Visas & Residency

Step-by-step

1. 1

   Check whether you even need a visa for the first 30 days

   Roughly 56 countries — the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the EU, and since July 2025 also Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Qatar and the UAE — enter visa-free for up to 30 days per visit, subject to a 90-days-in-180 cap. That cap is the thing people miss: two 30-day trips plus a third in the same window puts you over. Verify your nationality on the eGov visa classification page rather than a blog, because the list has been revised repeatedly since 2024.

   In personWho: Visa-free nationalsImmediate at the borderFree
2. 2

   Apply for the Neo Nomad visa (B12-1) if you work remotely for foreign clients

   Lodged at a Kazakh consular post: six months of bank statements evidencing at least USD 3,000/month from outside Kazakhstan, a home-country tax return, a criminal-record certificate and medical insurance. Multiple entry, valid up to a year, and extendable inside the country by the territorial police for up to a further year. Nationals of around 48 countries Kazakhstan treats as economically developed and migration-stable are exempt from the invitation requirement. Fee around EUR 45; decision in about five to seven business days.

   In personWho: Remote workers with foreign incomeAbout 5-7 business daysAround EUR 45 consular fee
3. 3

   Get your IIN at a Public Service Centre in the first week

   The Individual Identification Number is issued only in person since February 2024, at a Public Service Centre (ЦОН). Take your passport and a notarised Kazakh or Russian translation of it. The IIN is the key to the bank account, the SIM, the lease and payroll — every downstream errand in this city assumes you already have it. Almaty has several centres; the ones away from the central districts move faster.

   In personWho: Everyone staying more than a few weeksSame day to a few daysNominal state fee
4. 4

   Or go the employer route — work permit inside the quota, then residence

   An Almaty employer must advertise the role on the Electronic Labour Exchange for 15 calendar days in this region before it can even apply, then obtain a permit against the national quota (0.25% of the labour force for 2026, with published sub-allocations by category). Local-staffing ratios apply: 70% Kazakh citizens for the two managerial categories, 90% for specialists and skilled workers, with an exemption for employers under 20 staff. Company founders, directors, kandas returnees and EAEU citizens sit outside the quota entirely.

   Via employerWho: Employees of Kazakh companiesWeeks — the 15-day advertising period runs firstEmployer-borne permit fees by category