Blog · 2026-09-05

QazETA: Kazakhstan introduces a paid entry permit for Russians and other visa-free visitors

What is known as of 5 September 2026: the rollout schedule, the fee, a step-by-step guide, who is exempt, and how it fits with the 90-day rule

On 25 August 2026, amendments to Kazakhstan's migration law (Law No. 326-VIII of 24 June 2026) took effect and introduced an Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA, for citizens of visa-free countries. The QazETA platform is already running, but in pilot mode: the permit is issued free of charge, travellers without one are still let in, and border officers warn them that the door will soon close. Here is what it means in practice, especially for Russians, who until now have crossed into Kazakhstan on a domestic passport and paid nothing at the border.

What has happened and what is still undecided

Three layers matter here: the law, the draft rules and the official statements. The law has been passed and is in force, so the obligation to hold an ETA is settled and will not go away. The Ministry of Internal Affairs published draft implementing rules on the Open NPA portal on 31 July 2026. Every figure and date now circulating in the press - 1 November, 3,900 tenge, 180 days - comes from that draft and from a notice sent to foreign ministries (Serbia's foreign ministry was the one that published it).

On 31 August and 1 September, however, the ministry issued a separate statement: the mandatory dates, the list of countries, the issuance procedure and the fee will be confirmed later, and previously published data is not final. Right now QazETA is optional and free, and not having one is not grounds for refusal of entry. In other words, as of 5 September there is a law in force and a working schedule, but no government resolution setting the tariff. We quote the draft figures because they are what you should plan for, but check again before you travel.

Who is affected

The ETA applies to nationals of countries that enter Kazakhstan without a visa. The official notice names the first wave as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey - which covers every major inbound flow. In the first half of 2026 alone 1.275 million Russians visited Kazakhstan, roughly 80 percent of them by land. The system is meant to extend eventually to all 87 visa-free countries, but the ministry says the exact list and timing will be announced separately.

For Russians, Belarusians, Armenians and Kyrgyz citizens there is a bigger point: this is the first paid barrier at a border between Eurasian Economic Union members. The union treaty guarantees free movement of labour but does not prohibit pre-registration of arrivals, and Kazakhstan has used that gap. Visa-free travel itself is untouched: the 90-days-in-180 rule stays exactly as it is.

The phased rollout

The logic is straightforward: start with aviation, where the check can be pushed onto carriers, and finish with the busiest and hardest-to-police stretch, the Russian land border. If you drive in via Petropavl, Oral or Troitsk, your deadline is 30 November. Once more: these are draft dates, and the ministry has reserved the right to move them.

Cost and validity

The amount is small, but note the double tariff for issuance at the border. The draft also leaves open whether on-the-spot issuance will exist at every checkpoint at all: at airports the airline simply will not board you without a permit. Under the draft, the revenue is split in half - one part funds the digital migration-control infrastructure, the other goes to tourism development.

How to apply, step by step

The ETA is issued only through the QazETA mobile app (App Store and Google Play; website qazeta.kz). There is no web form.

• Step 1. Install the app and create an account: name, phone, email, password. The decision arrives by email, so use an address you actually read.
• Step 2. Photograph the data page of your document. For a biometric passport, tests in late August show the app also requires reading the chip via NFC - a phone without NFC cannot complete the application for such a passport. Russians can use either an international or a domestic passport: the ETA is tied to a specific document and you must enter on that same document.
• Step 3. Check the extracted data. Any mismatch with the passport is a problem waiting to happen at check-in.
• Step 4. State the purpose of travel (tourism, business, study, transit), mode of entry (air, road, rail, sea) and planned dates.
• Step 5. Fill in contact details and the region of Kazakhstan you are visiting. Earlier versions of the app also had health and customs declaration screens and asked for tickets and hotel bookings; the set of fields keeps changing, so budget about twenty minutes.
• Step 6. Pay the fee (once the tariff is approved) and wait for the email decision. No processing-time standard has been published, which is why the 72-hour minimum exists.

What data is collected

Personal details, document data, travel dates and purpose, contacts and region. The law explicitly provides for a foreigner's profile with personal and biometric data, processed by the interior ministry together with the national security agencies. This is not a tourist formality but a tracking tool: Kazakhstan will know in advance who intends to enter and for how long, and will match it against your previous stays.

Do residence permit, temporary residence and IIN holders need an ETA?

The law exempts three groups: holders of a valid Kazakh visa, a temporary residence permit (RVP) and a permanent residence permit (VNZh). An IIN on its own changes nothing: it is a tax identification number, not an immigration status. If you have an IIN, a Kazakh bank account and even a registered sole proprietorship but no RVP or VNZh, you are an ordinary visa-free visitor and you need an ETA.

