Obtaining visa to Azerbaijan might be a very confusing process since there are several types of tourist visa available and due to the fact that many embassies of Azerbaijan have various requirements for visa application process. Since there is no unified procedure for the embassies we have compiled an embassy report that can give you some idea of what would be required in the embassy where you plan to apply. We try to update this report as soon as we have any new information. We would be grateful if you could share your experience on dealing with Azeri embassy and any information that would be helful to other travelers.  

Standard LOI is required only (no MFA authorization 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 working to give reduced visa fee. Also, make sure to have a letter from employer confirming your employment status, without that letter docs won't be accepted.  
3. Georgia (Tbilisi) [May 2015 Hi, we obtained our Azeri visa at the Embassy in Tbilisi at the end of May this year. They did not ask for an LOI, a letter from our hotel for the first two days of our trip was enough for us and we were issued a 30 day visa. I am British, partner is Swedish, I had to pay 118USD, partner 35EUR. It took 6 working days for us to get the visa.][January 2015 The consulate is not far from the old city main sq (Meidani), along the river about 500m away (on Gorgosali) in the direction of the baths (Abanotubani). Hard to miss if you walk. Hours were daily 10:00-12:30, and collections 16:00-17:30 as well (you're welcome to collect at earlier hours too). Cost is $160 for US, bring 2 "4x3" photos, printout of hotel reservation (I used a print screen from bookings.com for a hostel), and copy of passport. Application given on site. Fill out there, they will give you the visa payment amount written on a slip of paper with the address of the Azerbaijan bank (just off Liberty Sq) where you will need to go and pay. The bank will give you a pile of 5 receipts, only the one with a red stamp on it is required by the consulate. If you start first thing at 10am at the consulate you can easily get to the bank and back in the same morning hours to submit the receipt. No LOI needed - hotel reservation, unpaid, is fine for single entry. Can take as little as 2 working days, though safer to count 3+.
   Saw cost was $100 for EU, $60 for Singapore. I experienced a delay trying to use my own photos, which were rejected (they actually use your photo on the visa, which comes from Baku). Otherwise the staff were friendly, though not overly helpful. They speak some English, and of course Russian. All in all, I had to go there 7 times, mostly checking for its arrival and due to my photo error, so it should be possible in 3 visits.] Transit 5 days visas are given without need for any visa support. Until recently there were numerous problems with getting visa in Tbilisi. Tourist used the help of local travel agencies in Tbilisi. They charge around $200-$250 with processing time from 5 to 10 days. X-Tour asks $200 for a Tourist Visa in 10 working days or $260 in 3-4 working days, with proof of accommodation. Medea Travel offers a 15-day Tourist Visa for $200 in 5 working days with no proof of accommodation. For EU passports Medea charges 100 Euro. See more >>> (Batumi consulate) It used to be one of the most efficient, but problems reported starting from March 2014 (frequent system down, no visas issued, consul on holidays, etc, etc,). One year later there are generally positive reports coming with consulate being a good place again. So if you decide to try to get visa there then no LOI is required. 3 days visa processing. Tel: +(995 22) 276700, consulate is next door to the Iranian Embassy(consulate). Also, consulate has a limit of around 200 visas per month (that very rarely but can be exhausted by the end of each calendar month). Some info here >>>
4. Germany (Berlin) - Standard invitation is accepted, though tourist vouchers are not working for reduced visa fee and one has to pay full fee of 60 Euros. Same goes for consulate in Stuttgart (though visas seem to be actually issued in Berlin anyway). They also issue transit visas there
5. Greece (Athens) - accepts visa support docs without any problems
6. France (Paris) - accepts no LOIs any more. All travelers are advised by the consulate officials to apply for electronic visas. Check with the embassy for latest developments, so far our recommendation is to apply for e-visa (see above) 
7. Holland (Hague) - processes vouchers without problems. Reduced visa cost is 15 Euro. Processing time is around 1 week. One of the most pleasant and easiest embassies to deal with. The embassy is about 5 minutes walk from a stop on the No 17 tram. They are not very good at answering the telephone, so keep trying if you wish to call them.
8. Hungary (Budapest) - updated on 8 April 2016 Standard LOIs are accepted for tourist visas. MFA approval is only needed for multiple entry business visas
9. Indonesia (Jakarta) - processes vouchers without problems. MFA approval for LOIs is required for visits exceeding 15 days.
10. Iran (Tehran embassy & Tabriz consulate) - updated June 2015 / Tehran issues the visa without LOI, but only on Mondays and with a LOR of your own embassy. Visas could be obtained same day without any support documents. They don't accept tourist vouchers. Some outdated info here >>>
11. 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).
