VISAS

 

Visas are required for travel to Tajikistan; in addition a special permit is required for travel to the Pamirs (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast - GBAO) and other border areas.

MORE CHANGES: April 2008 - Please read carefully!

The simplified procedure for travellers from some countries (see list below), to obtain a visa at the Dushanbe airport on arrival WITHOUT A VISA SUPPORT LETTER has now been restored.

HOWEVER, citizens of countries where there are Tajik Consulates now have to obtain their visa at these Consulates before travel.

MOREOVER, UK citizens have to obtain their visa in person (but see note under the list of countries below) at a Tajik Consulate before travel.

Citizens of the 57 countries listed below can obtain a one month entry visa upon arrival at Dushanbe airport. N.B. NO visa support letter is required but in order to facilitate the consular procedure it is recommended (but not obligatory) that your contact in Dushanbe take to the airport prior to arrival a note giving information on the number of travellers, names, passport details and when, from where and on which flight you will arrive - this is to ensure that the airport consular office is a) manned and b) has enough visa stickers!

All other citizens will have to obtain a visa support letter from the Tajik Foreign Ministry before travel and apply to the nearest Tajik Consulate for a visa.

Visitors intending to go to the Pamirs (GBAO) will still need to get a special permit for this purpose. Since this means waiting for several days in Dushanbe after arrival, we therefore strongly recommend that if you plan to go to the Pamirs, you apply to a Tajik Consulate for your visa and request the GBAO permit at the same time - we know that the Brussels, Delhi and Vienna consulates offer this service, you may want to check with others nearer you. This will save a long and frustrating wait in Dushanbe.

Make certain that your application for the GBAO permit lists all the border areas in Gorno-Badakhshan (Khorog, Rushan, Kala-i-Khum, Ishkashim, and Murghab). N.B. nationals of the countries listed below do not need a visa support letter when applying for a visa.

All other nationals need a Visa Support Letter from a local travel agency that will be sent by the MFA to the consulate processing the visa request.

Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Bahrain
Bulgaria
Brazil
Brunei
Canada
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Hellenic Republic
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Korea
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Thailand
Tunisia
Vietnam

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR UK NATIONALS: Since late 2007, in response to new UK visa requirements for Tajik nationals, Tajikistan introduced a regulation requiring UK nationals to go in person to a Tajik consulate to apply for a Tajik visa.

The Vienna Consulate handles visa requests very expeditiously and in February 2008 they confirmed that they are not currently applying the above requirement - although they now insist on a Visa Support Letter for UK nationals. It is worth checking with them by e-mail.

Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
Universitätsstrasse 8/1A,
A-1090 Wien
Austria
Tel 00 43 1 409 82 66
Fax 00 43 1409 82 66 14
e-mail tajikembassy@chello.at

Normally the following is required and can be sent by registered mail or courier service together with the consular fee.  

Details on visa requirements and a downloadable visa form can be found on http://www.tajikembassy.org/consular.html

A list of Tajik Embassies and their addresses can be found on http://www.tjus.org/embassies.htm

 

For travellers intending to go to the Pamirs through Osh: it is reported that visas can also be obtained at the Tajik Consulate in Bishkek N.B. but not the GBAO permit which must be requested in Dushanbe. Again, whenever possible, we advise travellers to get the GBAO permit with their visa before leaving home.


There is no official confirmation that it is possible for foreign tourists to cross the Kulma pass into China. (If anyone has done so successfully, please send an e-mail via the link on the Home Page.)

If you wish to trek to Lake Sarez, you will need yet another permission (propusk), this time from the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defence of the Government of Tajikistan, Lakhuti Str. 26, 734013 Dushanbe, tel: + 992 37 221 1331. Your letter can be addressed to Mr. M. Zokirov, Chairman of this Committee, and should indicate: full names and nationality of the persons and an explanation of the reasons for the visit. The application should be submitted at least ten days in advance of the date of intended travel. Expect the actual issuing procedure to take at least one full day. Without the propusk you will not be allowed to proceed beyond Barchadev, the last village before the lake on the approach from the Bartang Valley. Documents are checked in Barchadev village, and, for those trekking in from Murghab and Shughnan districts, at Usoi dam at the downstream end of the lake. The tour agencies members of the Pamirs Eco-Tourism Association (see section Help for Tourists) may be able to help but will need considerable advance notice.

In addition, the Department of Tourism may request you to take (and pay for) one of their vehicles and driver/guides, but you can overcome this by providing them with the driver name and registration number of a private vehicle in which you intend to travel. A seat in a Russian jeep for the 530 km from Dushanbe to Khorog will cost $20 (slightly more for the longer (620 km) route in winter, when you should allow 2 days), though it may be better and more comfortable to hire the whole vehicle for $140. A ticket in an overcrowded minibus (marshrutka) will cost $20, and approximately $220 for the hire of the whole vehicle (about ten seats). Jeeps and marshrutkas depart Dushanbe early in the morning from Avtobaza 2929, Ahmadi Donish Street, just before the airport - you would be advised to organise this the day before you wish to travel.

Once in GBAO, individual tourists should register with the "OVIR" in Khorog (N.B. avoid the "KGB"). If your GBAO permit mentions all border areas - see above - no further permissions should be necessary, unless you plan to go to Zorkul from the Khargush turn-off, for which permission from the Tajik border guards in Khorog is necessary.

Links:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/tajikistan.htm