Last updated 12 February 2012

Azerbaijan Visas for the those coming for Eurovision Song Contest in May 2012

 General info on visa support process: how to get LOI & Tourist Voucher

To obtain tourist visa to Azerbaijan you will need an official Letter of Invitation (LOI) from travel agency licensed by Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Visa support letter has to be on a headed paper, duly stamped and signed. Invitation letter has to be submitted to Azeri embassy abroad along with application form, two passport-size (3x4 cm) photos and original passport/travel document (must be valid for at least 6 months after the expiry date of the Azerbaijani visa you apply for). It will allow applicant to obtain single or double entry (rarely granted) tourist visa that is valid for three months and authorizes to enter and stay in Azerbaijan for up to 30 days.

The complexity of the process is that there is no universal rule and every single Azerbaijan embassy interpret visa regulations with some variations of their own. Some consulates insist on that every single Letter of Invitation has to be separately validated through Consular Section of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Azerbaijan. This is a lengthy & bureaucratic procedure involves substantial costs, mainly related to corrupt practices of visa officials. As a result tourists would have to be charged $250 USD just for the visa support only.

Also, as recommendation - try to obtain visa in your own country where AZ embassy is based. In case there is no AZ embassy in your country you should ideally obtain your visa in AZ embassy in any other country without hassle. However, if there is such an embassy in your country, but you apply in other country (and have no permanent residency there) then most likely you would be requested to provide MFA attested LOI. So CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL!

PLEASE, don't make inquiries on current situation with us, all the information that we have we immediately post on our site. We are physically not able to track all changes in every embassy. Please contact the embassy where you plan to obtain your visa and check with them. Thank you for understanding.   

P.S. NOTE for Eurovision fans. There are strong rumors that Azeri authorities will easen  visa regime for song contestants due in May 2012. So far no information is available though they say new initiative will be disclosed in February. No one knows what shape it will take but most likely there would be at least temporary return of Visas upon arrival in Baku airport. Please check this page for the latest updates. 

NOTE: Visas upon arrival in Baku airport are no longer available from 15 October 2010. 

Effective 15 October 2010, the Azeri Government has officially stopped to Issue Visa’s on arrival at the Baku airport for European and US Citizens (Turkish & Russian nationals are not affected). All affected nationals are required to obtain their visa in advance from an Azeri embassy. Azerbaijan is sending back any passengers without a pre-arranged visa. Only diplomats and people on official government business are being allowed in without a visa. No visas are available at land borders as well. All visas has to be obtained in advance in one of Azeri diplomatic missions abroad.

Azerbaijan Visa Support Service 

1. Visa support provided as part of one of our tour packages (at least 3 days) is free of charge
   
2. If you need just a letter of invitation (LOI) from our travel agency the fee for our service is $60 USD *

N.B. If your visa is rejected for some reason we refund that fee in full minus bank transfer fees if there are any.
- * Requirements and fees are subject to change without prior notice.

Please note that additional consular fees are paid at the embassy with your visa application. Azerbaijan24.com can also provide you with tourist vouchers that will entitle you to a reduced visa fee of just 20 USD, in other words instead of paying full standard visa fee in the embassy (ranging from 40 to 130 USD depending on the length of your stay and the country of your citizenship) you will pay just 20 USD. Tourist vouchers are provided as part of visa support package only. Bear in mind, that tourist vouchers might not work in some embassies (though they have to be accepted by any Azeri consulate), and you will be charged the full standard visa fee instead of $20. Unfortunately, we have no opportunities to influence embassies on this matter. We also make no refund if vouchers does not work for reduced visa fee. Refunds are made only if the visa is rejected. For situation with vouchers in some embassies check the bottom of this page. 

Document list, terms & dates of visa preparation & consular fees may be changed according to the regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan24.com does not carry responsibility for the non-implementation or timeliness of visa processing by consular sections of Azeri embassies abroad, nor we are responsible for visa rejection.

To proceed with a visa support please make a payment, send a scanned copy of your passport along with the following information:

• Full Name
• Passport number
• Citizenship
• Duration of stay
• Arrival date
• Planned Accommodation (Hotel, Hostel, Friend)
• Your contact details
• Place of applying for visa (in what country, city)

We aim to process all requests within 24 hours (excluding Sundays).

