Tajikistan E-visa Q&A

[Christian77]

About two months ago the visa process slowed down without explanation, from 2 working days to 4+ working days. And then about a week ago (or earlier for others) the visa process slowed down even more, or completely stopped.

Why? I've been asking around, and nobody has an exact answer. The best guess is that there is a huge (by Tajik standards) international diplomatic conference going on in Dushanbe. The Tajik government is a paranoid dictatorship, and slowing down tourist arrivals before and during a big event is not something unexpected from them. In previous years they closed the border when the president was travelling to a certain region so that security forces don't have to deal with foreigners.

The big conference ends after this weekend, so we see if the visa process speeds up after it's over, or if this is a new and permanent visa problem.

The visa process is not the only problem. The Tajik government was demanding that hotels empty their rooms for diplomatic entourages, leaving tourists with cancelled reservations and nowhere to stay.

Welcome to Tajikistan.

[blakep76]

That sucks. Just throwing out another option in case you really have your heart set on TJ, but will cost extra $. Book a flight from Tashkent to Dushanbe on Monday - Uzbek Airlines night flight for 80 bucks - and then get a visa on arrival at Dushanbe airport (assuming your e-visa hasn't come through between now and then....if it does, no need for the new visa/expense). You could stay in Samarkand until Monday afternoon and just head straight to TAS airport. *If* the evisa comes tomorrow cancel the ticket....you'll lose a bit with the refund fee, but just cross the land border as formerly planned. Not sure if that makes sense. Yeah you'll lose some $...30 or bucks at best, $130 at worst, but I dunno, that may still be worth it to you.

[murg]

Hi,

Send a Email to this Person in MFA Dushanbe

[email protected]


He helped me quickly when I had Visa troubles.
You also can contact bthe Tajik Embassy in Berlin, they forward requests to Dushanbe.

Good luck

[morgs]

I can confirm I have just received my e-visa approval using an Australian passport. I applied on the 5th of June... so a ten day wait.

Best of luck to all.

[cristiano]

Is it not possible to purchase two e-visas before entering Tajikistan, and then using one of the visas on first entry and the second during the next? OR does the second application need to be made after your first entry into Tajikistan?

I would be interested to know if this is possible or not.

I heard from some friends that they did it this way last year: they showed the first evisa at the first entry, exited to Afghanistan and reentered the second time with the second evisa (with different dates than the first one).

For anybody planning a visit to Afghan Wakhan this looks like the best option, but I'm reading the following lines in the caravanistan visa page and would like to know more:
"However, do note that you cannot buy a second e-visa before you enter Tajikistan for the first time: border guards will stamp the newest visa, rendering the older e-visa invalid. This means that you will have to buy the second e-visa while you are already in Tajikistan. Print it, and hide it in your bag.

Note that this is against the rules, but that everyone, including tour operators who manage tours to the Afghan Wakhan, do it."

Simplifyig, the main questions are 2:
Is it possible to obtain 2 evisas valid (with different dates) before entering the first time? Yes or No?
If the answer to the first question is Yes, is it possible to show just the first evisa to the border guards at the first entry and hide the second one in the bag? Will they recognize this?

[Christian77]

Here's a hopeful update: A Tajik embassy employee told some frustrated applicants that the e-Visa office workers had been reassigned to work on other assignments leading up to when Putin and Xi were in Tajikistan for the CICA conference. They are now back at work as of this morning. Three people now report getting their e-visas today.

Anybody else getting theirs? I imagine they have quite a backlog to catch up on.

[Bo_boi]

Got mine today. I applied june 5.

[blakep76]

thanks for the update, christian. i was planning to apply for an e-visa this week, but may give it an extra week for the backlog to clear out.

[morgs]

Thanks Christian for adding some clarity to this situation.

[arsenal901]

Just got my approval. I had applied on the 7th.. so approximately 9 days.