Border crossing reports: Tajen (UZ - KAZ)

[Jealgu]

There are plenty of locals only borders in the region. It is not a covid thing. Not sure what the reasoning for this is. Perhaps it is cheaper because less administration is needed. In some cases governments might want to restrict access to certain areas for foreigners.

[itfcfan]

Hello, thanks for the reply... So... I'm curious, why would that border only be for CIS citizens... I mean, I imagined it would either be open or closed.

In my experience of the region (mainly Kazakhstan, but I think a lot applies more broadly) there is a concept of "near abroad" (a kind of leftover from the USSR, referencing citizens of CIS countries) which puts these people into a different category to true "foreigners" (people from outside CIS). Following the media you'll often see these groups categorised differently - laws and regulations may applies differently to people from "near abroad" and "foreigners". So while I don't know about the exact situation at these UZ borders it doesn't surprise me the idea of them being open to "near abroad" citizens only.

[mazeno]

tajen is not always locals only
it is covid time locals only

i have heard it is usual that you can wait long hours for border service especially on the uzb side (i heard even about 2 days)
unless you can press the customs to work
which i think is not so hard - personally i have never been crossing more than 2 hours both the border posts (kzh&uzb)

[frunze]

Hello, thanks for the reply... So... I'm curious, why would that border only be for CIS citizens... I mean, I imagined it would either be open or closed.

In my experience of the region (mainly Kazakhstan, but I think a lot applies more broadly) there is a concept of "near abroad" (a kind of leftover from the USSR, referencing citizens of CIS countries) which puts these people into a different category to true "foreigners" (people from outside CIS). Following the media you'll often see these groups categorised differently - laws and regulations may applies differently to people from "near abroad" and "foreigners". So while I don't know about the exact situation at these UZ borders it doesn't surprise me the idea of them being open to "near abroad" citizens only.

I do not understand the surprise with this. It is exactly the same situation as with the European Union.

[Milad]

Hello, thanks for the reply... So... I'm curious, why would that border only be for CIS citizens... I mean, I imagined it would either be open or closed.

In my experience of the region (mainly Kazakhstan, but I think a lot applies more broadly) there is a concept of "near abroad" (a kind of leftover from the USSR, referencing citizens of CIS countries) which puts these people into a different category to true "foreigners" (people from outside CIS). Following the media you'll often see these groups categorised differently - laws and regulations may applies differently to people from "near abroad" and "foreigners". So while I don't know about the exact situation at these UZ borders it doesn't surprise me the idea of them being open to "near abroad" citizens only.

Prove me wrong if the term "near abroad" has a different meaning in Kazakhstan than in Russia (from where I know the term), but to my understanding, the term "near abroad" is not identical with "CIS countries", but has been formed to explicitly include non-CIS member countries which used to be part of the USSR as well (originally, the Baltics, nowadays, Georgia and Ukraine are in this category too).

[elhabibi]

Hi guys, at the moment there are no trains running between Uzbekistan and Khazakstan. Does anyone have any recent reports about crossing this border on foot? Any info would be helpful.

[elhabibi]

Hi everyone,

If anyone is interested in crossing this border, here is my experience from today: I took the train from Nukus to Karakalpakiya, then found a cab in the Bus station that charged 80000 som to take me to the Tejen border, I think it was a 34-40 min drive. Once arrived ar the Uzbek border, the officer checked all my registration slips and tried to build the timeline of my stay and ensure I am covered for most of the days. He asked me a couple of questions about what I do and where I am from, somehow to confirm my identity, then asked me to show him the last 3-4 pics on my phone to make sure I didn't take any pictures at the border point. This took around 15-20 min, then walked on to the uzbek passport check where they gave me an exit stamp and scanned my luggage. Then on the kazakh side things went pretty smooth, they saw I'm a tourist to they asked me to come in front of the line. They checked my passport and my PCR test 3 times. So the PCR test is definitely required to cross the border, they don't seem to care much about vaccination unless you are from one of the few countries who's vaccines are recognised by the Kazakhstan government.

Notes:
- I was able to take my PCR test in Nukus at the Medical Center (https://maps.app.goo.gl/pm6RgL1YJuaUfnui9) for 140.000 Som. Results ready in 5-6h in paper format, so you got to plan to come back to pick up the results.
- Tenge Bank (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gvq4oib7EG8n39TL9) is one of the few that exchange to Kazakhstan Tenge of you need to have some cash on the other side.
- for cyclists: the road to the border on the Uzbek side is in pretty bad shape in some spots, on the Kazakh side tho the road has been recently fixed and is easy to navigate. I even saw a guy roller skating with a backpack towards the border, that's a first I met a cyclist on the train that gave up biking on the Uzbek side and just took the train to the border.

Hope this helps!

LE: I just learned from another traveller that there is a bus that goes from Nukus to Aktau ar a faster pace, might be worth looking into that as well.

[Li Via]

Thank you for these information - we plan to cross these border in a few days by bicycle.

best wishes,
Livia

[SteLa Tandem]

Thank you for these information - we plan to cross these border in a few days by bicycle.

best wishes,
Livia

Hi Livia,
Please let us know how you get on! We plan to crossby bicycle too in a few weeks. Which way are you going, where did you get PCRs?
Thanks
Laura

[RollingTreeHouse]

Which way are you going, where did you get PCRs?

This post may be redundant, but nowadays you don't need PCR tests to cross the border in either direction as both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan got rid of any pandemic-related border restrictions.