Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14
By Rashid Shirinov – Trend:
In December 2018, citizens of about 150 countries will be able to take advantage of the simplified electronic visa (e-visa) regime, Tourism Industry Committee of Kazakh Culture and Sport Ministry told Trend.
"According to the Concept of Tourism Development until 2023, simplifying the issuing of Kazakh visas is one of the key priorities to ensure the flow of tourists to Kazakhstan," the committee noted.
In particular, an appropriate E-Visa Roadmap was developed, within which it is planned to launch a test project for issuing short-term single-entry business, tourism and private e-visas initially in the Astana and Almaty airports this December.
"These cities were chosen based on their airports' technological capabilities, possession of the necessary equipment, including the equipment for biometric identification," the committee said.
Subsequently, a similar process will be implemented in other international airports of Kazakhstan.
Presently citizens of 63 countries are granted the right to visa-free entry into the country. Last year, 7.7 million people visited Kazakhstan. The main flow of visitors came from Uzbekistan (3.3 million), Russia (1.7 million), Kyrgyzstan (1.3 million), Tajikistan (383,000) and Azerbaijan (111,000).
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