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New Visa Requirements for Kazakhstan

Posted on: 18/01/2016 in: Recent Developments

Even the eagle eyed among you may have missed a report by TengriNews published on Christmas Day 2015 confirming the latest on visa requirements for Kazakhstan! If you were too busy tearing open the wrapping paper or keeping watch over how the turkey was cooking, here’s a quick round up.

Currently, UK citizens travelling to Kazakhstan are exempt from previous requirements provided their stay in the country will not exceed 15 days. This follows an extension in July last year  until December 2017 of a previous visa free period introduced in 2014.

Kazakhstan now plans to introduce visa free entry for the 34 member-countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), as well as Malaysia, Monaco, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. According to the report, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister has announced that citizens of these countries are to be granted visa free entry as well as permission to stay in the country for up to 30 days from their date of entry. It is thought that further confirmation of these plans will be announced later on this year.

This most recent step towards simplifying visa procedures is no doubt motivated by two factors. Firstly, it likely to be aimed at encouraging business and particularly foreign investment in the run up to the hosting of EXPO 2017 in the country’s capital, Astana. Kazakhstan has also been keen in recent years to attract more visitors for tourism.

Either way, this is all great news for potential exporters to Kazakhstan, who may need to visit the country  on business and take advantage of the increasing drive in the oil and gas sector for efficiency and cost saving, which has only been furthered by recent falls in the price of oil.

If your UK based business, however small, has innovative products or technologies for application in this sector, we are always happy to talk about how we can support you in establishing lucrative links to our Kazakh contacts with a view to facilitating exports. Get in touch by emailing us at  info@kazopp.com