Tajikistan E-visa Q&A

[Mikeromero]

Hello:

Did anybody else received the faomous email "Overstay Penalty".
I got a 45 days visa and only was 7 days in the country but, anyway they sent me the email. I spoke with my Consulate and told me that I shouldn´t care but, anyway, I would really appreciate getting a writting answer on this. Did anybody have the same situation? Any email address which could help?

Thank you and best regards,

[blakep76]

Not sure if this thread is helpful....

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11432&p=33931&hilit=Overstay#p33931

You're not alone for what it's worth. Seems like a lot of people got hit with it.

[khojandi]

I never got a reply from the MFA or tourism board. If you plan on the e-visa, start the process a month early, check for recent reports and cross your fingers. Safest solution is to just fly in.

I have visited Tajikistan a number of times and love the country but man, it is tragic that they can't get their act together. While KZ/KG/UZ are visa-free for many countries, Tajikistan fails to issue visas while forgetting about payments and sends accusatory emails because of avoidable glitches. For a country that needs tourism as much, if not more, than its neighbors, this is bureaucratic negligence

[DavidMayor]

Hello everyone, I haven't seen any report on this topic, so I would like to share my experience regarding the validity period of Tajikistan E-visa, in case this information can be useful for anyone.

I was planning to leave Tajikistan on my 42nd day (Saturday) when I noticed that the validity period of my E-visa had expired the day before. I couldn't find any reliable information on whether that is considered an overstay or not. As I understood, some countries state that visas are valid up to xx days WITHIN the validity period, whereas for other countries, such as Iran, the validity period only applies for the moment of entering the country, so that even if the visa is valid until, say, 20 June, you can enter the country on 19th June and still stay in one month. The official website of Tajik e-visa is not at all clear in this respect. However, my common sense told me that it would be considered an overstay so I decided to wait until Monday and try to find a solution at OVIR office.

So on Monday morning (my 44th day in Tajikistan) I went to OVIR in the following address:

https://goo.gl/maps/qnt1sKyxqP7a8q2C8

there they told me that I had to go instead to the consular office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pushkin street (it's no longer in the main building of the ministry near Tajikiston hotel). Here's the new address

https://goo.gl/maps/Nk2kaurLiLb9bKR3A

The official there took my passport and E-visa and visibly didn't know what do with my case. After consulting a colleague (or was it a superior?) he told me that it was OVIR's job to sort it out. When I told him that I had been to OVIR that very morning and that it was precisely them who sent me to his office, he mentioned a vague "protocol" that should be initiated by OVIR. I insisted and asked why they had sent me there then, but he just shrugged.

So back to OVIR office I talked with a different guy who "studied" my case and concluded that there was no problem at all. He said I was still within the 45 days of legal stay, so that I should leave the next day at the latest, but that other than that there was no problem whatsoever. I pointed out that the validity period had expired already three days before. He said that there wasn't any problem about it, that the only important thing was not to overstay the 45 days.

I asked him to give me any certificate to confirm his words because I feared the officers at the border would have a different idea, but he said it was not possible to do that, and he reassured me saying there wouldn't be any problem at the border.

I was not at all convinced by his explanation, but there was, apparently, nothing else I could do.

The next day I took the train Dushanbe - Termez. Border procedures take place inside Dushanbe train station. The officer just took my E-visa and stamped my passport... it was done, really easy!

But of course it couldn't be that easy. Fifteen minutes before the departure the ticket collector came in and told me to take all my luggage and get off the train. Outside there were four police officers waiting for me. They told me that I had overstayed my visa and that I couldn't leave like that. In vain I explained to them what I had been told at OVIR the day before. My only proof was a little ticket with a number that proved that at least I had been at the Ministry the day before. They seemed to be a bit puzzled and like waiting for someone to come and handle the situation.