Based on the information received we will issue a Letter of Invitation and send scanned copies of LOI & Tourist Voucher to your email within 24 hours. You will need to print off the documents that we will send you and enclose with application form (for those applying in London, UK application form is here) that you will submit to the embassy.

 P.S. We are not providing visa support for African nationals

P/S.Multiple entry visa has no limits on number of entries to AZ with each entry not exceeding 90 days, i.e. one have to leave & re-enter AZ after 3 months stay

For those applying for AZ visa in UK

To meet the increasing demand, while maintaining high standards of service the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in London has outsourced its visa application processing to Visa Services Centre Limited (VSC) that will start accepting documents from 15 July 2011.

Azerbaijan Visa Centre
Lower Ground Floor
1 Star Street
London, W2 1QD

For further details on how to apply for a visa, please visit the website below:
_www.visaforazerbaijan.org.uk_
Please be aware that Application Forms must be completed online on the website of the Azerbaijan Visa Centre.

LOI & Tourist Voucher from travel agency is still needed for travelers to apply for AZ visa in UK. They are issued ONLY for customers booking hotel or tour (at least 3 days) through our travel agency. According to some reports just a hotel booking confirmation (on a headed paper signed and stamped) might be sufficient to obtain visa. You can place a hotel booking with us (check the frontpage for hotel options) and we'll make sure you get a proper confirmation paper from the hotel.

Despite being one of the most efficient embassies for many years, embassy in Tbilisi is no more reliable as was before. They have started requesting visa support documents approved through MFA (mainly for those passport-holders that have AZ embassy in their own country). Still, that started causing serious problems for  many travelers that planned to obtain visa in Tbilisi on the way to AZ. For those who experience problems or have no other alternative but Georgia we recommend to get visas in AZ consulate in Batumi that opened just couple of months ago. So far very efficient, helpful consul.

The address is
Nodar Dumbadze str.
146010, Batumi
Tel: +(995 22) 276700
The consulates' officer name is Elmar, and the consulate is next door to the Iranian Embassy(consulate), and opens at 10 am.  

Standard LOI is required only (no MFA needed) by the embassy

1. Austria (Vienna) - insist on having originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee. Vouchers need to be posted to applicants from Baku (will take 10-14 days by standard air-mail. Courier service is available for extra fee if needed.
2. Belgium (Brussels) - tourist vouchers are not accepted for reduced visa fee.
3. Georgia (Batumi consulate) one of the most efficient. No LOI is required. 3 days visa processing. Embassy in Tbilisi asks for MFA approval
4. Germany (Berlin) - tourist vouchers are not accepted for reduced visa fee and one has to pay full fee of 60 Euros.
5. Greece (Athens) - accepts visa support docs without any problems
6. France (Paris) - accepts visa support docs without any problems. Vouchers seems to be not working for discounted visa fee, perhaps originals needed. 
7. Holland (Hague) - processes vouchers without problems. Reduced visa cost is 15 Euro. Processing time is around 1 week.
8. Indonesia (Jakarta) - processes vouchers without problems. MFA approval for LOIs is required for visits exceeding 15 days.
9. Iran (Tehran embassy & Tabriz consulate) - need no LOI at all. Visas could be obtained same day without any support documents. They don't accept tourist vouchers.
10. Italy (Rome) - contradictory reports. MFA approval is required from time to time. Hotel booking confirmation would be helpful to avoid that. Also very lengthy processing procedure might be expected (up to 2 weeks).
11. Japan (Tokyo)
    
12. Kazakhstan (Aktau consulate) - need originals of LOIs & Vouchers for reduced fee visa. Otherwise they can issue tourist visas just with scans but charging full visa price. Transit visa (valid for 5 days) from the Aktau consulate takes 3 working days, they require no LOI but just passport, $20 and an application form which they help to fill in.
13. Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) - they only ask travel agency to send copies of docs to their email
14. Kuwait (Kuwait City) - standard LOIs are accepted only for citizens or permanent residents of Kuwait. All others have to apply with LOIs approved through MFA. Those applying without MFA approved LOIs have to submit docs in person. Fingerprints are taken.
15. Latvia (Riga) - only foreigners holding permanent residence in Baltic countries can apply for visa. They insist on having originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee.
16. Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) - accepts visa support docs without any problems. They ask travel agency to send copies of docs to their email.
17. Poland (Warsaw) - standard LOI accepted for Polish citizens only. All other citizens need to obtain MFA approved LOI
    
