Kazakhstan corona travel restrictions Q&A

[itfcfan]

Since end of the year is approaching, does anyone know of KZ government decided to extend their restrictions into 2022 or are they letting it expire on 31st?

I haven't seen news on this one way or the other - unfortunately I think it'll be a case of waiting until the new year and seeing what happens. As a comparison, when the visa waiver scheme was first launched, it was always "provisional until 31st December 20xx" (the following year) and we always had to wait until a few days into the new year to confirm it had indeed been extended.

I was feeling quite confident KZ would reinstate the visa-waiver from 1st Jan 2022 until the Omicron wave started, now I'm not so sure. Since 3rd December new travel restrictions have applied:

Arrivals from the countries affected by the new Omicron strain, namely, Israel, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Italy, Germany, Australia and Canada, must present negative PCR test despite vaccination against coronavirus and self-isolate for seven days.

https://www.inform.kz/en/kazakhstan-to- ... n_a3868663

If you're lucky enough to be from Germany / Netherlands / Poland / Hungary / UK then you should be able to get a tourist visa through the "direct flight" provision. Otherwise I think it'll be a matter of waiting to see if any relaxations are announced in January.

For what its worth, there seems to be a lull in Covid cases within Kazakhstan recently. The excess deaths shown by the guys at World Mortality Dataset seems to be a realistic measure for the countries it covers. It shows Covid deaths in Kazakhstan coming down in September / October from a peak in August:

[Hound_Dog]

I think it is a wait and see approach that most governments are taking. I am seeing a lot of previous schedules being pushed back but still moving forward. Hopefully things will settle over the next few months and by the time the "riding season" is here borders will again be open.

[steven]

The KZ consul of Netherlands said that the visa-free regime for Kazakhstan has been reinstated (in an expat Telegram group). Waiting for official confirmation.

[airlinedlx]

This is from Joanna lillis, Almaty based English journalist, who's saying they won't let any foreigner in Kazakhstan for now, though she's been living in Kazakhstan for more than a decade...

[Nikopol]

Border with Kyrgyzstan is closed for two days now.

[itfcfan]

The Kazakh embassy in London has updated their website to show that citizens of most European countries (plus some others including USA, Canada, etc) can visit Kazakhstan visa-free for 30 days since 1st January 2022.

They list 57 countries:


This is the source:
https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mf ... 79&lang=en

I emailed the embassy in London this morning and they confirmed this via email (they directed me to the link above). As far as I can tell, there are no additional restrictions for entry due to the recent protests/disruption (I *think* the entry restrictions mentioned a couple of days ago relate only to land borders, but it'd be good to have confirmation).

I'm in Kazakhstan (Astana) at the moment and a limited number of international and domestic flights are running from Astana airport again.

[AreWeThereYet?]

The BBC got their Moscow correspondent (Steve Rosenberg) in Ast... ehm, Nur-Sultan so I guess the border restrictions are indeed relative to the land entry points.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-59928697

[Nikopol]

The Kazakh embassy in London has updated their website to show that citizens of most European countries (plus some others including USA, Canada, etc) can visit Kazakhstan visa-free for 30 days since 1st January 2022.

They list 57 countries:


This is the source:
https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mf ... 79&lang=en

I emailed the embassy in London this morning and they confirmed this via email (they directed me to the link above). As far as I can tell, there are no additional restrictions for entry due to the recent protests/disruption (I *think* the entry restrictions mentioned a couple of days ago relate only to land borders, but it'd be good to have confirmation).

I'm in Kazakhstan (Astana) at the moment and a limited number of international and domestic flights are running from Astana airport again.

Russian media reported during CSTO meeting that presidency issued general order banning all foreigner arrivals (with exception of CSTO troops I'd guess).

So...untrue?

[itfcfan]

Russian media reported during CSTO meeting that presidency issued general order banning all foreigner arrivals (with exception of CSTO troops I'd guess).

So...untrue?

I saw those Russian media reports at the time, but then shortly afterwards other reports contradicting this. As far as I know the KZ government never made an announcement either way, but if anyone has seen one I'd been keen to know.

[Nikopol]

Russian media reported during CSTO meeting that presidency issued general order banning all foreigner arrivals (with exception of CSTO troops I'd guess).

So...untrue?

I saw those Russian media reports at the time, but then shortly afterwards other reports contradicting this. As far as I know the KZ government never made an announcement either way, but if anyone has seen one I'd been keen to know.

I saw also announcement that 5 out of 7 border crossings with Kyrgyzstan has been fully shut. Is that still the case?

I do understand that situation is developing and week from now it may be different. I do wonder if anyone will try the visa-free regime right now, but I would reckon customs agents would likely for time being turned such person around.