Kazakhstan corona travel restrictions Q&A

[Devidyal]

It is simple, it means you can, potentially enter Kazakhstan but you would need a visa. I don't think it would be feasible to get one as a tourist right now but it doesn't hurt to get in touch with the local kazakh consulate and ask.

Thanks for the feedback. I contacted the consulate in Hannover/Germany and they just send me the visa application form and a bank account to wire 50€ to. So while I have not got a visa yet, getting one does not seem to be a problem Also from what I understand no invitation letter is needed (https://caravanistan.com/coronavirus/#kazakhstan says otherwise, but I am not sure what countries this applies to).

I live in Almaty. I assure you they are not giving tourist visas until at least December. You will not get in. I have plenty of friends that would love to visit me. It is difficult enough for me to get in and I work here. They set the tentative reopening date for December 31st. Below is a list of who is allowed in; the one that says "People with Kazakhstan visa and approved by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan" is extremely difficult to get. My husband and I both live and work in Kazakhstan and still had trouble getting in the country due to the pandemic. It was such a hassle last year that we decided to not fly anywhere again until this is over to save ourselves the stress of having to deal with it again.

Nationals of Kazakhstan
Residents of Kazakhstan (may enter once every 30 days)
Spouse, parents, children of nationals/residents of Kazakhstan (may enter once every 30 days)
Nationals of Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan
Diplomatic passport holders and their families
People with Kazakhstan visa and approved by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
Passengers traveling as students with an invitation letter from an educational institution of Kazakhstan
Passengers traveling on business and approved by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan

[mazeno]

compulsory vaccination in kzh now
viewtopic.php?p=37771#p37771

[Bakhtiyark]

compulsory vaccination in kzh now
viewtopic.php?p=37771#p37771

When vaccination campaign started this February-March, it was initially "Voluntary" for most, only civil servants were obligated to receive their shots.
As soft measures had no particular effect, Information on TV/Public places/Talk shows with Medics/Monetary incentives for employees/etc, government now decided to downright force nearly everyone to get vaccinated.
I got my shots in April, and the queue both times was like 5-10 people, with most of them being either police or draftees. However previous two weeks were tense, with clinics and vaccination points being overwhelmed.

Considering antivaccination sentiments being high and trust for officials low, some people either protest against vaccination or illicitly buy vaccination passports.

[Isleofnomads]

We plan to travel to Kazakhstan in August, have just gotten our tourism visas from the embassy (we are from Germany). Can anyone tell me more about the restrictions in the country and whether we can get the Ashyq app to access restaurants and public spaces without a Kazakh telephone number? Just tried signing up and that didn’t work unfortunately. We are fully vaccinated.
Thanks a lot in advance and will post a travel update sometime in August - we also plan to travel to Kyrgyzstan via land from Almaty afterwards.

[Julia]

We plan to travel to Kazakhstan in August, have just gotten our tourism visas from the embassy (we are from Germany). Can anyone tell me more about the restrictions in the country and whether we can get the Ashyq app to access restaurants and public spaces without a Kazakh telephone number? Just tried signing up and that didn’t work unfortunately. We are fully vaccinated.
Thanks a lot in advance and will post a travel update sometime in August - we also plan to travel to Kyrgyzstan via land from Almaty afterwards.

That depends on the city.
I'm in Almaty now. Haven't noticed much restrictions. A few restaurants required Ashyq app to enter or you can show your passport if you don't have an app.
Many restaurants are still free to enter.
As for other public places, gyms and swimming pools require Ashyq app. Don't know about the musems, maybe they require the app too.
Generally I don't see much restrictions in Almaty. But I'm more into nature, I generally don't go often to the museums, cinemas, and other public places except some restaurants and bazaars.

[04Morley]

We plan to travel to Kazakhstan in August, have just gotten our tourism visas from the embassy (we are from Germany). Can anyone tell me more about the restrictions in the country and whether we can get the Ashyq app to access restaurants and public spaces without a Kazakh telephone number? Just tried signing up and that didn’t work unfortunately. We are fully vaccinated.
Thanks a lot in advance and will post a travel update sometime in August - we also plan to travel to Kyrgyzstan via land from Almaty afterwards.

Hi Isleofnomads, how did you get a tourist visa? I thought they weren't issueing? Thanks.

[itfcfan]

Hi Isleofnomads, how did you get a tourist visa? I thought they weren't issueing? Thanks.

Citizens of countries where Kazakhstan has restarted direct flights to have reduced restrictions on entry. It's a bit arbitrary (before the pandemic, KZ only had direct flights to a limited number of countries) but if your country is on that list it'll make a difference for you.

The poster was from Germany, so tourist entry has been possible for a while (visa-waiver is still suspended until the end of 2021 at least, so you need to apply for a visa).

Direct flights to London are due to resume on 18th September 2021 so UK citizens have recently been allowed to apply to tourist visas again:
https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mf ... 79&lang=en

If you get a visa this way, I think you'll reduce your hassle when flying in by flying on the direct flight from the country of your citizenship. I'm eligible for a family visa for KZ and both times I've flown during the pandemic I've been told during check-in on my KZ-bound flight (once from Frankfurt, once from Kyiv) that "you won't be able to fly, even if you have a visa you need authorisation from Kazakhstan". After arguing my case and showing all my supporting documents and having a supervisor come over I was allowed on, but it was stressful both times. I think most foreigners flying to KZ at the moment are on work visas and they *do* need additional permission from the "Interdepartmental Commission" of the KZ government, so airline staff are expecting to see this.

[Bakhtiyark]

There are some good news;
Travel restrictions were eased and visa-free regime resumed for 30 countries:

Italy
Netherlands
France
Germany
Spain
Japan
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Poland
Denmark
Chile
Hungary
South Korea
Bahrain
Qatar
Monaco
Cyprus
Iceland
Finland
Malta
Portugal
Liechtenstein
Slovakia
Luxembourg
Canada
Singapour
Belgium

Источник: https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/ryad-r ... vk-2181058

[Nikopol]

Does "visa-free" mean that ome can cross land border or its still via airplane only?

[landcruising]

Does "visa-free" mean that ome can cross land border or its still via airplane only?

Exactly my question.