18. Romania (Bucharest)
19. Russia (Moscow) - accepts visa support docs in original only, that need to be posted from Baku. Will take around 10 working days to arrive by standard post. Courier service available for extra fee if needed.
20. South Korea (Seoul) - standard LOIs worked well until recently. Some problems were reported lately with the need to apply for MFA approval.
21. Sweden (Stockholm) - need originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee.
22. Switzerland (Bern) - processing time at least 1 week to obtain visa.
23. UAE (Abu-Dhabi embassy & Dubai consulate) - provide visa with standard visa support docs only to UAE citizens or permanent residents, otherwise MFA approval is needed
24. Ukraine (Kiev) - standard LOI is OK for permanent residents only. Tourist vouchers are not accepted.
25. United Kingdom (London) - Standard LOI is OK. Process tourist vouchers without any problem and give discounted visa fee (?14 instead of standard ?55, but Visa Centre charges extra to process vouchers, though they are still worth using. Applications are accepted only from citizens of UK, Ireland, Iceland and Denmark (and those who have permanent residence there on student or work basis). If you are EU passport holder working in UK and you obviously don't need visa or work permit for that (and hence have no stamps in your passport) you will need to submit them your bank statements AND utility bills to prove that you live in UK on a permanent basis. Otherwise there is a chance that your application won't be accepted on non-residency grounds. Also, sometimes only hotel headed paper booking confirmation might be sufficient to get your visa even without LOI.  See above for info on Visa Centre.
26. USA (Washington embassy & Los-Angeles consulate) - need original tourist voucher to give reduced visa fee. In the rest in some cases it is possible to obtain tourist visa even without any support docs.  
    

MFA approved LOI is required only for non-residents

1. UAE (Abu Dhabi & Dubai) - though sometimes even standard LOI for non-residents might be OK
2. Latvia (Riga)
3. Kuwait (Kuwait City)
4. Ukraine (Kiev)

MFA approved LOI is required for all nationals

1. China (Beijing)
2. Czech Republic (Prague)
3. Georgia (Tbilisi)
4. India (Delhi)
5. Italy (Rome) unless there is also a hotel confirmation
6. Morocco (Rabat)
7. Pakistan (Islamabad)
8. Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) - though sometimes standard LOI might be OK
9. Turkey (Ankara, Istanbul & Kars). Those with permanent residence in Turkey don't need any support docs to get AZ visa. 
10. Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)

Last updated 8 March 2011.

If you are traveling to Azerbaijan you need to obtain an appropriate visa. Only citizens of Russia and CIS countries (except Turkmenistan) do not need a visa to enter Azerbaijan.

There are several types of visas available:

1. Tourist visa
2. Business/Student visa
3. Visitor visa
4. Transit visa

The most common type is tourist visa available on single or double entry basis only. This type of visa is valid for three months and authorizes to enter and stay in Azerbaijan for up to 30 days. Visa should be obtained in advance in one of the Azeri diplomatic missions abroad before traveling to Azerbaijan.

NOTE: Effective 15 October 2010, the Azeri Government has officially stopped to Issue Visa’s on arrival at the Baku airport for European and US Citizens (Turkish & Russian nationals are not affected). All affected nationals are required to obtain their visa in advance from an Azeri embassy. 

Azerbaijan is sending back any passengers without a pre-arranged visa. Only diplomats and people on official government business are being allowed in without a visa.

For getting an Azerbaijan visa you will need to get an official letter of invitation (stamped and signed) from licensed Azeri travel agency. This invitation along with the application form, two passport size (3x4 cm) photos and an original of your passport/travel document (must be valid for at least 6 months after the expiry date of the Azerbaijani visa applied for) are sufficient to obtain visa in Azerbaijan Consulate abroad.  

