Flight to and arrival in Tajikistan (visa and Covid procedures)

[Christian77]

Quick report on the arrival to Tajikistan, with some bureaucratic info that may be helpful:

Both in Canada and in Istanbul when I changed planes, employees of Turkish airlines asked to see both my e-visa and my PCR Covid test. However, in the airport in Dushanbe there were plenty of people lined up at the consular window to get visas on arrival, so not having an e-visa in hand will not prevent you (a white person, specifically) from being allowed to board the plane to Tajikistan (as usual, your mileage may vary according to your race, ethnicity and passport).

I have zero confidence in the legitimacy of the PCR tests people were presenting in Turkey. So assume people are bringing fake test results and are not tested, included the guy sitting next to you. My actual real PCR test is a pathetic one-page print-out of a test result that was emailed to me. I could have created a fake version in Word in a few minutes.

There was one doctor in the Dushanbe airport looking at people as they walked down the stairs. I did my best to look healthy. He seemed disinterested. There were no temperature checks or questions, and they don't ask for your PCR test or say anything about self-isolation requirements. I suppose they rely on the airlines to ask about the PCR tests at the start of your trip.

Arrival in Dushanbe is pretty much the same as usual. As you come to the arrivals/immigration area you should go directly to the shelf along the righthand side and grab a migration card to fill out (bring your own pen!). It asked for an entry and exit date, which I don't have because I don't know when exactly I will be leaving (I just wrote down a random date before the end of my 60 day visa). The "visa number" can be filled out using your evisa number. There is a line to fill out about "Host person or company." I'm not on an organized tour, so I just entered the name of my guesthouse. And don't worry about the "patronymic" section. You don't have a patronymic name unless you are Russian or use Russian name conventions. Leave it blank. And then fill out the opposite side of the paper with the exact same info. It will be ripped in half by the officer and you will be given one side to keep (you hand it over when you leave the country).

The immigration and visa check goes super quickly, which is not that helpful because you might have to wait up to an hour for your luggage. By the time I got my bags, there were still people at the consular window getting their visa on arrival. It looked like a very, very slow line.

The "Somon" Taxi booth by the luggage area was abandoned, and there is no more taxi rank full of nice metered taxis lined up outside. I think the locals all either have a ride waiting, or have already sent a request to one of the many Uber-clones to come pick them up. The remaining foreigners are a waste of time for the metered taxis, as the hotels and guesthouses are close enough to not be a money-maker for the metered taxis. So it's back to the good old days: random dudes hollering "taxi taxi!" at you. If you like negotiating, then go for it. As for your hotel/guesthouse pick-up, they are banished to the outside. So you must pass the gauntlet of airport boss-approved taxi touts and go all the way outside to find your driver holding up a sign for you.

[jfractal]

Hello...
I confirm the information given by Chrétien 77. Visa on arrival works. Doctors recorded in a notebook the names of passengers presenting their proof of vaccination. On the other hand the tourists, they did not care more or less. All the premises stormed the customs offices which meant that it took 1 hour and a half to get out to retrieve the luggage.
Stamp on passport and e-visa but because of this I did not get the part of the migration slip that was to come back to me. I don't know if it will be a problem to leave. I was not given anything.

[frunze]

Quick report on the arrival to Tajikistan, with some bureaucratic info that may be helpful:

Both in Canada and in Istanbul when I changed planes, employees of Turkish airlines asked to see both my e-visa and my PCR Covid test. However, in the airport in Dushanbe there were plenty of people lined up at the consular window to get visas on arrival, so not having an e-visa in hand will not prevent you (a white person, specifically) from being allowed to board the plane to Tajikistan (as usual, your mileage may vary according to your race, ethnicity and passport).

I have zero confidence in the legitimacy of the PCR tests people were presenting in Turkey. So assume people are bringing fake test results and are not tested, included the guy sitting next to you. My actual real PCR test is a pathetic one-page print-out of a test result that was emailed to me. I could have created a fake version in Word in a few minutes.

There was one doctor in the Dushanbe airport looking at people as they walked down the stairs. I did my best to look healthy. He seemed disinterested. There were no temperature checks or questions, and they don't ask for your PCR test or say anything about self-isolation requirements. I suppose they rely on the airlines to ask about the PCR tests at the start of your trip.

