When will Azerbaijan open its borders?

[TrevtheCanuck]

Was still closed last week. Article above says longer too

[stuartr]

Hi All,

I`m heading out to Central Asia from the UK in April and would like to stay updated on the above border news. Does anyone have a website that gives accurate information and news on event in this area? There is information floating around that it would be re-opened in November, this dose not appear to be the case. Has it been closed for political reasons, or a hangover from Covid?

Many thanks for your help, Stuart.

[sebhoff]

In my experience, JAM-news is quite good: https://jam-news.net
The last rumour I heard/read was that the border *might* open on January 1st, but who knows.
Sebastian

[Rufio]

They pushed it from September to November to January. Better to just give your money to AZAL airlines like I did back in August.

[stuartr]

Im not keen on flying either myself or the bike. If the border is still closed when I leave the uK in April, I will look at going through Russia.

[IronChris]

Hi Stuartr,
I also want to get from the Kaukasus to Kazakhstan by motorcycle next year. Do you think it will be possible by land? According to iVisa, it seems to be only possible by air....

Best,
Chris

[stuartr]

Hi Chris,

At the moment it all seems to hinge on the border between Georgia and Azerbijan. If this is still an issue I will look at getting a Russian vias and exit Gerogia and transit a few days through Russia to Kazakstan. This is however not idea and there is obvious volotility with the Russian Federation. I`m panning on leaving in April from the UK to ride to Kyrgystan and back to the UK , so fingers crossed that somethig will open up. When are you leaving?

[IronChris]

Good morning, thanks for your reply!
I am planning to leave in beginning of March. I would love to take the ferry in Baku, but yeah AZ seems to be problematic. I will call the Russian embassy and try to get some Infos. The thing is, I could imagine to take this route, but ordering a visa now also means having to be there at a certain time... (which I try to avoid )
And getting a visa in turkey or Georgia is not that easy as I read.
What do you think?

[stuartr]

Im unaware of the time restriction on the visa. I would apply for a muti enrty, though it is more expensive, I would see how they could place dates of entry for this type of visa. However anything is possiable with the current situation, there is nothing in it for the Russians to make it easy for travelers. I guess we will have to just keep fingers crossed and hope that the border opens, or the Russians are in a good mood.....

[sebhoff]

I recently spoke to someone with direct links to a minister in the Georgian government and she claimed that Azerbaijan won't open land borders as long as the war in Ukraine goes on. They want to be able to control immigration and restricting it to air traffic is the most effective way of doing this.
Obviously, this is hearsay and I have no way of assessing the veracity of the claim. But I thought it might still be interesting for people in the planning phase of trips; given that the madness in Ukraine isn't likely to stop any time soon, we may then be in for a much longer wait...
Sebastian