ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said that starting from 1 January 2017, citizens of 45 more countries, including member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore and Monaco, will enjoy visa-free entry to Kazakhstan for up to 30 days from the date of entry to the country, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported on December 27.
“In anticipation of the EXPO-2017 in Astana, as well as the Winter Universiade in Almaty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to work on further visa facilitation and efficiency of migration control and security in order to create the most favorable conditions for the stay of foreign guests and attracting investors. The procedure for the issuance of single business, private as well as single and double tourist visas for citizens of 48 economically developed countries was simplified,” Idrissov told a press conference.
Today, Kazakhstan has a visa-free regime for citizens of 19 economically developed countries, including Australia, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, UAE, Singapore, UK, USA, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea.
Commenting on the adoption of new visa rules for foreign citizens on December 20, Minister Idrissov emphasized that the new rules aim at creating a comfortable, transparent and favorable visa regime for foreign citizens visiting Kazakhstan, and at improving the investment climate in the country aimed at attracting foreign investments as well as increasing private and business trips to Kazakhstan.
