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Visa-free Short Stay

AzerbaijanShort stays and visits

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Azerbaijan Read the five questions ↓

For the relevant traveller scope, is a visa, electronic authorisation, visa on arrival or no advance visa normally required?

Citizens of the countries on Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa-free list under reciprocal arrangements (for example Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Turkiye, Qatar, UAE, Serbia, Albania, Morocco, China and Maldives, each with its own listed period) do not need an advance visa to enter Azerbaijan when holding any valid passport type recognised for border crossing. This is not a universal exemption; only the listed nationalities and passport categories qualify.

See recorded sources
  • MFA Azerbaijan, Visa-Free Countries page, II group
    II group: Countries with a visa-free regime for: Citizens holding any type of valid passport giving a right to cross a border in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and relevant foreign country

What short-visit purposes does this route cover?

The visa-free regime covers general short-stay entry. It expressly does not cover work, study at an educational institution, or business activity for at least the Maldives and Qatar nationalities named on the page, who must obtain a visa in advance for those purposes.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The page states work/study/business exclusions explicitly only for Qatari and Maldivian nationals; it does not state whether the same purpose restriction applies to every other listed nationality.
  • MFA Azerbaijan, Visa-Free Countries page, Qatar note
    The citizens of the State of Qatar wishing to enter the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan to engage in educational or labor activities must obtain a visa in advance according to the national legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
  • MFA Azerbaijan, Visa-Free Countries page, Maldives note
    Citizens of the Republic of Maldives who wish to stay for more than 90 days, or to work, study at an educational institution, or engage in business activities, must obtain a visa in advance in accordance with the national legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

What maximum stay, rolling-period rule, validity and entry rules apply?

Most listed nationalities may stay visa-free for 90 days (several stated per calendar year); Qatar's citizens have a 30-day visa-free period; Chinese citizens have 30 days per entry, up to a cumulative 90 days in any 180-day period.

See recorded sources
  • MFA Azerbaijan, Visa-Free Countries page, country table
    Name of country -- Period of visa-free stay between two countries: Republic of Belarus -- 90 days Georgia -- 90 days Republic of Kazakhstan -- 90 days Kyrgyz Republic -- 90 days Republic of Moldova -- 90 days Republic of Uzbekistan -- 90 days Russian Federation -- 90 days (for each calendar year) Republic of Tajikistan -- 90 days Ukraine -- 90 days Turkiye -- 90 days Qatar -- 30 days

What important funds, accommodation, invitation, insurance, onward-travel or passport evidence may be required?

