In accordance with the Law "On Migration”, set-up of a legal entity, as well as participation in the authorized capital of commercial organizations by joining the list of participants of existing legal entities for foreigners who have not received C5 visa as business immigrants, is prohibited.[1]
Registering a company or becoming a founder of an existing company without obtaining C5 visa prior to the company registration can be grounds for subsequent annulment of the company registration in court.
A business immigrant, within two months from the date of entry into the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is obliged to:
1) register a commercial organization in Kazakhstan or become a member (shareholder) of existing commercial organizations in Kazakhstan;
2) transfer to the bank of Kazakhstan money to form authorized capital of the Company.[2]
In the event of failure by business immigrants to fulfill the above-mentioned obligations, the internal affairs bodies, on the basis of a petition from local executive bodies, shall make a decision to shorten the period of stay of business immigrants by the period necessary for their voluntary departure.[3]
Who is a business immigrant?
Business immigrants are immigrants who arrived for the purpose of carrying out entrepreneurial activities in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.[4]
A mandatory condition for the stay of business immigrants in Kazakhstan is doing of entrepreneurial activity (to do business).[5]
Entrepreneurial activity can be carried out by creating commercial legal entities that pursue of income as the main goal of their activities.[6]
Thus, a foreign citizen who is the founder of a company carries out entrepreneurial activity in the territory of Kazakhstan for the purpose of making a profit.
Extension of C5 visa
Before registering a legal entity, a foreign citizen must obtain a single-entry C5 visa for a business immigrant, which is issued for up to 90 days.
After receiving C5 visa, a foreign citizen is required to register a commercial organization or become a member (shareholder) of a commercial organization within two months from the date of entry into Kazakhstan.
After registering a company, a foreign citizen has the right to extend C5 visa for one year. C5 visa can be extended for one year during the period of validity of the initial C5 visa and only by the migration service. It should be noted that C5 visa can be extended by a foreign citizen only during the period of his stay in the territory of Kazakhstan.
Otherwise, it is impossible to extend the C5 visa in the future. If you get a new C5 visa again, it means that you need to register another company. In practice, this is the mistake that entrepreneurs make, a foreign citizen arrives on the basis of a single entry C5 visa, registers a company and leaves Kazakhstan without extending C5 visa.
C5 visa is extended on the basis of a petition from the local executive body [7]represented by the Department of Entrepreneurship and Investment. As mentioned above, C5 visa can be extended for a year for multiple entry only during the validity period of the initial C5 visa issued for 90 days.
To obtain a petition from the executive body, it is necessary to provide a business plan for the company. In practice, not all entrepreneurs already have a prepared business plan for the company at the stage when the company has essentially just been registered. Therefore, it is better to prepare it in advance at the stage of company registration.
What kind of visa should have the director of the company?
The director of the company is an employee of the company, as with any employee an employment contract is concluded with him. That is, for the director it is necessary to obtain a work visa of category C3.
What kind of visa should a company founder have?
The founder of the company, as a person engaged in entrepreneurial activity, must extend C5 visa.
What category of visa should a foreign citizen to obtain when he is both a founder and director? C3 visa for a labour activity or C5 business immigrant visa?
As mentioned above, business immigrants are immigrants, who arrived for the purpose of carrying out entrepreneurial activities.
In accordance with paragraph 1 of the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 24, 2023 No. 1041 (business immigrants who arrived to carry out entrepreneurial activities), a list of persons has been approved for whose labor activities, permits from local executive bodies to attract foreign labor are not required. Based on the above, the presence of a category "C5 business immigrant" visa entitles the immigrant to carry out labor activities in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and there is no need to obtain a category "C3 visa for labor activities".
While if the founder and director of the company is one person and he/she receives C3 work visa, this visa does not give him the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity.
Responsibility for violation of the purpose of stay
Violation by a foreigner of the migration legislation, expressed in the discrepancy between the activities carried out and the purposes specified in the visa -
shall entail a fine in the amount of 25 MCI [8]or administrative arrest for up to ten days or administrative deportation from the Republic of Kazakhstan.[9]
Migration control
It should be noted that from July 17, 2024, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Migration" was supplemented with an innovation - a mechanism for monitoring violations of migration legislation by legal entities and individuals. Control over compliance with migration legislation is assigned to the territorial body of internal affairs represented by the migration service. Migration control in the form of unscheduled inspections can be carried out in relation to individuals and legal entities accepting foreigners and stateless persons and (or) using foreign labor.
All conclusions and proposals reflected in this article are the opinion of the author and do not entail obligations for any specific actions by a third party. If you have any questions, please contact (WhatsApp: +77715804141, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Aigerim Massatbaeva,
Legal consultant
law firm Qazlegal Consult
[1] Clause 2. Article 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Population” dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV.
[2]Art. 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Population” dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV.
[3]Clause 2. Article 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Population” dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV.
[4]Clause 2, Article 34 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Population” dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV.
[5]Art. 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Population” dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV.
[6] Clause 1. Article 50 of the Entrepreneurial Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 29, 2015 No. 375-V ЗРК.
[7]Subparagraph 11) paragraph 49 of the Joint Order of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 24, 2016 No. 11-1-2/555 and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 28, 2016 No. 1100. Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on December 15, 2016 No. 14531 "On approval of the Rules for issuing invitations, coordinating invitations for entry of foreigners and stateless persons into the Republic of Kazakhstan, issuing, canceling, restoring visas of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as extending and reducing their validity periods."
[8]MCI 2024 = 3692 tenge.
[9]Art. 517 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 5, 2014 No. 235-V ZRK "On Administrative Offenses".
