Kazakhstan new visa free rule 2015

[discopanda]

Hello everyone,

I've been getting some mixed answers regarding doing visa runs from different agencies. Is there any legislation regarding the maximum amount of days you can stay in Kazakhstan using the visa-free regime? One agency (non-governmental if I'm correct, so not sure how valid this advice was) told me that the government will start being more strict concerning indefinite visa-free entries. Basically, I want to keep on doing this for the rest of the year, or get a visa in the EU, but doing visa runs is quite convenient.

I've been doing visa runs since August (Almaty - Kordai), everything has been fine so far, did another run yesterday which also went smoothly. In case it interests someone, this is how I do it:
From Sairan avtovokzal, prices to get to the border vary from 2000-3000 tenge for ONE PLACE in a taxi. Taxi drivers will try to convince you to pay for the entire car so they can go immediately, tell them you just want one spot. 2000 is considered cheap, 2500 is quite an average price, never pay more than 3000. Check the car for winter tires in winter. Don't pay up front. Usually the taxi driver will get fuel on the way and ask for payment then. Don't pay for your way back until you are in the car back and the driver is getting gas again.
Usually when I'm at Sairan around 9:30, the spots in the car have to fill up, afterwards is about a 3-4 hour drive. I cross the border, immediately cross back, drink a cup of coffee, and get a taxi back (that obviously has to fill up too). In general, I'm back by 17 at Sairan. Avoid going on snowy days, the ride will take much longer.
Don't forget your migration card when you go, don't forget to get a migration card when you cross back into Kazakhstan. Make sure you have 2 stamps.

There is a decent toilet at the Kazakh side of the border next to the gas station for 50 tenge. The one on Kyrgyz side is a more traditional hole in the ground.

Hope this helps anyone!

[steven]

If the agency has some concrete evidence, please let us know. Until that time, it's business as usual. I know people who have been doing visa runs for years, no problem.

[trabuccoitalia]

Hey guys, as far as I know there are no border controls between Russia and KZ, right?
I have Italian passport (so I don't need KZ Visa) and multiple russian visa. If I enter KZ by land, how can enter legally?

There is border control.
To enter Kazakhstan from Russia you need to choose one of the border crossing check points and cross the border only there.
There are a few legal border crossings.

Thank you (and Cristiano too)! I assume that if I take an international bus route from Russia to KZ it will be an border open for foreigners or there might be some exceptions?

[steven]

Yes, that will be fine.

[Julia]

There are international border crossings open for all passport holders and border crossings open for locals only.

Don't know where exactly your bus is going to cross the border. I guess one of the international border crossings.

Here is the list of international border crossings between Kazakhstan and Russia so you can check if you go through one of them:

Курмангазы 
Таскала
Сырым
Аксай
Алимбет
Жайсан
Кайрак
Акбалшик
Жана Жол
Каракога
Урлитобе
Сулу Агаш
Косак
Шарбакты
Ауыл
Убе 
Жезкент

[Granite2018]

I think this has already been cleared up, but just to confirm, I crossed into Kazakhstan with an EU passport yesterday. No visa required, business as usual.

[Don Roscoe]

Can I ask for an update on visa registration requirements after arriving in Kazakhstan.

In particular, if I come in with no visa (ie as a US passport holder) do I need to do any sort of registering? If so, at a hotel, or at OVIR, or ?

I think there's something about "must register within five days" or "three working days" and I've also seen something about "not needed for stays less than 15 days" but all these assertions are of dubious validity and may or may not still be accurate and current.

So it would be tremendously helpful to get a definitive statement on this, thank you! (Might be useful to update the KZ Visa page as well?)

Don.

[bwv812]

The registration info linked from the Kazakhstan visa page seems pretty clear to me:
https://caravanistan.com/visa/kazakhsta ... tion-ovir/

[Don Roscoe]

I guess your ability to see things clearly is why you're a China expert and I'm not.

This site prides itself on being an encyclopedic resource for visa information to the 'stan countries, and I'd have hoped that a fair request for clarification and update would have been greeted with eagerness to add to its content and resource rather than a wholly inappropriate "RTFM" answer.

For me, in your linked article which I have indeed read, I see phrases like :

Be aware that you may be fined, asked for a bribe or go to jail at any time during your stay in Kazakhstan for not registering properly, even if you don’t have to register at all or have registered properly in the first place.

which concern me greatly and encourage me to make sure I've an optimum strategy in place, and additional phrases like :

Until March 2017, the situation was as below. As of now, we are no longer sure.

that make me wonder what has happened in the last two years.

I also see no reference to hotel registration, just OVIR registration, and no mention of differing rules, as cited elsewhere, for differing lengths of stay.

Perhaps, with your greater clarity, you could directly answer my questions so we can all share your clarity of thought, and answer them in general for everyone who visits this site seeking clarification, whether they be with no visa, with an e-visa, with a traditional visa, and with or without a LOI, so as to keep this site's worthy pre-eminence as the leading resource for such things.

Hotel registration - yes/no?
Differing registration requirements for differing lengths of stay? If so, what?

Many thanks

Don R.

[bwv812]

I'm sorry if you don't like the free advice given on the forums. You asked a question in a way that suggested you hadn't read the article; if you had, you probably wouldn't be asking about these "assertions of dubious validity" that the article covers.

This site prides itself on being an encyclopedic resource for visa information to the 'stan countries, and I'd have hoped that a fair request for clarification and update would have been greeted with eagerness to add to its content and resource rather than a wholly inappropriate "RTFM" answer.

I must have missed the part where you asked for clarification on the article's contents, and I'm sorry you think it's inappropriate of me to ask you to read the article that addresses the questions you asked.

Be aware that you may be fined, asked for a bribe or go to jail at any time during your stay in Kazakhstan for not registering properly, even if you don’t have to register at all or have registered properly in the first place.

which concern me greatly and encourage me to make sure I've an optimum strategy in place

I think the article gives you as optimum an approach as can be had regarding corrupt or ignorant officials.

additional phrases like :

Until March 2017, the situation was as below. As of now, we are no longer sure.

You fail to quote the immediate prior sentence/section heading, which clearly notes that the following information pertains to visitors who are "[n]ot visa-free, but no LOI needed." Do you require a visa, or are you visa free?

I also see no reference to hotel registration, just OVIR registration, and no mention of differing rules, as cited elsewhere, for differing lengths of stay.

So the article is supposed to discuss rules that don't exist?

Perhaps, with your greater clarity, you could directly answer my questions so we can all share your clarity of thought, and answer them in general for everyone who visits this site seeking clarification, whether they be with no visa, with an e-visa, with a traditional visa, and with or without a LOI, so as to keep this site's worthy pre-eminence as the leading resource for such things.

Again, I think the article is pretty clear, and as accurate as anything you're going to find on the topic. And there's a reason that information is in an article (and why the forum asks you read the visa articles before asking a question): so that the questions don't have to be answered over and over again in the forums.

Steven may delete my comment when he sees it, and instead ask you how he can make the article more clear. I, on the other hand, offer free advice (and yes, pointing you to an article that does actually answer your questions is advice) and while I am happy to spend my time answering questions where I can, I also prefer not to waste my time covering well-covered ground.