France and Switzerland simplified visa procedures for Kazakhstan residents

Starting from October 3 Kazakhstan residents will be able to get visas to France and Switzerland in Astana and Almaty, Tengrinews.kz reports. Embassies of these two countries decided to harmonize and shorten the procedure of visas issue to Kazakhstan residents. According to diplomats, a so-called cross representation will save Kazakhstan residents from wasting time on submitting visa applications. The embassies agreed on the following: residents living in the north, east and west of Kazakhstan will be able to submit applications for French of Swiss visas in the embassy of Switzerland in Astana, while residents of southern regions will submit their applications to the General Consulate of France in Almaty. Such simplified procedure does not apply to student and medical visas to Switzerland. According to Director of the Consular Department of Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry Yryskali Daurenbek, Kazakhstan is currently negotiating simplification of the visa regime with all countries of the European Union. “There will be time, when our residents will be visiting European countries without any problems,” he said. According to Daurenbek, the number of Kazakhstan residents visiting Switzerland and France has doubled compared to 2010. The flow of visitors from Switzerland and France to Kazakhstan has also doubled. Daurenbek noted that the majority of issued visas are tourist visas. Last year Switzerland issued 3 thousand visas to Kazakhstan residents, while France issued 12 thousand of them.