossing it on one trip, so a visit takes one or two regions and joins them by air or overnight train. Most first visits begin in Almaty, where the Tian Shan rises at the edge of town, and a week from the city holds the mountains, a canyon and a chain of mountain lakes. The capital on the northern steppe and the Silk Road south are the next corridors.
Kazakhstan travel guide →
A week from Almaty, Charyn Canyon and the lakes of the south-east, Baikonur, and the cities of Almaty, Astana and Turkistan.
Money in Kazakhstan →
The tenge changed in the city, cash machines and where they stop, cards and QR codes, and cash for the bazaars.
Getting around Kazakhstan →
Domestic flights, overnight trains, the long roads to the canyons and lakes, and getting around Almaty and Astana.
Cities & planning
Regions
Embassies & missions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to visit Kazakhstan?
Not for a visit of up to 30 days on a US, UK, Australian, Canadian, Irish or New Zealand passport, for tourism or business, with no more than 90 days in any 180. Indian and Nigerian travellers need a visa and confirm the route with a Kazakh embassy before booking.
What is migration registration?
Every visitor is registered with the migration authorities: automatically on arrival at the international airports, and otherwise by the hotel or the private host. Hotels do it as a matter of course, and a visitor staying in a private home makes sure the host has done it.
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This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.