Foreigners enter Azerbaijan through a state border checkpoint on the basis of their passport or other border-crossing document (Migration Code Art. 15.1); nationals of the countries on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa-free list need no visa, and the bilateral visa-free regime applies to holders of any type of valid passport giving the right to cross the border (a separate unilateral list covers ordinary-passport holders of named countries for fixed periods). The official sources read name no other document to be shown at the border for visa-free entry (no onward ticket, funds, insurance or accommodation requirement is stated); travellers with an invalid passport are refused and sent back, and entry can be refused on the grounds of Article 16 of the Migration Code (for example false information about the purpose of the visit). A notice on the 15-day place-of-stay registration duty is handed to foreigners at the border checkpoints, and inside the country foreigners must show identity and legal-stay documents on request of the State Migration Service.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • No official source read lists supplementary documents for visa-free border entry (onward/return ticket, proof of funds, insurance, accommodation); only the passport / border-crossing document is named. Absence from the sources is not proof that no such checks occur in practice.
  • No minimum remaining passport validity for visa-free entry is stated in the sources read: the "at least 3 months beyond the visa" rule (Migration Code Art. 36.1.2) applies to visa applications, and the "less than 1 month" rule (Art. 43.2) applies to extensions of stay.
  • The MFA visa-free page carries no publication or last-updated date; the State Migration Service copy of the same list (migration.gov.az/en/page/49) says "Last updated on: 30.06.2022"; the unilateral group-IV regimes on the MFA page have explicit validity windows (2026-2027). The dated PDF linked from the page ("Visa Free Countries List - 29 April 2026") covers diplomatic/service passports only and was not used.
  • Per-nationality caveats on the MFA page (e.g. Qatar and Maldives nationals must obtain a visa in advance to work or study; China 30 days per entry within 90 days in any 180) are not folded into the value.
  • The State Border Service (dsx.gov.az), the authority that actually performs border control, was not consulted (outside the authorised source list).
  • The English Migration Code PDF hosted by the State Migration Service (linked as "The Migration Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan" from migration.gov.az/en/documents/10) is labelled "Unofficial translation" (© LegalActs LLC) at AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L2818-L2818 and its amendment list ends with a law of 9 July 2021; the authoritative consolidated Azerbaijani text (e-qanun framework 46959, served from frameworks.e-qanun.az/46/f_46959.html; the canonical page https://e-qanun.az/framework/46959 is JS-rendered and its API confirms title "Azərbaycan Respublikasının Miqrasiya Məcəlləsi", status "Qüvvədədir", in force since 01.08.2013) was captured and includes amendments up to Law 465-VIIQD of 14 July 2026.
  • Access note: mfa.gov.az fails TLS verification under this machine's Python/requests (CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED, certifi chain) but is served with a valid chain to system curl (HTTP 200 without -k); all HTML captures were fetched with curl and the text extracted with capture_evidence_layer_20260921.extract_html_text; PDFs with pdftotext (no -layout). The registered source URL is therefore reachable; the earlier "error" probe was a local client issue, not a dead page.
  • evisa.gov.az returned a Cloudflare challenge (HTTP 403) to the HTTP client and was not consulted; it concerns e-visas, not visa-free entry.
  • Perplexity API was used only as a search aid; every URL it returned was downloaded and read before use. It returned no source that was not already reachable by direct navigation of mfa.gov.az / migration.gov.az.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L359-L361
    15.1. Foreigners and stateless persons may enter to and exit from the Republic of Azerbaijan by crossing the border checkpoints on the basis of their passports or other border crossing document.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L364-L366
    15.3. Foreigners and stateless persons may enter the Republic of Azerbaijan without a visa, when there are applicable international agreements with foreign countries, as well as in cases, established by the relevant executive authority.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L972-L978
    15.1. Əcnəbilər və vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslər dövlət sərhədinin buraxılış məntəqələrindən keçmək şərti ilə, pasportları və ya digər sərhədkeçmə sənədləri əsasında Azərbaycan Respublikasına gələ və Azərbaycan Respublikasından gedə bilərlər.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L986-L995
    15.3. Xarici dövlətlərlə müvafiq beynəlxalq müqavilələr bağlanmış olduğu hallarda , habelə müvafiq icra hakimiyyəti orqanı tərəfindən müəyyən edilmiş hallarda əcnəbilər və vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslər Azərbaycan Respublikasına vizasız qaydada gələ bilərlər.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L83-L88
    3.0.17 border crossing document means an international passport, a document granted to stateless persons authorizing to leave the country of residence, a seaman ID Card, a travel document granted to refugees, a certificate of repatriation, travel document issued to foreigners and stateless persons to be expelled from the Republic of Azerbaijan and other documents determined by international agreements.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L479-L482
    18.1. Foreigners and stateless persons trying to cross the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan by violating of the provisions of this Code without a passport and a visa or with an invalid passport or other documents shall not be allowed to enter the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and shall be departed to the country from where they come.
  • AZ__mfa_visa_free_countries.txt#L259-L259
    At present in accordance with bilateral intergovernmental agreements, a visa-free regime is being applied on the basis of reciprocity between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the following countries:
  • AZ__mfa_visa_free_countries.txt#L273-L273
    Citizens holding any type of valid passport giving a right to cross a border in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and relevant foreign country – as well as diplomatic, service (or official/special) or regular passport;
  • AZ__mfa_visa_free_countries.txt#L434-L434
    A visa-free regime is being applied by the Republic of Azerbaijan for the ordinary passport holders of the following countries on a unilateral basis within the relevant period:
  • AZ__mfa_prohibitions_and_restrictions_entry.txt#L259-L259
    In accordance with Article 16 of the Migration Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, entry of foreigners and stateless persons to the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be prohibited in the following cases:
  • AZ__mfa_prohibitions_and_restrictions_entry.txt#L273-L273
    16.1.7. When a person gave wrong information about him/herself or the purpose of his/her visit while submitting an application for entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan;
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L559-L562
    21.1. Foreigners or stateless persons staying in the Republic of Azerbaijan for more than 15 days shall register at their place of stay (at the post controls of the state border, respective notice to that effect in Azerbaijani, Russian and English shall be issued to foreigners and stateless persons, entering the country).
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L216-L216
    Upon legal requests of the employees of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, foreigners and stateless persons should present their identity documents, as well as the documents certifying their legal stay or residence in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L804-L806
    36.1.2. A passport or other border crossing document (the validity period of a passport or other border crossing document shall be at least 3 months more than the expiry date of the visa to be issued)

Where/how is permission obtained when required, and under what important circumstances can a stay be extended or changed?