Should you need a letter of invitation for Azerbaijan tourist visa contact us for arrangements. More detailed information on our visa support services you can find by following the link here. Baku Travel Services is a licensed travel agency and we process all requests and send LOIs within 24 hours.

For business & student visas the procedure is slightly different. Letter of invitation from a receiving party (potential employer, business partner or university) should be authorized by Consular Department of the MFA that will fax approval letter directly to the embassy where you plan to obtain your visa. Applicant should get a copy of approval letter (don't confuse it with LOI) from receiving party that they get from Consular Department of the MFA. Approval letter should bear a reference number that you will need to quote in your visa application. Consular Department of the MFA processes LOIs within 3-4 working days.

For visitor visas an invitation is needed from the citizen of Azerbaijan. Invitation has either to be authorized by Consular Department of the MFA (see above business visas) or the applicant can submit a copy of LOI directly to the embassy (without authorization in MFA). The support letter (Devetname) must contain full name of the invited person, his/her date of birth, passport number, duration of stay in Azerbaijan. That LOI needs also to indicate the address and contact details of inviting party. A copy of Azerbaijan citizen's identity document (Shexsiyyet vesiqesi) has to be enclosed as well. However, embassies might still insist on having Letter of Invitation authorized by Consular Department of the MFA, so our advice is to check with the embassy first.

A single or multiple transit visa is granted to travelers going to other countries but passing through the territory of Azerbaijan. If the transit visa has no notes or stamps about non-stop passage, the bearer has the right to stay in the Republic of Azerbaijan for not longer than five days. Proof of onward travel might be required(plain/train tickets). Onward visa as proof of onward travel might also be used. 5 day transit visas are $20/40 for single/double entry, are valid for one month from the date of issue. You only need an application form, passport photo and photocopy of your passport.

Extension of visa

Foreign nationals have to leave Azerbaijan within 48 hours from the expiry date of the visa or extend the visa before it expires at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Address: 4 Shikhali Gurbanov Street, Baku AZ 1009, Republic of Azerbaijan, tel: + 994 12 4929692).

If foreign nationals fail to extend their visas before expiry date, they will be liable to a fine from US $ 20 to 30. It is not possible to renew a visa after it has expired. Those foreign citizens who stay over 30 days since entering Azerbaijan and fail to register are subject to arrest by authorities with investigation to follow. There are facts when foreigners extend their visas but forget to get registration certificate. In this case the person is fined and gets a warning to obtain certificate. These certificates differ from those that Azerbaijan citizens have by color, those ones for foreigners are of pink color and bear information about a foreign citizen. If you leave the country before termination of 30 days you are free of registration.

There is an opportunity to extend your visa through Migration Service once you are in Azerbaijan. Process takes 4 days and costs 30 AZN (roughly 30 Euros). Make sure you apply for visa extension before your visa expires, otherwise they would be able to issue you only exit papers to leave a country. 

The immigration office is located near Azedliq Prospekti metro station - this is a new station at end of the line after Nasimi and not on older metro maps. You come out in a park in the middle of two roads. Walk slightly uphill to the big main road, turn right past the building construction works and the next impressive building is the immigration office. It opens at 9am but get there much earlier to avoid long waits. Saturdays they are apparently open at 9am for training and open proper from 11am (for a short time). 

You may not stay without registration, as this is illegal!

Long-term stay and registration

Foreign nationals intending to stay in Azerbaijan for a period exceeding 30 days have to register with the nearest police station within three days upon arrival. The registration fee is US $10 and the following documents should be submitted:

- Valid passport of a foreign national
- Valid visa
- Proof of address or a tenancy agreement, or a letter from the landlord

After the registration foreign nationals are issued with a registration note or card allowing them to stay in the country. Foreign nationals residing in the capital city are issued with a registration note rather than registration card, given by Baku Head Police Department.

Foreign nationals that stay in other districts of Azerbaijan (i.e. other than Baku) obtain their registration from Passport Registration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan in person prior to their departure from the capital city. They will also be charged an additional fine of US $ 50 for each month they overstay.

Registration in Azerbaijan is essential and unavoidable. To enjoy your stay, follow the rules and make sure you are registered.