Arrival in Dushanbe is pretty much the same as usual. As you come to the arrivals/immigration area you should go directly to the shelf along the righthand side and grab a migration card to fill out (bring your own pen!). It asked for an entry and exit date, which I don't have because I don't know when exactly I will be leaving (I just wrote down a random date before the end of my 60 day visa). The "visa number" can be filled out using your evisa number. There is a line to fill out about "Host person or company." I'm not on an organized tour, so I just entered the name of my guesthouse. And don't worry about the "patronymic" section. You don't have a patronymic name unless you are Russian or use Russian name conventions. Leave it blank. And then fill out the opposite side of the paper with the exact same info. It will be ripped in half by the officer and you will be given one side to keep (you hand it over when you leave the country).

The immigration and visa check goes super quickly, which is not that helpful because you might have to wait up to an hour for your luggage. By the time I got my bags, there were still people at the consular window getting their visa on arrival. It looked like a very, very slow line.

The "Somon" Taxi booth by the luggage area was abandoned, and there is no more taxi rank full of nice metered taxis lined up outside. I think the locals all either have a ride waiting, or have already sent a request to one of the many Uber-clones to come pick them up. The remaining foreigners are a waste of time for the metered taxis, as the hotels and guesthouses are close enough to not be a money-maker for the metered taxis. So it's back to the good old days: random dudes hollering "taxi taxi!" at you. If you like negotiating, then go for it. As for your hotel/guesthouse pick-up, they are banished to the outside. So you must pass the gauntlet of airport boss-approved taxi touts and go all the way outside to find your driver holding up a sign for you.

For all these snarky comments about how Tajikistan didn't enforce biosecurity rules on you, and how the tests of those third world people beside you are probably fake because they are not american or european, I have been to 10 countries since the pandemic started and I regret to inform everything you said about poor stupid Tajikistan applied to every single border I crossed.

Yes, it is always responsibility of the airline to check if you have the papers to board the flight. Temperature checks are pointless, as most people who have COVID don't develop a fever and they were abandoned by every one not wanting to just make a show like in April of last year. Yes, almost always PCR tests will be a home printed sheet, sometimes with a QR code, what did you expect? That everyone has a high tech security printer at home? According the Timatic travel map, Tajikistan does not officially require quarantines.

Travel is already miserable enough the way it is, and thank god authorities do not go even more beyond what is reasonable in these times. If you are so anxious about Covid do not expect the country to adapt to you and instead do not travel.

[Christian77]

This is a forum for travel information. I speak Tajik. So I asked the Tajiks at the Istanbul airport about their PCR tests (they have a great sense of humor, unlike you). I talked to people who work at the airport. And now I provide this information to other travelers, as they likely wouldn't have access to this level of detail. They should know that fake PCR tests among fellow passengers are a common thing.

As for snarkiness, I'm so glad that you are concerned about Tajikistan. If you like, I can provide a list of poorly-funded local charities here where you can volunteer for one to two months out of the year and donate 10% of your salary to, just as I have done for the most of the last 12 years. Would you prefer to help out at a charity for Downs' Syndrome children in Khujand, orphans in Hisor, or at an extracurricular school for poor children in Bokhtar? You call Tajikistan "poor stupid Tajikistan." I'm sorry you think that I think that. Go post on Reddit or somewhere poisonous like that, and take your white genocidal colonial forum name with you. And don't bother replying with your fake progressive comments. I won't bother reading.

For everyone else, note "jfractal's"' comments further above. He/she was on a flight where arrivals were asked to present proof of vaccine (others arriving at different times have made no mention of this, at least the ones I spoke to). So there is some inconsistency as you can see. Jfractal, did you mean "PCR Test" instead of "proof of vaccine"? But if you spoke correctly, then that would mean to be safe, an arrival should have PCT test results AND proof of vaccine in their hands when they arrive to Tajikistan. But they might not be asked for anything, as I was (for the 3:30am Turkish Airlines flight)

If anyone is interested in general post-airport information, here it is: masking is at a decent rate for service employees (supermarkets, restaurants), but low in accommodation and in taxis. On the streets and in businesses for customers it hovers at 5 to 10% in the center of Dushanbe, and close to zero outside of the city. Nobody seems concerned, but the ones I talked to all personally know of someone who has died within the last month (all above the age of 50). I forced my local friend to get vaccinated today, and the doctor who gave the shot said that Moderna, Sputnik and Astra-Zeneca is all used up, leaving one of the Chinese vaccines as the only choice at the moment for locals (at least in the region I am in right now).

[jfractal]

To be precise, I presented my Pcr test both at Istanbul airport in the boarding area and at the immigration level at Dushanbe airport. The proof of vaccination concerns the controls on departure from France.