Invitations and visas for foreigners: Kazakhstan updated the rules

Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan published a joint order, according to which changes were made to the rules for issuing visas and invitations for foreigners, as well as extending and reducing their validity periods.

Updated rules and requirements for visas

Amendments were made to the joint order of the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs dated November 24, 2016 №11-1-2/555 and the Minister of Internal Affairs dated November 28, 2016 №1100 "On approval of the Rules for issuing invitations, coordinating invitations for entry of foreigners and stateless persons into the Republic of Kazakhstan, issuing, canceling, restoring visas of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as extending and reducing their validity".

Categories of visas and their purpose

According to the document set out in the new edition, the category, recipient, number of entries, validity period of the visa, period of stay in the territory of Kazakhstan, grounds and documents required for issuing visas are determined in accordance with Appendix 1 to these rules.

Thus, visas are divided into single and multiple:

• a single visa grants the recipient of the visa the right to a single entry into Kazakhstan, travel through its territory, stay in it and exit the republic for the time, for the purposes and under the conditions established in the visa;
• a multiple visa grants the recipient of the visa the right to multiple entries into Kazakhstan, travel through its territory, stay in it and exit the republic for the time, for the purposes and under the conditions established in the visa;
• a visa for exit from the territory of Kazakhstan grants the recipient of the visa the right to stay in the territory of the republic and exit from it for the time and under the conditions established in the visa.

Filling out a visa sticker

Filling out a visa sticker of the Republic of Kazakhstan is carried out in accordance with Appendix 2 to these rules. It is reported that:

• corrections to the visa are not allowed. Visas with corrections are considered invalid;
• visa filling is carried out in electronic format through the visa and migration portal.

Documents replacing visas

Documents replacing visas may be:

• accreditation certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan to heads, members of staff of diplomatic and equivalent missions, consular offices of foreign states, international organizations and their missions accredited in the republic, as well as members of their families;
• residence permit of a foreigner or stateless person in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• certificate of a stateless person;
• court order on the expulsion of a foreigner from Kazakhstan;
• travel document.

Visa validity periods and the principle of reciprocity

"Visas may be issued for longer periods, taking into account the international principle of reciprocity with a period of stay in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan that does not exceed the duration of stay of citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the territory of the relevant state, and the visa processing periods may be longer than provided for in these rules," the document says.

Government services for issuing and extending visas

Both individuals and legal entities can receive the following government services:

• acceptance and approval of invitations from hosts for issuing visas of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• issuance, restoration or extension of visas for foreigners and stateless persons on the territory of Kazakhstan for the right to leave the republic and enter it.

Conditions for issuing invitations to individuals

According to the data specified in the rules, an invitation for private purposes is issued under the following conditions:

• submitted no earlier than one year and no later than five working days before the expected date of entry of the visa recipient into the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• an application or verbal note is submitted no earlier than 90 calendar days and no later than five working days before the expected date of entry of the visa recipient into Kazakhstan;
• the invitation review period is no more than three working days when the service is provided electronically and no more than five working days - in paper form - from the date of submission of the application, except for the cases specified in paragraph 16 of the rules;
• at the direction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, documents for invitations are accepted and processed in a shorter time frame.

Paragraph 16 indicates that invitation documents are issued:

• by issuing an invitation for private purposes, certified by the signature of an authorized employee and sealed with the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan or the territorial police bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• by placing on the first copy of the legal entity's petition the approval number, certified by the signature of an authorized employee and sealed with the seal of the territorial police bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. The second copy of the petition and the attached documents are filed in the nomenclature file of the territorial police bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Information about the registration number of the invitation and the date of issue of the invitation is entered in Unified information system "Berkut."

"To issue an invitation for a foreigner, the inviting party submits a verbal note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan," the document states.

To issue an invitation, the inviting party submits to the territorial police bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan or through the "Government for Citizens" at the place of its registration a petition and the following documents required for the provision of the state service "Acceptance and approval of invitations from hosts for issuing visas to the Republic of Kazakhstan":

To issue an invitation for private matters:

• identity document (for verification);
• a table filled in two copies according to the form in accordance with Appendix 4 to the rules;
• a document confirming payment of the state fee when applying to the State Corporation (in case of payment of the state fee through the payment gateway of the "electronic government", provision of this document is not required).

