BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. To promote inbound tourism to Azerbaijan, there are plans to increase the number of countries whose citizens are eligible for visa-free travel.
This is outlined in the “State Program for Tourism Development for 2026–2030,” approved by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev today.
According to the Action Plan, the necessary internal procedures will be carried out to implement a unilateral or reciprocal visa-free regime for citizens of countries that are tourist destinations, based on their standard passports.
As an interim goal of the program, the plan is to ensure the implementation of a visa-free regime for citizens of 28 countries that are popular tourist destinations. The ultimate goal is to achieve this target for 34 countries.
The implementation period for this initiative spans 2026–2030.
The Cabinet of Ministers is the lead implementing agency for this initiative. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Agency for Tourism, the State Migration Service, the State Security Service, the State Border Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, and other relevant agencies will be involved in this process.
In addition to simplifying visa policy, the State Program also provides for improving the procedures for issuing multiple-entry electronic visas for tourism purposes and expanding the number of countries eligible for electronic visas, including visa-on-arrival. There are plans to update the procedures and technical capabilities of the “ASAN Visa” system for issuing multiple-entry electronic visas.
Furthermore, plans include identifying a list of new countries to which the electronic visa regime will apply, considering the possibility of implementing a border visa regime with no expiration date, and establishing the ability to designate citizens of new countries as eligible for electronic visas. These measures are scheduled to be implemented in 2026–2027.
