Amendments to 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” [1](hereinafter referred to as “amendments”) come into force on November 17, 2024.
The changes affected the procedure for issuing C5 visa for a business immigrant, and new visa categories appeared, such as A6, B9, B9-1 Digital Nomad Visa, B12-1 Neo Nomad Visa.
C5 visa for business immigrant. The list of documents for obtaining C5 visa has been shortened. C5 visa is issued by foreign institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of an invitation from the local company, provided that:
“1) medical insurance;
2) document confirming the presence or absence of a criminal record, issued by an authorized body of the country of citizenship or permanent residence."[2]
Thus, two documents were excluded from the list and will no longer need to be provided for the Visa C5:
- medical certificate confirming the absence of diseases, the presence of which prohibits entry of foreigners and stateless persons into the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- certificate of the presence or absence of a ban on carrying out entrepreneurial activity based on a court decision, issued by an authorized body of the country of citizenship or permanent residence.
However, it should be noted, that according to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On migration”, business immigrants, in order to obtain C5 entry are required to:
“1) be of legal age;
2) present a medical certificate confirming the absence of diseases that interfere with work activity;
3) have medical insurance that covers primary health care and specialized medical care in hospital conditions in an emergency form under the conditions determined by agreement of the parties, in compliance with the minimum requirements established by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4) present proof of the presence or absence of a criminal record and a ban on engaging in entrepreneurial activity based on a court decision. ”[3]
It should be noted that in the hierarchy of normative legal acts, the law is higher than the rules [4]and in case of a contradiction, the law will have priority. Probably, in the near future, amendments will be made to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On migration" in order to bring the rules into line with the law.
Extension of C5 visa. According to the old version of the rules "51. Only the inviting party that previously issued an invitation to receive a primary visa, with the exception of visas of categories "C4" and "C9" may apply for an extension of the C5 visa."[5] It means that before registering a company, a foreigner must receive an invitation from a local company for a primary C5 visa for a period of 90 days. After registration his company, in order to extend the C5 visa for one year, a foreigner must leave Kazakhstan and receive an invitation from his company, in which he is a founder. Because the primary C5 visa can only be obtained at the Embassy of Kazakhstan and not in the migration service in Kazakhstan. Only after that the foreigner has the right to come to Kazakhstan and submit documents to the migration service for an extension of the C5 visa. Thus, the foreigner received a single-entry C5 visa for 90 days twice - first from the inviting company in which he is not a founder and then the second time from the company in which he is a founder. However, according to Article 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On migration”: “2. 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 the Republic of Kazakhstan or become a member (shareholder) of a commercial organization.”
It means that according to paragraph 51 of the rules in the old version, after registering a legal entity and receiving the primary C5 visa, a foreigner will have to leave Kazakhstan and submit an invitation for a visa from the legal entity in which he is already a founder. Whereas in order to comply with Article 40 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On migration", a foreigner must register a second legal entity so as not to violate the requirements of the law. Despite the fact that the law is higher in hierarchy than the rules, in practice, migration services refused to extend a C5 visa in cases where the application for extension was not submitted by the company that had previously applied for the initial C5 visa.
The new version of the rules has finally settled this issue, concerning the extension of the C5 visa. The C5 visa can be extended by the foreigner at the migration service while he is in Kazakhstan on a primary C5 visa. "53. An application for a visa extension is submitted by the inviting party that previously issued an invitation to receive a primary visa, with the exception of visas of categories "C4", " C5" and "C9".[6] It should be noted that the C5 visa can be extended for up to two years only at the migration service while in Kazakhstan, but not abroad at the embassies of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
To apply for a multiple-entry C5 visa, first of all, you must obtain a letter of consent from the akimat at the place of registration of the company, which must confirm the consent of this government agency to issue a multiple-entry business immigrant visa for the founder. The procedure for obtaining letter of consent takes about 15 working days. The letter of consent from the akimat is issued upon submission of an application to the akimat by the foreigner with a business plan with full information on the company's activities, with a description of the projects and their goals with an implementation plan, the amount of planned investments.
If the аkimat gives letter of consent to issue a multiple entry C5 visa, this application is sent to the migration service, after which the company can apply to the migration service authorities to extend the visa with the following documents:
- Original passport of the foreigner;
- Visa application form completed and signed by the foreigner;
- Color photo size 3.5*4.5;
- Letter of petition from the company;
- Power of attorney for a company representative;
- Receipt for payment of state duty in the amount of 30 MCI.[7]
New visa categories
Category A6 visa. The visa can be obtained by foreign businessmen who have invested more than 300 thousand US dollars in the economy of Kazakhstan. The visa is issued for a period of up to 10 years on the basis of an invitation from a local company.[8]
Category B9 visa. The visa is issued to persons with in-demand professions. The list of professions can be found here . The visa is issued for up to 90 days. The visa can be obtained at Embassy of Kazakhstan and in Kazakhstan at the migration service on the basis of the following documents:
1) petition;
2) a copy of the diploma of education corresponding to the list of professions in demand for foreigners to obtain a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with Appendix 2 to the order of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 20, 2023 No. 49 (registered in the Register of State Registration of Regulatory Legal Acts under No. 31938).[9]
Visa category B9-1 Digital Nomad Visa. This visa is intended for persons with in-demand professions traveling to Kazakhstan to obtain permanent reisdence. A single-entry electronic visa is issued through the visa migration portal based on an invitation.
A multiple-entry visa for up to 1 year is issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on a petition from an authorized body in the field of information technology, as well as a previously issued single-entry electronic visa.
The list of professions in demand for foreigners to obtain a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Kazakhstan can be found here .
B12-1 Neo Nomad Visa. This type of visa is intended for the so-called modern nomads – foreign tourists who combine work, travel and work remotely. The new visa regime takes into account the international practice of more than 50 countries. The visa can be obtained by foreigners with a permanent income from foreign sources. A multiple-entry visa is issued for up to one year.
A visa is issued by embassies of Kazakhstan on the basis of an invitation, provided that:
1) a bank statement for the past 6 months, confirming a stable monthly income of over 3,000 US dollars;
2) on the tax declaration issued by the competent authority of the country of citizenship;
3) a document confirming the absence of a criminal record, issued by an authorized body of the country of citizenship or permanent residence;
4) medical insurance covering the requested for the entire period of validity.[10]
Therefore, the new version of the rules is intended to simplify the procedure for issuing C5 visa, to bring the rules into line with the Law "On Migration of the Population. New categories of visas have been introduced such as A6, B9, B9-1 Digital Nomad Visa, B12-1 Neo Nomad Visa. Kazakhstan simplifies the process of obtaining visas for investors, attracting in-demand foreign specialists, and also provides an opportunity to obtain a visa for persons working remotely and having income from foreign sources and wishing to live in Kazakhstan.
All conclusions and proposals reflected in this article are of a purely advisory nature 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 Massatbayeva,
Legal consultant
law firm Qazlegal Consult
LLM of the University of Vienna
[1]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. As amended on October 31, 2024.
[2]Appendix 1 to 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. Revision of 10/31/2024.
[3]Art. 39 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 22, 2011 No. 477-IV “On Population Migration”.
[4]Art. 10 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 6, 2016 No. 480-V ЗРК. "On Regulatory Acts".
[5]Clause 51 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. As amended on June 11, 2021.
[6]Clause 53 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. As amended on October 31, 2024.
[7]The minimum wage for 2024 is 3692 tenge.
[8]Appendix 1 to 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. Revision of 10/31/2024.
[9]Appendix 1 to 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. Revision of 10/31/2024.
[10]Appendix 1 to 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. Revision of 10/31/2024.
