azerbaijan visa policy

Visiting to Azerbaijan needs a person to obtain a visa unless they are a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This visa is issued under the visa policy of Azerbaijan and following this is very important. The Visa policy of Azerbaijan is a set of rules laid by the republic of Azerbaijan in order to maintain the basic order while assigning visas to foreigners. Those people who come from some o the countries where the visa is not needed to be taken in order to enter Azerbaijan can also travel to this republic nation without a visa.

Content:

• Requirements to obtain a visa
• Visa exemption for foreign countries
• Holders of diplomatic or service passports
• Visa on arrival for foreigners
• Electronic visa facility or an E visa facility
• Easing the visa process
• Bans put up by Azerbaijan
• FAQs

Requirements to obtain a visa:

There are some general requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to get an Azerbaijan visa. The requirements can be given as follows:

• • All the foreigners who will be traveling to Azerbaijan must have a passport that has a 6 month validity period before the expiry of the visa that has been applied.
  • If the passport is found to be valid for a period of fewer than three months then the foreigner who has applied for the visa will not be granted one.
  • All the countries whose names have been mentioned on the visa required list must have a visa before entering Azerbaijan or else they will be denied entry at the border itself.
  • A foreigner has various options through which they can apply for a visa such as through an embassy or consulate of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Or the foreigners can even apply for one at the border once they arrive.
  • The visa application for the same can also be done through an online method making it a more feasible method.

Visa exemption for foreign countries:

There have been some exemptions made regarding the visa for foreign countries. There are about 11 countries that come under this exemption and the list can be given as follows:

All of the above-mentioned countries can take a tour of Azerbaijan without a visa. However, the time period varies. Such as for Iran a stay for only 15 days is available that too only within Nakhchivan. And the rest of the countries can stay in Azerbaijan for 90 days.

Holders of diplomatic or service passports:

Those diplomatic or service passport holders whose countries names have been mentioned in the below-given list also need not take a visa to visit Azerbaijan. The list of countries can be given as follows:

Apart from the above-listed countries, there have been other countries with whom the visa waiver agreement was decided upon but has not yet been implemented. The countries can be specified as follows:

• • With Benelux, this visa waiver agreement was done on the 23rd of November 2017 for service passport holders.
  • With Bolivia in august 2017 for the holders of diplomatic and service passports.
  • With Chile in September 2018 for those diplomatic and service passport holders.
  • With Paraguay on 24th of March 2019 for the diplomatic and service passport holders.

Visa on arrival for foreigners:

The visa to enter Azerbaijan was also made available once the foreigners would arrive at the border. The citizens of only about 16 countries could access to this facility. The list can be given as below:

There are conditions that should be followed, however. This can be given as follows:

1. 1. The above-listed countries can stay on a visa on arrival for only 30 days after which they will have to leave the country.
   2. These visas on arrival are available only through international airports.
   3. United States citizens can get a 3-day visa only if they arrive in Azerbaijan on an Azerbaijan airline which is flown directly from New York to Azerbaijan.
   4. If the citizens of the United States take a round trip or transit through another country then a visa might not be available.
   5. Visa on arrival is also possible for those who hold an official letter which has been issued by the state migration service of Azerbaijan or other Azerbaijan government authority.
   6. Visa on arrival is also possible for those officials of the Asian Development Bank also called as ADB and the assistants who come with them who hold an official letter from ADB.
   7. Those foreigners who have a residence permit obtained from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE can get a visa on arrival which will allow to them stay in Azerbaijan for 30 days.

Electronic visa facility or an E visa facility:

Some of the countries can now access the electronic visa facilities which were initiated by the Azerbaijan government in January 207. This electronic visa also called ASAN will allow people to get an online visa without having to step out of their houses. This visa will be processed and supplied to the people all through the online process only. This visa, however, will be needed to present at the border along with the valid passport that the foreigner carries. The issuing of the visa may vary according to which options the people choose. It may take right from 3 hours for an emergency visa to 5 days for a standard visa. The countries that can get access to this visa can be given as follows:

All of the above 95 stated countries can have access to this facility and get the visa almost instantly. ASAN visa was also voted as one of the easiest visas in the world to get your hands on. People from Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates can obtain an electronic visa now even after they arrive. However, till now this facility has only been opened at Baku International Airport. This idea was initiated on the 15th of May 2018.

Easing the visa process:

There was a visa facilitation agreement conducted between Azerbaijan and the European Union. However, this agreement excludes countries such as Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. This agreement stated that the countries in the European Union need not provide a lot of documents for the visa application which will prove their purpose and need only present some important ones which cannot be avoided. This means there is both reduction of fees and there is ease in the application process which is involved.

Bans put up by Azerbaijan:

Due to the ever-increasing war threats between both Azerbaijan and Armenia, there have been restrictions taken by Azerbaijan in order to control peace. The citizens of Armenia are hence restricted from entering Azerbaijan. This also means that not only the citizens of Armenia but also the Armenian descents such as Armenian Russians are also denied entry. Hence if a foreigner will go to Armenia then try to enter Azerbaijan, the person will not only be denied entry but will also never be able to enter Azerbaijan again.  

FAQs:

1. Will an American be able to get a visa on arrival if they do not fly through Azerbaijan airlines but some other flight that directly goes to Azerbaijan?

An American who is a citizen of the United States can only get a visa on arrival if they go to Azerbaijan through a direct flight and that too only if they board on an Azerbaijan airline which leaves from New York and lands directly at Azerbaijan. If any round trip is found to be taken by the foreigner then the visa on arrival can get denied.

2. Are there any rules that a foreigner needs to follow while entering Azerbaijan?

A foreigner who will be entering the republic of Azerbaijan is entitled to respect and follow all the rules laid by the government and if not followed decently then they can land a foreigner in trouble.

3. Is there a site where an Azerbaijan visa can be applied for apart from the embassy?

The Azerbaijan visa can be easily applied through Tourist Visa Online which will have two options for you to apply for the visa. The options will be a standard visa and an emergency visa. Both will have different ratings due to the different processing speeds.

4. Do those passport holders whose passports come under the diplomatic or service sections need a visa to enter Azerbaijan?

Those foreigners whose passports come under the diplomatic or service sections and their countries have been listed in the above article need not get a visa to visit Azerbaijan.

5. From where can a foreigner get to know about the rules of visa?

The visa policy of Azerbaijan gives out the rules of the visa that a foreigner needs to know.