To issue an invitation to a legal entity or individual entrepreneur:

• a table filled in two copies according to the form in accordance with Appendix 4 to the rules;
• a document confirming payment of the state fee when applying to the State Corporation (in case of payment of the state fee through the payment gateway of the "electronic government", provision of this document is also not required);
• a document confirming the authority of the representative.

in this case, an employee of the state corporation, when providing a government service, receives written consent to use information constituting a secret protected by law, contained in information systems, unless otherwise provided by the laws of the country.

"In accordance with Article 5 of the Law on State Services, when providing state services, it is not permitted to request from service recipients documents and information that can be obtained from information systems, notarized copies of documents, the originals of which are presented for verification to the service provider, the State Corporation, except for cases stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan regulating issues of pension and social security," the information specifies.

At the same time, depending on the category of the requested visa, the following documents are additionally provided:

• For investors - a petition from the authorized body of the Republic of Kazakhstan for investments or the AIFC Administration;
• To obtain a multiple-entry business visa - a copy of the agreement or contract confirming the business nature of the trip to the Republic of Kazakhstan (with the exception of ethnic Kazakhs, former compatriots and citizens from the list of economically developed, politically and migration-stable states exempt from the need to present an invitation when applying for visas);
• To participate in religious events or carry out missionary activities - written consent of the authorized body regulating religious activities;
• To visit persons serving sentences in correctional institutions in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan - written consent of the Committee of the penal system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan;
• To adopt citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan - written consent of the authorized body of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of protection of children's rights.
• Documents are also required for carrying out work activities, including for seasonal foreign workers: a permit issued to the employer to employ foreign labor, or a certificate of qualification, or documents confirming that the visa recipient does not require such a permit under international agreements. The following documents are also additionally submitted:
• for kandases - a copy and the original of the candidate's certificate or an electronic document from the digital document service (for identification);
• for crew members of sea and river vessels, air transport, faculty of higher education institutions that have been assigned a special status, as well as for teachers with higher education who train personnel for sectors of the economy, working in higher education institutions in managerial positions with documents - a copy of the employment contract with a foreign employee;

- for persons attracted by AIFC participants and bodies:
- a copy of the certificate confirming the registration or accreditation of a legal entity in accordance with the current law of the AIFC;
- a copy of the employment contract with a foreign employee;
- for persons working in the national management holding in positions not lower than heads of structural divisions with higher education with confirmed documents in the manner established by the Rules for the recognition of educational documents - an order of the national management holding on the appointment of a foreign employee as the first head of a structural division in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- for persons attracted to work as members of the board of directors of the national management holding - an extract from the general meeting of the board of directors of the national management holding;
- persons working as top managers of branches or representative offices of foreign legal entities - a decision of the founder or an extract from the general meeting of founders on the appointment of a foreign employee as the top manager;
- persons working as top managers of Kazakhstani legal entities with a 100% foreign share in their authorized capital - a decision of the founder or an extract from the general meeting of founders on the appointment of a foreign employee as the top manager in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- persons working as deputy top managers of Kazakhstani legal entities with a 100% foreign share in their authorized capital - a copy of the order on acceptance and appointment to the position of deputy manager;

The following documents are also provided:

• To undergo practical training or internship - a petition from the central executive bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan or Astana Hub to undergo training under Astana Hub programs;
• For humanitarian reasons - a document confirming the registration in the Republic of Kazakhstan of the applying international organization or its representative office or the official registration of a foreign non-governmental organization (foundation) in the country of its location in accordance with the legislation of that country in the presence of an international treaty on the provision of humanitarian aid ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• To obtain an education - a petition from an educational institution of the Republic of Kazakhstan or authorized bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan on education issues; to care for close relatives - citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan - or visa recipients permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and undergoing treatment in healthcare organizations - a certificate of form No. 026 / y, issued by a medical organization located in the Republic of Kazakhstan and confirming the need for constant care, as well as documents confirming the degree of kinship.

Procedure for submitting and processing documents

Upon receipt of a full package of documents from the service recipient through the State Corporation or an authorized employee of the territorial police bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, a receipt for the documents is issued.

"The day of receipt of applications and documents is not included in the term of provision of the state service. The maximum permissible waiting time for submitting documents to the service provider is 30 minutes, to the State Corporation - 15 minutes. The maximum permissible time for servicing the service recipient at the service provider and in the State Corporation is 20 minutes," the document states.

Earlier, a new type of visa has been introduced in Kazakhstan.