Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
however, the old system, which had mandated an invitation from the local
tourist office remained in place. This has remained true to the present in
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as well as in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan in
some cases. For the majority of tourists from developed countries, the in-
stitution of the written invitation presents a complication in terms of both
time and money. The invitation may lead to greater control over the activi-
ties of foreigners, but from the tourist's standpoint, it is a factor that may
play into the choice of destination in a decisive fashion. For local tourism
organizations, this may mean additional bureaucracy to some extent, but
it adds up to good business for the facilities that process the invitations.
Rules set up for entry and residency visas in Central Asia also under-
went a period of marked chaos in the 1990s, which opened the opportuni-
ties for corruption although tourists from foreign countries had fewer such
possibilities than tourists from CIS countries. 3 In addition, until the end of
the 1990s it was generally true that the holder of a visa to one CIS country
could remain up to 72 h in other CIS countries (especially neighboring
ones). But this rule was acknowledged only selectively and it was never
clear which visa could be used in which countries. Particularly in the first
half of the 1990s, there were no border controls between post-Soviet states.
A number of tourists went, for example, to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan
on a Russian visa, which was often (but not always) recognized by border
guards. What's more, in the 1990s the Russian Embassy was authorized to
issue visas to selected post-Soviet countries in some states (Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan).
In general, it may be stated that the visa situation and the situation regard-
ing border crossings began to stabilize during the second half of the 1990s,
firming up over the subsequent decade. At the same time, pronounced differ-
ences between individual states in terms of visa issuance rules have resulted.
Standard border crossings have been constructed at the borders between
states, which impact foreigners and domestic tourists alike.
TRAVELING IN CENTRAL ASIA WITHOUT A VISA
An interesting exception regarding the visas used to include several in-
centives for members of the former Socialist bloc. As noted above, trips
3 One Czech tourist at the end of the 1990s was able to gain entry to Uzbekistan without a visa, travel-
ing in a cargo train for a small bribe. Once inside the country, no further bribes were necessary and it
was possible to exit the country in the same manner.
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