They told me to wait for a while on the platform, one of the them took his phone and I heard him explaining my case to someone. Whoever it was didn't give him any clear answer either. In the meantime the other officers asked me how many days I had stayed in the country and why exactly I had found myself in that situation, among other questions including the performance of Luca Modric and Gerard Piqué in the last El Clásico (I'm Spanish). After a couple of failed attempts by the other guy to get to someone else on the phone, they informed me that I was free to go, so I boarded again the train quietly without asking any more questions.

As a summary: I still don't know if the 3 month validity period refers to the period of stay or just to the date of entry. I don't know if I was still a legal tourist or if I overstayed my visa but was graciously pardoned in the very last moment. At least we can confirm that it's possible to leave on the 45th day.

btw, for the record, I'm a Spanish passport holder, this was my third Tajik e-visa and to make things worse I have an old Tajik visa on my passport with my surname misspelled, a typo that no one has seemed to have noticed but which makes me panic every time I have to cross the border.

[chelmi_ouest_coast]

Hello,
I read on the site of the French diplomacy about the visa that the duration of stay of a vehicle was 15 days maximum without the need to make administrative steps. Beyond that it is necessary to make a temporary importation or something similar.

Do you know if these 15 days are particularly respected ? Logically the stay should not exceed 15 days but you never know. What if this goes beyond what's going on?

Thank you

Mod : i just see the page https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... r-payments

I just saw the page, thank's, i'll see it in June

[Lutnistas1969]

Hello everybody,

my wife and me have applicated for the tourist e-visa to Tajikistan ( direct by http://www.evisa.tj ) .
Already I have received my visa but my wife has received following information:

Dear XXXXI,
on 2020-02-29 following information has been requested for your application with application ID XXXX:
please contact with organization/company (in petition letter) to bring verbal note/petition letter to the main consular department in Dushanbe to continue the consideration process.

Do you have any idea which company / organization should we contact?
What kind of petition letter? verbal note?
Unfortunately we don’t understand what should we do exactly?

Thank you !!!

P.S. Three years ago we received the e-visas after 3 or 4 days with the same passports and the same applications form.

[steven]

No idea what this is about. Keep us posted if you hear from the embassy. Maybe just trying there will solve it.

I'm not sure how to get a letter of invitation these days. Does it even still exist?

[Lutnistas1969]

Hi Steven,
thank you for your answer.
So... today I've talked on the phone with the Tajikistan Embassy in Berlin and they told me, that probably my wife need the invitation letter form one tourist agency in Tajikistan. It's little bit surprise, because three years ago we were in Tajikistan and we didn’t use any invitation letter for the visa. My wife has Japanese citizenship. Official the Japanese don’t need any invitation letter to come to Tajikistan and also belongs to a small group of countries that can receive visa on arrival. The embassy employee told me, that maybe the problem with Visum for my wife is due to the coronavirus. But my wife lives in Germany since 2003 and the last time we visit Japan four years ago. I also wrote an e-mail to the visa department and asked what is the problem with my wife's visa, but I haven't received an answer yet. We will see.

[Christian77]

As of a few hours ago Japanese are no longer permitted entry into Tajikistan: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12345

So... today I've talked on the phone with the Tajikistan Embassy in Berlin and they told me, that probably my wife need the invitation letter form one tourist agency in Tajikistan. It's little bit surprise, because three years ago we was in Tajikistan and we didn’t use any invitation letter for the visa. My wife has Japanese citizenship. Official the Japanese don’t need any invitation letter to come to Tajikistan and also belongs to a small group of countries that can receive visa on arrival. The embassy employee told me, that maybe the problem with Visum for my wife is due to the coronavirus. But my wife lives in Germany since 2003 and the last time we visit Japan four years ago. I also wrote an e-mail to the visa department and asked what is the problem with my wife's visa, but I haven't received an answer yet. We will see.

[Christian77]

Aaaaaaand Tajikistan has changed its mind. It is no longer restricting entry to citizens of 35 countries, but rather just 5: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKBN20Q215