Kazakhstan - Central Asia - page 124

Tajikistan
Tourist visas are issued in Tajikistan's Almaty
embassy oice (p126) without LOIs. For a
one-month tourist visa (US$100 for same-day
processing), provide photocopies of your pass-
port and Kazakh visa and a written request to
the ambassador. This oice has also issued the
gBAO permit for travel in the Pamirs, though
this may change.
Turkmenistan
To get a Turkmen visa you either need to book
a tour through a travel agency, or have visas for
the bordering countries from which you will en-
ter Turkmenistan and leave Turkmenistan (these
can include Azerbaijan), enabling you to get a
transit visa. Transit visas are also available if you
ly in or ly out (but not normally both). You have
to go in person with your passport to the Turk-
men embassy (p126) or consulate (get there
before opening time). Transit visas cost US$55
for most nationalities and processing takes ive
to 10 working days: it's sometimes possible to
apply in one city and pick up your visa in another,
as you don't have to hand over your original
passport with the application.

Uzbekistan
Citizens of some, mostly Western, countries
(see p225 for a list) can obtain visas without a
LOI but processing for these at the Uzbek
Almaty embassy (p126) takes much longer -
typically four or ive working days, against
on-the-spot processing if you have a LOI. Some
Almaty travel agents can provide Uzbek LOIs
hassle-free if given enough time (US$40 for
about two weeks' processing at Stantours
(p68)). go to the embassy at least 30 minutes
before opening time, put your name on a list
and you'll probably get in before the door
closes.
In the peak summer travel season you may
need to get there in the morning. All applicants
should take their passport, a photocopy of it,
their Kazakh visa and registration, one photo, a
LOI and a completed application form (normally
supplied with an LOI or available at http://
evisa.mfa.uz). Tourist visas cost US$55/65/75
for seven/15/30 days, US$95 for three
months: for more than one entry, add US$10
per entry. US citizens pay US$160 for any visa.
Payments must normally be in US dollars.

VISAS¨FOR¨KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhtan visa rules and practices change quite frequently; information on recent
changes is available from recommended travel agents and the websites of Kazakhtan
embassies and consulates.
No visa at all is needed for visits up to 14 days for Hong Kong citizens, 30 days for Turk-
ish citizens, or 90 days for CIS or Georgian citizens. For citizens of 40-odd other countries
that Kazakhtan oicially considers 'economically developed and politically table' - in-
cluding the 28 EU tates, Autralia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South
Korea, Switzerland and the USA - Kazakh consulates or embassies will normally issue
one-month, single-entry tourit or business visas, or two-month double-entry tourit
visas, without a letter of invitation (LOI). Required documentation normally includes your
passport and a photocopy of it, a letter from you explaining the purpose of your visit, one
or two photos and an application form, which is sometimes available on embassy websites.
(Some Kazakh consulates, however, mainly in non-Wetern countries, insit on evidence of
hotel bookings for non-LOI visas, or won't issue double-entry tourit visas without a LOI.)
For other visas, or if you are not from one of the visa-free or 'economically developed'
tates, you mut obtain 'visa support' in the form of a LOI. This is available, usually by
email, through mot travel agencies in Kazakhtan, Central Asia travel specialits in other
countries, or Kazakh businesses. You'll need to submit a copy of the LOI in your visa ap-
plication to the embassy or consulate. Agents' fees for providing LOIs normally range from
around US$50 to US$100 depending on the visa required: LOIs mut be applied for at leat
two weeks before you enter Kazakhtan, and you should allow one to two weeks to obtain
the LOI before you apply for the visa itself (but note that LOIs cannot normally be issued
more than two months before your arrival in Kazakhtan).
The maximum length of a tourit visa is 90 days (triple-entry with three visits of a maxi-
mum 30 days each); for uninterrupted tays you can get a 90-day single-entry business
visa.
Fees for the visa itself depend on the type of visa and your nationality. A single-entry,
one-month tourit visa is normally US$40 to US$50 (but US$160 for US citizens). Some