Tajikistan Corona travel restrictions / e-visa issues Q&A

[maya30]

Hi, I'm an Spanish national wishing to do the Pamir Highway this summer in August. I've read that entering Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan through Kyzyl-Art Pass (Bor Dobo Border) by land is now restricted to 32 nationalities in which mine is not included. Is there any update regarding this? Otherwise, would you recommend doing the route the other way around (Dushambe-Osh)? I've read entering Kyrgyzstan from Tajikistan would be actually possible. Thank you very much.

Hi
how did you check which nationalities are the allowed 32?

[Christian77]

Tajikistan continues to deny that a single case of Covid has been detected in 2021. But private labs are anonymously confirming that cases are regularly detected: https://www.asiaplustj.info/en/news/taj ... tajikistan

Like last year, the government is trying to pass off Covid patients in the hospitals as regular pneumonia patients.

[deidren]

For what it’s worth, I applied for a multiple entry visa including GBAO permit around 15April(which is also when they processed my payment). It FINALLY got approved around 12June. So, unless things change, e-visa is about a 2 month turnaround time.

Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update now that I’m on the ground here in Tajikistan. E-visa system still isn’t processing visas, so you’ll need someone to push it through as has been stated before (Khudik or tour operator).

I flew to Dushanbe from Kabul with Kam Air on 9 June. My covid PCR was needed to check in for the flight as well as the copy of my e-visa. (Side note: I was told by the testing facility that Tajikistan required PCR’s to be no older than 48 hrs from departure. I’m not sure if this is the requirement for all arrivals to Tajikistan or if that just for arrivals from Afghanistan.) On arrival in Dushanbe it’s a little chaotic as usual. You want to first grab a migration card that are found on the counter against the wall right in front of where you come down off the escalator. Fill it out and then walk to one of the 3 tables where your information will be taken down and you will be given a covid nasal swab before continuing on to immigration.

The other update I figured I’d mention is that last night in Dushanbe there was a meeting between Emomoli Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev and I was told that they announced that the Sarezm border (Panjakent-Samarkand) would be opening 15 June.

[Christian77]

The official government news agency has now admitted that there are Covid-19 cases. They blame the people for not following the rules (government = wise; citizens foolish). They promise/threaten to enact strict rules in the near future, but, relevant to tourism, they only vaguely state that the government will "take necessary measures during international flights to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection."

https://khovar.tj/rus/2021/06/srochno-r ... navirusom/

[pete5330]

Ow nooo, hopefully this wouldn't go the wrong way for tourism. Already booked the car for end of august. Tajikistan is only open from november I think? Pff, fingers crossed.

[aaa]

I just wanted to mention that I tried crossing from Tajikistan into Kyrgyzstan a couple of days ago at the Kyzyl-Art crossing (ie attempting to travel from Murghab to Sary Tash). The Tajik side were happy to let me through (as long as the Kyrgyz side would accept me). However, at the Kyrgyz border post I was told that the border was closed and they would not let me proceed. I therefore had to return to Tajikistan.

Note that my nationality and covid test status weren't relevant to the decision - they just said the border is closed. They didn't give a reason why and they didn't say when it would reopen.

[Jealgu]

Is your nationality on the (in)famous list of 32 that can pass Kyrgyz landborders?

[aaa]

Yes, it is on the list of allowed nationalities, but that wasn't relevant to their decision: they would have said it was closed regardless of my nationality

[pete5330]

Goodmorning,

Am I translating this with google correctly as it says there is a quarantine again for foreigners?

https://asiaplustj.info/ru/news/tajikis ... orucheniya

[sebhoff]

Am I translating this with google correctly as it says there is a quarantine again for foreigners?

Mhm - good question. My Russian is rusty, so I may not be the best person to answer this, but I think the exact meaning of this sentence is underdetermined. This has to do with the meaning of "and" in context - it can either conjoin two (relatively) unrelated parts ("This car is green and that car is red") or it can mean 'and then' ("Tom jumped on his horse and rode off."). BTW, you can switch round the order in the first sentence but not in the second.
So in the first case, it could mean that the relevant bodies were instructed to ramp up diagnostics and also to make sure that everybody from abroad enters quarantine. In the second case, it would mean that the relevant bodies were instructed to ramp up diagnostics and then to make sure that *those who test positive* are sent into quarantine. I don't know which one is more likely - but I think we need other sources to confirm what's actually happening...
Sebastian