Nationals covered by the visa-free regime enter without a visa; the visa-free stay may not exceed 90 days unless an international agreement provides otherwise, and anyone staying more than 15 days must be registered at their place of stay with the State Migration Service within 15 days of arrival (application form plus a copy of the passport; no state fee; online, by e-mail, in person at a regional migration department or at an ASAN service centre; registration runs for 90 days for visa-free entrants and failure to register is an administrative offence). An extension of up to 60 days can be requested from the State Migration Service at least 3 working days before the stay expires, only on the grounds listed in the Migration Code (urgent medical treatment, serious illness or death of a close relative living in Azerbaijan, unfinished official work certified by the inviting organisation, a forced stop in transit, an extension granted to a close family member, or a highly skilled migrant unable to start work), with the documents listed by the State Migration Service and a state fee for adults of 30 manat (up to 30 days) or 60 manat (up to 60 days) for a decision within 3 working days, or 50/100 manat within 1 working day; no extension is granted if the passport has less than 1 month of validity left. Since July 2026 the extension decision is issued as an electronic document; if refused, the person must leave before the stay expires, or within 48 hours of the refusal if the stay expired while the application was pending.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Processing time is stated differently: the MFA page says the decision "is made within 3 business days", while the State Migration Service page and Migration Code Art. 42.5 tie the period to the state fee paid (the SMS fee table offers 1 working day or 3 working days). The MFA page also says "at least 3 days prior" where the SMS page and the Code say "3 working days"; the value follows the Code and the SMS.
  • The English Code PDF says in Art. 42.1 "may be prolonged up to 30 days" (AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L1025-L1028), whereas the consolidated Azerbaijani text on e-qanun (Art. 42.1 "60 günədək uzadıla bilər"), the SMS page/72 (last updated 06.11.2025) and the MFA page all say up to 60 days; the value follows the current Azerbaijani text and the SMS.
  • Fee amounts come from the SMS "State duties" page (last updated 20.01.2023), which restates the Law "On State Fee"; the Law itself was not captured, so the amounts are not independently confirmed as current.
  • The registration deadline differs for citizens of Kazakhstan (30 days instead of 15).
  • The MFA extension page contains an apparently garbled sentence (AZ__mfa_extension_of_temporary_stay.txt#L263-L263: "...may be extended on the basis of an application of his/her parents or his/her legitimate representatives up to 60 days") that conflates Code Art. 42.1 and 42.2; it was not relied upon.
  • The July 2026 digitalisation (electronic decision, Law 465-VIIQD of 14 July 2026 amending Art. 42.6/42.8) appears in the e-qanun consolidated text and in the SMS news of 28.07.2026, but not in the English PDF, the SMS page/72 (last updated 06.11.2025) or the undated MFA page.
  • The Code lists the extension grounds exhaustively ("in the following cases"); the sources do not say whether a visa-free visitor without one of those grounds (e.g. tourism alone) can extend at all.
  • The application form sample and the electronic-services portal (eservice.migration.gov.az) were not captured.
  • The English Migration Code PDF hosted by the State Migration Service (linked as "The Migration Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan" from migration.gov.az/en/documents/10) is labelled "Unofficial translation" (© LegalActs LLC) at AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L2818-L2818 and its amendment list ends with a law of 9 July 2021; the authoritative consolidated Azerbaijani text (e-qanun framework 46959, served from frameworks.e-qanun.az/46/f_46959.html; the canonical page https://e-qanun.az/framework/46959 is JS-rendered and its API confirms title "Azərbaycan Respublikasının Miqrasiya Məcəlləsi", status "Qüvvədədir", in force since 01.08.2013) was captured and includes amendments up to Law 465-VIIQD of 14 July 2026.
  • Access note: mfa.gov.az fails TLS verification under this machine's Python/requests (CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED, certifi chain) but is served with a valid chain to system curl (HTTP 200 without -k); all HTML captures were fetched with curl and the text extracted with capture_evidence_layer_20260921.extract_html_text; PDFs with pdftotext (no -layout). The registered source URL is therefore reachable; the earlier "error" probe was a local client issue, not a dead page.
  • evisa.gov.az returned a Cloudflare challenge (HTTP 403) to the HTTP client and was not consulted; it concerns e-visas, not visa-free entry.
  • Perplexity API was used only as a search aid; every URL it returned was downloaded and read before use. It returned no source that was not already reachable by direct navigation of mfa.gov.az / migration.gov.az.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L208-L208
    Temporary staying period of foreigners and stateless persons, who enter the Republic of Azerbaijan upon visa, cannot be more than the staying period indicated on the visa, while temporary staying period of those who enter the Republic of Azerbaijan under visa-free regime, cannot be more than 90 days except for the cases envisaged by the international agreements that the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party to.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L364-L366
    15.3. Foreigners and stateless persons may enter the Republic of Azerbaijan without a visa, when there are applicable international agreements with foreign countries, as well as in cases, established by the relevant executive authority.
  • AZ__sms_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L206-L206
    * Foreigners or stateless persons temporarily staying in the Republic of Azerbaijan for more than 15 days (for more than 30 days for citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan) have to register upon place of stay.
  • AZ__sms_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L208-L216
    * For the registration foreigner, within 15 days (within 30 days for citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan) after arrival in the country, have to apply via electronic services of the official website of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan and e-mail ( qeydiyyat@migration.gov.az ) or in person to regional migration departments , or " ASAN service " centers.