One practical caveat: the ministry has not yet explained how airlines and border officers will recognise a residence permit holder during checks. Until there is guidance, keep your residence card or RVP document handy at check-in, and if you fly in the first weeks after 1 November, get an ETA anyway - it is cheap, and being stuck at the check-in desk is not.

For anyone who spends serious time in the country the conclusion is obvious: a Kazakhstan residence permit solves both the ETA question and the 90-day question at once. We compare other routes to legal status in our residence permits by country section.

How the ETA fits with the 90/180 rule

It does not - they are two independent counters. The ETA is valid for 180 days and allows unlimited entries. The right to stay, for Russians, is capped at 90 days in any 180, and since 27 January 2023 leaving and re-entering no longer resets that clock. A valid ETA will not protect you from refusal at the border if your stay allowance is used up, and it does not extend it.

Overstay penalties in 2026 (one MRP index unit = 4,325 tenge): up to 3 days, a warning; 3 to 5 days, 10 MRP (43,250 tenge); 5 to 10 days, 15 MRP (64,875 tenge); more than 10 days, 25 MRP (108,125 tenge) or expulsion with a five-year entry ban. A repeat violation within a year means expulsion. With an ETA in place, such violations will be visible to the system before you even take off, and we expect permit refusals for people with past overstays to become routine.

Children, pensioners, transit

• Children. The platform's FAQ says no ETA is needed under the age of 16. Another answer in the same FAQ cites 18 - a discrepancy the ministry has yet to resolve. Assume 16 and watch for updates. Remember that since 20 January 2026 children under 14 enter Kazakhstan only on their own passport; an entry in a parent's passport is no longer enough.
• Pensioners. People aged 65 and over are exempt.
• Transit. Only travellers who stay within an international airport's transit zone (up to 3 days) are exempt. Any overland transit - driving from Russia to Kyrgyzstan through Kazakhstan, for example - counts as entry and requires an ETA.
• Diplomats. Holders of diplomatic and service passports, members of official delegations and accredited diplomatic staff are exempt.

Risks: expired ETA, refusal, airlines

Three scenarios worth preparing for.

• The ETA has expired or was issued for a different document. After 1 November the airline will deny boarding at the departure airport - exactly how the Canadian, British and South Korean ETAs work. At Russian road crossings you will be admitted until 30 November; after that you will be sent to apply at the double tariff, if that option exists at the particular checkpoint.
• The ETA is refused. No appeal procedure has been published. By analogy with similar systems, a refusal means you will need a consular visa to enter.
• An approved ETA does not guarantee entry. This is the official position: the final decision is made by the border officer. The ETA removes one filter; it does not replace border checks.

Why this is happening: the 2025-2026 tightening

QazETA is not an isolated measure but the latest step in a consistent policy. Border runs that reset the clock were abolished in January 2023. In 2025 more than 200,000 foreigners faced administrative penalties, nearly 10,000 were expelled with five-year bans, and about 14,800 hosts were fined for failing to report a foreigner's arrival. Operation Nelegal in March 2026 uncovered more than 7,000 violations. Since spring 2026 a pilot running to the end of the year has toughened the general residence permit route: proof of 5.7 million tenge in a bank account, a Kazakh language test with a 70 percent pass mark, a mandatory year of residence in the northern and eastern regions, and Almaty and Astana closed to most applicants. The interior ministry publicly talks about completing an AI-driven system to monitor foreigners' stays.

The picture is unambiguous: Kazakhstan is moving from an open-door model for its neighbours to managed entry with advance profiling. For a week-long visit this is a 7-euro chore. For anyone who built a two-country life around Kazakhstan, it is a signal to secure a status before the residence rules tighten further. We covered the mechanics of moving in Moving to Kazakhstan in 2026.

What to do if you travel to Kazakhstan regularly

• Install QazETA and get an ETA now while it is free: a 180-day permit covers every trip through the end of February 2027.
• Count your days under the 90/180 rule for the past six months: with the ETA, your stay history will be checked automatically.
• If you spend more than 90 days per half-year in Kazakhstan, work there or run a business, apply for an RVP or a residence permit. The programmes, requirements and timelines are summarised on our Kazakhstan page.
• If you already live in Kazakhstan for more than 183 days a year, you are most likely a Kazakh tax resident, with everything that implies for foreign income and accounts. See taxes in Kazakhstan and our comparison of tax systems.
• If Kazakhstan is a first stop rather than the destination, look at our relocation support service: we help sequence statuses so that new barriers like the ETA do not derail the plan.

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