Blog · 2026-04-16

Moving to Kazakhstan in 2026: IIN, registration, residence and work

How to live and work legally in the country Russians can enter on a domestic passport: stay limits, the tax number that unlocks everything, six legalisation routes, banking and tax

Kazakhstan is still the single busiest relocation destination in the post-Soviet space, for one prosaic reason: Russian citizens can fly in on a domestic passport, with no visa and no international passport at all. But arriving and living are different projects. Here is the practical map - what to do in your first 30 days, where to get an IIN, which routes lead to residence, what changed in banking and tax, and why the Kazakh passport itself suits very few people.

How long you can stay: the 90/180 rule

Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan enter visa-free. The baseline limit is 90 days within any 180, and since 2023 it is counted on a rolling window: the system looks back 180 days from your entry date, not at the calendar year. A day trip to Bishkek will not reset the counter - that is the most common and most expensive beginner's mistake.

Overstaying is not just a fine. It leaves a flag in the migration database, and on your next attempt you may simply be turned around at the border, with a ban that lasts years. If you plan to stay beyond three months, change your status early rather than in the final week.

Registration: the 30 days people forget

Stays of up to 30 calendar days require no registration for EAEU citizens. Beyond that, you must be registered at your address, and the rules tightened in 2026: registration is due no later than the 30th calendar day from entry, with your personal details and information about whoever is hosting you.

• The host registers you - the apartment owner, hotel or employer - not you personally.
• The easiest path is online via eGov if the owner holds a digital signature; otherwise a visit to a Public Service Centre (TsON) or the migration police.
• Hotels and aparthotels register guests automatically - ask for the confirmation and keep it.
• Raise registration before signing a lease. Some owners refuse to get involved, and that alone can cost you the apartment.

The IIN: nothing works without it

The individual identification number is Kazakhstan's tax ID and your digital passport in one. Without it you cannot open a bank account, obtain a digital signature, sign a lease in your own name, take a job, apply for residence or register with a clinic.

One key change: since 1 January 2026 foreigners can only obtain an IIN at a TsON or specialised TsON inside Kazakhstan. Issuance through Kazakh consulates abroad has been discontinued, so getting an IIN remotely is no longer an option - at least one trip is mandatory.

• Documents: passport (a Russian domestic passport works) and the TsON application form. A notarised translation is needed only if your passport is not in Russian or Kazakh.
• Turnaround is usually one to three working days, and there is no state fee.
• Get a digital signature (EDS) at the same TsON immediately afterwards - it unlocks eGov, the tax portal and half of everyday admin.
• E-residency and the "e-resident IIN" are a separate track: useful for remote company registration, but not a substitute for a normal IIN if you actually live there.

Six routes to legal status

Past day 90, only a legal ground keeps you in the country. There are not many, and they differ sharply in cost and consequences.

The numbers run off the MCI, the monthly calculation index: in 2026 it is KZT 4,325, so the 1,320 MCI requirement works out to roughly KZT 5.7m, about $10,500 at early-2026 rates. The money must sit in the account on the filing date, separately for each adult family member. Former citizens of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh SSR and their families, holders of in-demand professions and people covered by treaty simplifications are exempt from the solvency test.

A word on the Neo Nomad visa: convenient, but a dead end - it does not convert into permanent residence. If your goal is status rather than a gap year, compare it with the alternatives in our overview of digital nomad visas and with lower-threshold Georgia. Full conditions for the Kazakh permit sit on our Kazakhstan residence page, and the cross-country logic in the residence and PR hub.

Banking: what compliance changed

The 2022 era of walking in with a passport and walking out with a card is over. Since 2025, cards for non-residents are issued for one year only, with no automatic renewal - you return to the branch and file again. Remote onboarding for Russian citizens is effectively closed; banks want you in person.

• The minimum kit almost everywhere: IIN, a Kazakh phone number (SIM cards are issued against the IIN) and your passport.
• Many banks also ask for proof of purpose of stay: a lease, an employment or study certificate, or your address registration.
• Genuine ties decide the outcome. A client with a job contract and a lease clears compliance; a three-day visitor increasingly does not.
• If you remain a Russian tax resident, you must notify the tax authority of the foreign account and file cash-flow reports; silence carries penalties.

Tax: 183 days and the new progressive rate

You become a Kazakh tax resident after 183 days in any consecutive 12-month period, or through a centre of vital interests (family, housing, citizenship or residence). Residents are taxed on worldwide income, non-residents only on Kazakh-source income.

A new Tax Code took effect on 1 January 2026. The flat 10% personal income tax became progressive: 10% on annual income up to 8,500 MCI (roughly KZT 36.8m, about $68,000) and 15% on the excess. A single 30 MCI deduction replaces the old patchwork of allowances. VAT rose to 16% and the mandatory VAT registration threshold was cut - critical if you are setting up an LLP with real turnover, so verify the current figures before you file.

One more thing people miss: residence permit holders fall under universal income declaration, and returns are mandatory for individuals with annual income above 8,500 MCI or dividends above 230,000 MCI. Foreign accounts, brokerage portfolios and crypto assets belong in that return. If your actual goal is tax optimisation, Kazakhstan - progressive rates on worldwide income - loses to territorial systems such as Paraguay; the country-by-country comparison lives in our tax section. Setting up an LLP or an AIFC entity is its own topic, covered in our guide to company registration.

What life costs in Almaty and Astana

Mid-2026 benchmarks: long-term rent for a three-room apartment in Almaty runs from about KZT 280,000 in Turksib district to KZT 313,000 in Bostandyk, while a decent one-bedroom sits around KZT 200,000-280,000. Astana is slightly cheaper on rent but noticeably heavier on winter heating and far harsher on climate. The 2026 minimum wage is KZT 85,000 and the subsistence minimum around KZT 51,000, which frames the floor.

In practice a comfortable single budget in Almaty is $1,200-1,800 a month including rent; a family of three needs $2,200-3,000. Expensive: quality central housing, imported groceries, flights. Cheap: taxis, mobile, restaurants, services and private healthcare. City-level comparisons live in our city guides.

Permanent residence and citizenship: the renunciation problem

The Kazakh residence permit is effectively permanent residence: it lets you live and work without permits while you keep your citizenship intact. The trouble starts at the next step. Kazakhstan does not recognise dual citizenship - to receive the passport you must formally renounce your previous nationality, pass language and constitution checks and take the oath. The baseline is five years of permanent residence.

Worse, concealing a second citizenship carries liability up to loss of the Kazakh one. For most relocators the sensible strategy is to stay on the residence permit and look for a second passport where no renunciation is required - Serbia, Turkey or Argentina. The specifics of the Kazakh route are set out on our Kazakhstan citizenship page.

First 30 days: a checklist

• Days 1-3: housing with an owner willing to register you, plus a local SIM card.
• Days 3-7: IIN at the TsON, then the digital signature and an eGov account.
• By day 30: migration registration at your address.
• In parallel: the bank, armed with IIN, local number and proof of purpose.
• By day 60: pick your residence ground and collect the paperwork - police clearance, medical certificates, apostilles where required.
• By day 85: file, or leave. Never let it run to day 90.

All figures are as of 2026. Kazakhstan revises its migration rules frequently and the MCI annually, so confirm the thresholds on the day you file - that is the first thing we check on a consultation.

FAQ