12. Japan (Tokyo) - now only e-visas available. Check above how to apply. No more traditional visas through the embassy in Tokyo.
13. Kazakhstan (Aktau consulate) - need originals of LOIs & Vouchers for reduced fee visa. They no more accept scans of the vouchers and insist on having the original copy of the document. 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. Their new number : +77292 422300/01 Email: Azconsul.aktau[@]gmail.com Address in Aktau is at Samal 30, which is beyond the 15th Microrayon. Consul is very friendly and speaks good English. They can accept tourist visa apps by email to speed up the process ahead of visiting their consulate
14. Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) - No letter of invitation is needed. You only have to write your own letter of intention, explaining where you wanna go in Azerbaijan, when you go, what your reason is (tourist) and how long you want to stay. The letter had to typed and printed and enclosed along with 2 passport pictures, filled in application form, hotel booking might be handy (booking.com reservation is accepted). Straight forward process, very friendly consul and it takes between 5 and 7 working days.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) - accepts visa support docs without any problems. They ask travel agency to send copies of docs to their email. More info here >>> . Recent reports suggest that consulate advises to apply for evisa
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 Africa - standard LOIs work well for SAR citizens. Friendly consular staff
21. South Korea (Seoul) - standard LOIs worked well until recently. Some problems were reported lately with the need to apply for MFA approval.
22. Spain (Madrid) - standard LOIs are accepted without problems. Friendly consular staff. Tourist vouchers are not working anymore for reduced fee
23. Sweden (Stockholm) - need originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee.
24. Switzerland (Bern) - http://evisa.mfa.gov.az/ is used to fill in the application. A couple of hours later you receive your application as PDF which you have to print out and submit to the embassy together with the support documents we provide. They *do* accept the tourist voucher which reduces the visa fee to CHF25. Processing time to obtain visa 7-10 days.
25. Tajikistan (Dushanbe) - standard LOIs are not working anymore. The Embassy in Tajikistan has informed me that they do NOT issue visas and that I must apply for an e-visa (Nov 2014)
26. 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. Application form for applying in  Dubai
27. Ukraine (Kiev) - standard LOI is OK for permanent residents only. Tourist vouchers are not accepted.
28. United Kingdom (London) - Standard LOI is OK. They don't process tourist vouchers any more, so full visa cost is paid.  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.
29. USA (Washington embassy & Los-Angeles consulate) - need original tourist voucher to give reduced visa fee. Note: The visas in Washington DC are processed through Travisa Outsourcing (http://azerbaijanvisa.travisaoutsourcing com). Processing time is 10 days. As an alternative you can use consulate in LA, but check with consulate if they cover your state. Emabassy in Washington provides consular services to all states except Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Consular services for the afore-mentioned States are provided by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los-Angeles (azconsulatela.org). [July 2015 - I received a 5 day transit visa for Azerbaijan in Los Angels for $20 in 10 business days.
    Had to show proof of accommodation and flight booking (both of which I did on hold and never paid for).
    The consulate representative told me that the transit visa was date specific but when I recieved the visa, I had a 1 month duration period to use from the time of entry.  When I arrived Baku, I confirmed this with the immigration person.  Per the LA. consulate, the visa was to start on the day I specified on the application.  However, the transit visa I recieved was valid for a month and the 5 day transit only started on the day arrived.
    When I applied for the visa, I only submitted the inbound flight and hotel details.  I told the consulate I was taking the train from Baku to Tibilisi and did not have to show proof of that reservation. The consulate in LA was very easy going and good to work with. @ Tim]
30. Uzbekistan (Tashkent) - Standard LOI is sufficient to apply.

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). For business visas application form has to be filled online via embassy's site and hard copies of docs taken to embassy. For tourist visas MFA approved LOI is requested.   
3. Egypt (Cairo) - they would recommend you to get E-visa or obtain an MFA approved LOI
4. Hungary (Budapest) MFA approved LOI is required only for multiple entry business visas.
5. India (Delhi)
6. Italy (Rome) unless there is also a hotel confirmation
7. Morocco (Rabat)
8. Pakistan (Islamabad)
9. Poland (Warsaw) All applicant are now advised to obtain E-visas
10. Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) - though sometimes standard LOI might be OK
11. Turkey (Ankara, Istanbul & Kars). Those with permanent residence in Turkey in most cases don't need any support docs to get AZ visa. Vouchers are not honoured and full consular fee is charged for others.
12. Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)