Visa policy of Turkmenistan
In accordance with the law, citizens of all countries require a visa to visit Turkmenistan, unless they have special passports or are from certain parts of Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan.[1] To obtain a tourist visa for Turkmenistan, all foreign nationals must supply an invitation letter issued by a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan.[2]
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Turkmenistan |
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Holders of a letter of invitation issued by a company registered in Turkmenistan with a prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can obtain a visa on arrival valid for 10 days, and extendable for another 10 days.[1]
Citizens of all countries have the right to visa-free transit through the international transit area of Ashgabat International Airport.[1]
Special permits
A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.[3]
Special visa exemptions
- Kazakhstan — residents of Atyrau Oblys and Mangystau Oblys have visa free access to Balkan Velayat for up to 5 days.[4]
- Uzbekistan — residents of Khorazm Vilayat and Bukhara Vilayat as well as residents of Amudarya, Khujayli, Shumanay, Qunghirat districts and Takhiatash city of Karakalpakstan and residents of Dehkanabad, Guzar, Nishan and Mirishkar districts of Qashqadarya Vilayat and residents of Sherabad and Muzrabat districts of Surkhandarya Vilayat have visa free access for up to 3 days within any month period. During Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha the access is allowed twice a month, but no more than 7 days.[5]
Non-ordinary passports
Holders of diplomatic or service category passports of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and holders of diplomatic passports of Estonia, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan do not require a visa to visit Turkmenistan.[1] Holders of diplomatic passports of Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States may obtain a free visa on arrival.[1]
A mutual visa exemption agreement for diplomatic, service and official passports was signed with Singapore in August 2019; however, it has yet to be ratified.[6]
Statistics
Turkmenistan is one of the most closed countries in the world. Very few foreigners are granted a Turkmenistani visa. Directly after independence, in the 1990s, Turkmenistan was a slightly more open country than it is now, and in 1998, for example, 300,000 foreigners visited the country. Between 2000 and 2013, however, the number of visas issued was tiny fitting a policy of isolationism, the neutral status of Turkmenistan and the dictatorship in that country.[7]
Year | Visitors |
---|---|
218,000[8] | |
217,000[8] | |
257,000[8] | |
300,000[8] | |
3,256[9] | |
5,200[8] | |
10,800[8] | |
8,200[8] | |
14,800[8] | |
11,600[8] | |
5,600[8] | |
8,177[9] | |
9,777[9] | |
7,628[9] | |
9,631[9] | |
8,687[9] | |
More 110,000[10] | |
More 110,000[10] | |
More 130,000[10] | |
More 130,000[10] | |
More 130,000[10] | |
Total (1995-1998, 2000-2011 and 2014-2018) | More 1,700,000[10] |
Country | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2011[9] | 2010[9] | 2009[9] | 2008[9] | 2007[9] | 2000[9] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uzbekistan | 108,288[11] | 105,269[12] | 98,176[13] | 96,604[14] | |||||||
Russia | 28,127[16] | 27,490[17] | |||||||||
Iran | |||||||||||
Germany | |||||||||||
United States | |||||||||||
Italy | |||||||||||
Japan | |||||||||||
Netherlands | |||||||||||
France | |||||||||||
Other | |||||||||||
See also
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Turkmenistan. |
References
- "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Olympic Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- "Получение визы. Список необходимых документов — ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ МИГРАЦИОННАЯ СЛУЖБА ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА". migration.gov.tm. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2016-01-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "О ратификации Соглашения между Правительством Республики Казахстан и Правительством Туркменистана о взаимных поездках граждан - ИПС "Әділет"". adilet.zan.kz. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "С ВИЗАМИ И БЕЗ... - Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "Singapore inks three pacts with Turkmenistan during state visit of its leader". The Straits Times. The Straits Times. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
Two were on the avoidance of double taxation and mutual exemption of visa requirements for diplomatic, official or service passport holders, and the other was a memorandum of understanding on legal cooperation.
- "В Туркмении сейчас диктатура? А как там живут люди? Можно ли приехать в Ашхабад туристом? Стыдные вопросы про одну из самых закрытых стран в мире". Meduza.io. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- "International tourism, number of arrivals: Turkmenistan". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- "Statistical Yearbook of Turkmenistan (Page 280)" (PDF). stat.gov.tm. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- Approximate numbers
- "Распределение по странам числа граждан Республики Узбекистан, выехавших из Республики Узбекистан в 2018 году". stat.uz. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Распределение по странам числа граждан Республики Узбекистан, выехавших из Республики Узбекистан в 2017 году". stat.uz. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Распределение по странам числа граждан Республики Узбекистан, выехавших из Республики Узбекистан в 2016 году". stat.uz. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Распределение по странам числа граждан Республики Узбекистан, выехавших из Республики Узбекистан в 2015 году". stat.uz. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Распределение по странам числа граждан Республики Узбекистан, выехавших из Республики Узбекистан в 2014 году". stat.uz. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Выезд граждан РФ, 2018-17 гг" (PDF). atorus.ru. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- "Выезд граждан РФ, 2016-17 гг" (PDF). atorus.ru. Retrieved 13 March 2019.