The government of Kazakhstan has approved a new version of the rules governing the entry, stay and exit of immigrants in the country. Foreign nationals will now be required to obtain an electronic entry permit, according to the full text of the corresponding government resolution published on the website of the Reference Control Bank of Regulatory Legal Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, infohub.kz reports.
Under the document, the electronic permit is issued free of charge through a digital platform by the internal affairs bodies in coordination with the national security bodies. Foreigners must submit an application no later than 72 hours before their planned entry and undergo identification or authentication.
The electronic permit is valid for 180 calendar days. At the border, the foreigner must present a passport or another identity document on the basis of which the permit was issued. The document will be verified through the unified digital system "Berkut".
The rollout of permit checks is planned in four stages. From November 1, 2026, control will begin at Aktau International Airport, as well as at the road checkpoints of "Urlyutobe" (Pavlodar Region), "Aukhatty" (Zhambyl Region), "Atameken" (Turkestan Region) and "Nurly Zhol" (Zhetisu Region). At this stage, immigrants will not be denied entry — staff will only explain the need to obtain a permit.
From January 1, 2027, checks will cover the international airports of Astana and Almaty — also without denying entry and with an explanation of the application procedure. From March 1, 2027, the system will operate at all other checkpoints along the state border of the Republic of Kazakhstan, still without denying entry to immigrants and with an explanation of the need to obtain the document.
From July 1, 2027, holding an electronic permit will become mandatory: its absence will be grounds for denying an immigrant entry into the Republic of Kazakhstan. The resolution enters into force on October 24. The categories of persons who do not need to obtain a permit are listed in detail in the document.