What you cannot bring into Kazakhstan and what you cannot take with you, even if you want to

Each country has rules about what can and cannot be imported and exported. In this article, we will talk in detail about what tourists can bring home from Kazakhstan as a souvenir, and what they cannot take with them even if they want to.

So, without a declaration, you can import:

- cash up to 10 thousand US dollars;

- up to 5 kilograms of fruits or vegetables;

- up to 3 flower bouquets;

- up to 5 kilograms of thermally processed meat and fish in original packaging;

- goods for personal use worth no more than 10 thousand euros on the plane;

- no more than 3 liters of alcohol.

It is not allowed to export from Kazakhstan:

- gold, gemstones, and rare minerals;

- rare specimens and collections of flora, as well as their parts and products obtained from them;

- rare species of animals listed in the Red Book, as well as saiga horns.

From Kazakhstan, tourists export the famous Kazakh chocolate, honey, kazy and shuzhuk, kurt, nuts, dried fruits, spices, cognac, skullcaps, chapans, felt, leather, ceramics, and other souvenirs. Food is usually allowed to be taken on board in hand luggage, subject to restrictions. Kazy can be transported, but not more than 5 kilograms in its original packaging. Before making purchases in Kazakhstan, we advise you to check the customs rules of your country together with the rules of the airlines.

The list of items prohibited for transportation from and to Kazakhstan on board an aircraft in hand luggage and checked luggage includes:

- meat and fish without original packaging weighing more than 5 kilograms;

- live crayfish;

- explosives;

- radioactive substances;

- narcotic drugs;

- all types of aerosols, the exception of those necessary for medical reasons;

- flammable liquids and substances, including drinks with an alcohol content of more than 70 percent by volume (140 percent strength);

- flammable solids (potassium, sodium, phosphorus, etc.);

- poisons and poisonous substances;

- infectious or biologically hazardous materials, substances, and objects containing them;

- caustic and corrosive substances;

- empty lighters;

- mercury barometers and thermometers;

You cannot transport the following in hand luggage or the cabin of the aircraft:

- liquids with a volume of more than 100 milliliters. Exemption only for medicines, baby food, and liquids, prescribed for medical reasons, as well as for liquids, purchased in duty-free shops at the airport or on board the aircraft;

- guns and even lighters that look like a gun;

- bats, billiard cues, golf clubs and oars, skateboards;

- stabbing and cutting weapons, as well as skates and kitchen knives, scalpels and straight razors, scissors (scissors with blunt or rounded ends with blades less than 3 centimeters long are allowed for transportation), ski poles, and walking/hiking poles, tape measures with metal ribbons;

If you need to give injections, you must have a certificate from your attending physician confirming the need to use a syringe during the flight.

You cannot carry the following in your luggage:

- electronic cigarettes, vapes, cell phones, and laptops with lithium-ion batteries above a certain amount of power: 100 watt-hours for smoking devices and 160 watt-hours for portable electronic devices. This limitation is due to the risk of fire.

It is better to check with the airlines for specific restrictions, but, for example, in the case of laptops, we are talking about “high-power devices.” You can take these items with you into the aircraft cabin. Before your flight, we recommend you check the internal rules of the airline that carries out transportation to Kazakhstan and clarify what approvals you need to go through to be allowed into the aircraft cabin with permitted items.