Report: Azeri consulate in Batumi, Georgia

[noflytripping]

Just an update on this. Picked up a 15 day Visa for Azerbaijan in Tbilisi today. Applied at Medea Travel, just next door to the Azeri consulate. Applying took about 15 minutes max, 5 days processing time. They speak good English, required to keep my passport and asked for a few details. They will take a picture if you can't provide one for no cost.

Cost for UK citizen was $150. Process takes 5 working days, but I applied Monday morning and got it Friday afternoon that week. Visa is valid for 15 days within a 30 day window that you can specify. No hotel reservations etc required.

So not as straight forward as it would have been had I got one in Batumi, but straight forward enough, and much quicker than the eVisa route.

[Mikael]

I tried the consulate in Batumi today and got told to get it in Tblisi by the guards.

[davidcmarcus]

I visited the Batumi Consulate on Monday June 2014 and was sent away by the security officers.

I insisted on speaking with the consul, and after an hour of waiting and physical encounters with unfriendly security, the consul explained the current situation.

They have stickers, but they do not have the printer to digitally put the photo and dates on these sticker, and have been waiting 45 days for a delivery and installation.

So the only solution was to be patient or use Tbilisi.

I visited the Tbilisi consulate today 2 July 2014 and had to also fight my way to get inside the door. I had already applied for an E-visa over a month before, and had no reply. After speaking with them they agreed to issue me with a single entry transit visa valid for 5 days for $20. This usually takes 5 working days, but they agreed to issue it the next day - if I printed out my E-visa application and showed a visa in my passport for the country I was in transit to. Luckily I received a full 30 day Iranian visa on the same day in Batumi - so that was enough. Then the usual procedure of paying the amount directly at the International Bank of Azerbaijan and coming back with receipt of same.

Visa is not date specific but is valid for 30 days from date of issue and five days from entry.

My reasons for the transit visa is that my Right Hand Drive South African vehicle will only be allowed 72 hours on entry, so it was pointless to waste time and money on full tourist visa.

BTW all the above is on a South African passport and with a lot of insistence and pleading and showing five passports all full with stamps and visas from the last 10 years of travel.

[steven]

Thank you for the update! It seems the situation will continue to change throughout the summer.

[man_without_eye]

http://www.slavomirhorak.net/english/ As per website of well informed expert on CIS countries, was whole simplified visa issuance just "private consul's business", which was cut off.

[Jesswb]

22.08.2014 - British cyclist used Medea travel (right next to Azerbaijan embassy) in Tbilisi to get Azerbaijan visa. Took 5 working days and cost 160 dollars. Just needed to take along my passport and a passport photo and they do the rest. Have 30 days to enter Azerbaijan and visa lasts 15 days.

[cpittella]

If you are a traveller going from Europe to India through Azerbaijan,
here's a quick update on the best & worst places to get an Azeri Visa.

Please note this is only relevant for travellers; if you can get an Azeri visa in your own country, that's probably easier, cheaper, faster... But, if you will be months in the road before reaching Azerbaijan, than this update is for you.

1. Budapest, Hungary - FORGET IT
They don't let foreigners apply.
You need invitation letter, ticket (air, train, bus), address
-- and a residence permit, which you won't have as a traveller.
If you are staying more than 2 weeks in Budapest (worth it, for the city is gorgeous), then you could hire a travel agent... not cheap.

2. E-visa - FORGET IT
Since I was not staying more than 2 weeks in Budapest, a travel agent recommended an e-visa... I needed an invitation letter and the documents of the inviting person. Go Couch Surfing if you don't have a friend. I did all that (from a computer in Serbia) and waited 1, 2, 3 weeks, 1, 2 months. Nothing. No reply. Because the e-visa is a joke, doesn't really work... Only Travel Agents were supposed to use it, as I found out later in Athens. Forget it.

3. ATHENS - CONSIDER IT
The consul is never there, but his secretary is awesome, for she is a traveller and understand exceptions. If you talk nicely, you could get an exception, provided you have invitation letter and can stay at least 2 weeks in Athens. I couldn't. As you will see later, Batumi is the best place to apply (better than Tbilisi).

4. ISTANBUL - FORGET IT
Since I was not a resident, they told me: try in Ankara. Really!
BTW: address of the consulate is wrong on their website.
CHECK IT TWICE BEFORE GOING.
The right place is in Akatlar.

5. ANKARA - FORGET IT
Worse than Istanbul, for they don't do anything for you.
Actually, they don't work at all, for Turks don't need a visa,
and they can make you wait for hours, even though there are no lines.
By the way, address is also wrong online.
The new consulate is veeery far, on a place infested by feral dogs (true).
If you are scared of dogs, don't even bother (for 20 dogs may surround you).
This was the 8th time I went to an Azeri consulate, and the first time I heard this: you will need a special letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (your inviting person would need to go to the Ministry, get a special letter and mail it to you, seriously). So, forget it. DON'T DO THIS. It's B.S.

6. BATUMI - APPLY HERE (cheaper than Tbilisi)
Best Consulate ever. Young and very nice consul.
Invited me and 2 friends to his office.
Documents needed? None. Not even invitation letter.
What you actually need:
- original passport (to show, then to get the visa)
- passport copy (for they won't keep your passport!, oh yeah!)
- 2 standard photos (they don't really care about the size)
- 35 euros only (it could be a bit more or less depending on your nationality)!

If you pay much more (135 euros), you can get the visa in 1h!

Bring the consul a coffee for me, when you get the visa!

[cpittella]

ps: When applying in Batumi, you would still need an address and contact name in Azerbaijan (for the form purposes).

[charlieb123]

Awesome, this is amazingly useful! I was literally just about to use the E-Visa to apply, but was thinking about just going to Batumi instead - this makes my life so much easier. Amazing work! Are you going to Turkmenistan after Azerbaijan? If so, how did getting the Turkmen transit visa work for you?

[jimp]

Is this information about the Batumi still current - as of 15 May 2015?? It will be very helpful to know if it is or not!

Thanks,
Jim