KazCham

Tengri News

Starting from July 16, 2015 Kazakhstan expands visa-free regime for 19 countries, after the success of a pilot project.

The List now includes: Australia, Hungary, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland and Japan.

Citizens of the above-mentioned countries are exempted from visa requirements for a period up to 15 days from the moment of crossing the state border of Kazakhstan. The visa free regime is valid until December 31, 2017.

Citizens of these countries may repeate

dly enter Kazakhstan but each time their stay may not exceed 15 days. If they need to stay longer they either have to reenter the country or need to get a visa.

Through the extension of the visa-free regime Kazakhstan hopes to:

• Increase the inflow of foreign tourists to the country;
• Increase the number of people wishing to attend major international events scheduled in the next two years, such as EXPO-2017 in Astana and the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty;
• Attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into Kazakhstan. The visa-free rules focus on the countries that not only invest in Kazakhstan, but also bring effective management and introduce new technologies into production.

 

Astana Times

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced that his country will extend and expand the trial visa-free regime announced last year and due to end this July. Now, citizens from 20 countries will not need visas for short trips to Kazakhstan, he announced at a Kazakh-Italian business forum in Milan on June 27.

The Kazakh delegation headed by Nazarbayev visited Milan to take part in a ceremony dedicated to the National Day of Kazakhstan at EXPO Milano 2015 as well as to visit the business forum. The President also held bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi.

Delivering a speech at the business forum, Nazarbayev said, “Investors are given the opportunity to attract foreign labor without any quotas and permits. Besides, we have established a visa-free regime for investors from 10 countries, including Italy. From July 15, we will prolong the visa-free regime for investors, and extended it for another 10 countries: Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Monaco, Singapore, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. I think not many countries in the world can offer such beneficial conditions for investors.”

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with an integrated single market of 180 million people makes Kazakhstan attractive for investments, Nazarbayev pointed out. The trade bloc of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia introduces a free movement of goods, capital, services and workforce. Kazakhstan can be considered as a gate to the EAEU, he explained.

Nazarbayev noted that EXPO 2017, which will be held in Astana in two years, will be a platform for demonstrating the best world developments and trends in the energy sector.

“The exhibition will also give a powerful impetus to our fruitful cooperation. I invite all of you to take part in EXPO 2017. I am confident that today’s forum is another important step to strengthen relations between Kazakhstan and Italy,” the President said.

During the visit, Kazakhstan and Italy signed joint agreements for a total amount of $500 million in the agriculture, food, textiles, oil and gas, machine building and construction sectors.

The visa-free regime for citizens of 20 countries, including the U.S., visiting Kazakhstan for a period no more than 15 days is prolonged from July 15, 2015 until the end of 2017.