Visa regulations Kazakhstan – announcement on the extension of visa free travel to Kazakhstan from January 1, 2017
In accordance with the Government resolution of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 23 December 2016 № 838, “On amending the resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 21 January 2012 № 148”, “On adoption of Rules of entry and stay of immigrants in the Republic of Kazakhstan and their departure from the Republic of Kazakhstan and Rules of implementation of migratory control, and also registration of foreigners and stateless persons illegally crossing the State border of the Republic of Kazakhstan, illegally staying in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as individuals banned from entry to the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
Citizens of following countries (holders of diplomatic, service and national passports) may enter and exit Kazakhstan without issuing visas if the period of stay in the Republic of Kazakhstan does not exceed 30 calendar days from the moment of crossing the State border of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- United States of America
We also inform that the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan exercise the issuance of “business” category single entry visas of for a period of up to thirty calendar days based upon the application for extension of a stay in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan exceeding thirty calendar days for business purposes.
Benefits for Kazakhstan
Through an extension of the visa-free regime Kazakhstan hopes to:
Increase the inflow of foreign tourists to Kazakhstan.
Increase the number of people wishing to attend major international events scheduled in the next two years, such as EXPO 2017 in Astana and the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty.
Attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. The visa-free rules focus on the countries that not only invest in Kazakhstan, but also bring effective management and introduce new technologies into production.
General information on Kazakhstan, FDI and tourism
Kazakhstan’s openness to foreign investment has helped the country become one of the world’s 50 biggest economies.
President Nazarbayev has set a goal for Kazakhstan to build on its strong growth rates to join the ranks of the top 30 global economies by 2050.
Tourism is expected to play a key part in achieving this ambition. Kazakhstan, which is the world’s ninth largest country, contains a wide variety of national parks and stunning landscapes from high mountains to deserts.
Nur Sultan, the new capital city, has attracted some of the world’s leading architects to create a remarkable cityscape, while Almaty, the country’s largest city, has been shortlisted to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Some ten special economic zones operate in Kazakhstan. Entrepreneurs enjoy full support and tax preferences in these zones.
Investors in priority sectors (metallurgy, petrochemical, oil refining, engineering, construction materials and food production) are exempt from corporate income tax and land tax for a period of ten years, and the property tax for eight years.