Kazakhstan: visa and entry rules

Kazakhstan's borders: every crossing point

Kazakhstan's land border crossings, grouped by the neighbour they lead to:

With Russia: this is the longest land border in the world and there are dozens of crossings. The key ones on the main highways are Petukhovo and Mamlyutka on the Tyumen route, Troitsk and Kairak on the Chelyabinsk route, Veseloyarsk and Auyl on the Altai route, Mashtakovo and Syrym on the Orenburg route.
With Kyrgyzstan: Korday - Ak-Zhol, the main one on the Almaty - Bishkek highway.
With Uzbekistan: Zhibek Zholy near Shymkent and Tazhen on the western route.
With China: Khorgos and Dostyk.

The Russian border is open and working - it is the easiest crossing anywhere in the former Soviet space: Russian citizens need no visa and travel on an internal passport, and the main posts run around the clock.

Queues build up at the road crossings during public holidays and the summer holiday season, especially on the Chelyabinsk and Orenburg routes.

Bringing a car into Kazakhstan

Temporary import is handled at the border with a passenger customs declaration. Kazakhstan belongs to the Eurasian Economic Union, so for a car registered in another member state such as Russia the procedure is simplified and no duties are payable.

Only non-residents may drive. People permanently resident in Kazakhstan are forbidden to drive a temporarily imported car, and the rule is enforced: there are fines for it and the car can be impounded.

Check the permitted periods with the migration service. The way they are counted changed in 2024 and reference sources still disagree, so it is better not to rely on a particular number of days.

Documents. Passport, driving licence, vehicle registration certificate, insurance. If the driver is not the owner, a power of attorney is required.

Insurance has to be bought locally - a foreign policy is not valid in Kazakhstan, and cover is arranged right at the border.

Travelling to Kazakhstan with a pet

The rabies vaccination is mandatory; it must be given no later than 21 days before entry and no more than a year before.

Veterinary certificate. Travellers from Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union countries carry the simplified Form No. 1, issued by a state veterinary clinic shortly before the trip. If you are travelling from outside the EAEU — including the US, UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand — a different, standard third-country procedure applies instead; this page does not have those details, so check with Kazakhstan's veterinary service before you go.

A microchip is not a requirement on the Kazakh side, but it is worth having: without one the animal cannot be tied to its paperwork, and you will need it on the way back and for the airline.

Parasite treatment must be recorded in the veterinary passport.

There is no quarantine if the documents are in order.

Overstaying your visa in Kazakhstan

Both the visitor and the host are fined. An unregistered stay is not only your offence: the person who hosted you is liable too, which is why landlords usually keep an eye on the deadlines themselves.

Expulsion with an entry ban is the ordinary consequence of a serious overstay, not a measure of last resort. The ban goes into the database, and you find out about it at the border on your next trip.

Count both periods. There are two ways to overstay: to sit out more than 30 days without registration, or to use up all 90 days within a 180-day window. The first is spotted at any document check, the second on departure.

Leaving of your own accord is cheaper than waiting to be checked: a voluntary departure usually ends with a fine, whereas a detected violation ends with expulsion proceedings.