  • AZ__sms_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L217-L221
    * Required documents: - application form ; - Copy of the passport (other border crossing document) of the foreigner (including the visa page and pages indicating the last entry to the country).
  • AZ__sms_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L222-L222
    * No state fee is required for registration of foreigners and stateless persons upon place of stay.
  • AZ__sms_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L224-L226
    Failure to register upon place of stay within the required period is a basis for administrative liability.
  • AZ__sms_guide_registration_upon_place_of_stay.txt#L212-L216
    Foreigners and stateless persons are registered for the following periods: Persons arriving upon visa - for the period of stay indicated on visa; Persons arriving under visa-free regime – for 90 days.
  • AZ__sms_guide_temporary_stay_liability.txt#L208-L210
    Foreigners and stateless persons who overstay the period indicated on the e-visa or do not get registered upon place of stay (in case of staying more than 15 days) or do not obey the rules of registration upon place of stay (registration within 5 working days from the date of arrival at the new place of stay) when moving from one place to another are hold liable in a way defined by the law (Violation of these rules results in administrative liability according to Article 575 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L559-L570
    21.1. Foreigners or stateless persons staying in the Republic of Azerbaijan for more than 15 days shall register at their place of stay (at the post controls of the state border, respective notice to that effect in Azerbaijani, Russian and English shall be issued to foreigners and stateless persons, entering the country). 21.2. For this purpose, the management of the place of stay of the foreigner or stateless person (hotel, sanatorium, rest area, guest house, camping, tourist base, hospital or other similar places) or the owner of the apartment or other residential area where the foreigner or stateless person stay (hereinafter referred to as the receiving party) shall submit the application of the foreigner or stateless person for the registration of the place of stay and a copy of the original passport (another border crossing document) of that person to the relevant executive authority through official website of the relevant executive power, an email or personally within 15 days of his/her arrival to the country.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L1463-L1469
    21.1. Azərbaycan Respublikasında 15 gündən artıq müvəqqəti olan əcnəbilər və ya vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslər olduğu yer üzrə qeydiyyata alınmalıdırlar
  • AZ__mfa_extension_of_temporary_stay.txt#L290-L290
    Attention! Foreigners or stateless persons temporarily residing in the Republic of Azerbaijan more than 15 days must be registered at the place of residence.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L222-L222
    Foreigners and stateless persons should apply to the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan by submitting required documents for the extension of temporary staying period at least 3 working days (except the cases of emergency stop during the transit passage) before the expiration of their temporary staying period.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L224-L236
    Temporary staying period of foreigners and stateless persons in the Republic of Azerbaijan can be extended in the following cases: In case there is a need for urgent medical treatment in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; In case of serious illness or death of any close relative residing in the Republic of Azerbaijan; In case there is a justified application on incompleteness of intended works by foreigners and stateless persons arrived in the Republic of Azerbaijan related with official necessity, submitted by the organization inviting those persons; In case of emergency stop during the transit passage of foreigners and stateless persons in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; In case of extension of temporary staying period of father, mother, husband (wife), child, brother, sister of a foreigner or stateless person in the Republic of Azerbaijan When a highly skilled migrant is unable to start working in the field in which he/she is recognized as a specialist due to reasons beyond his/her control.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L240-L240
    Temporary staying period of foreigners and stateless persons in the Republic of Azerbaijan can be extended up to 60 days.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L2784-L2789
    42.1. Azərbaycan Respublikasına gələn əcnəbilərin və vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslərin ölkədə müvəqqəti olma müddəti onların və ya qanuni nümayəndələrinin müraciəti əsasında bu Məcəllənin 40-cı maddəsində nəzərdə tutulan hallarda 60 günədək uzadıla bilər.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L242-L244
    In case there is less than 1 month until the expiration of the passports or other border crossing documents of foreigners and stateless persons, their temporary staying period in the country is not extended.
  • AZ__sms_temporary_staying_period_and_extension.txt#L248-L266
    Foreigners and stateless persons should submit the following documents for extending temporary staying period in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Application form sample of which approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Copy of the passport or other border crossing document; Notarized copy of the birth certificate or other document equal to it (for persons under the age of 18, without passport); Document certifying existence of cases for extension of  temporary staying period; Two photos sized 3.5 x 4.5 cm; Document of a residential area where the person shall be registered on (extract on the state registration of the property right from state registry of real estate, warrant for accommodation, rent or tenancy agreement or other document set forth in the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan); Application of the person providing the foreigner or stateless person with a residential area (except the cases when there is a residential area in possession of the foreigner or stateless person); Copy of the identity document of the person providing the foreigner or stateless person with a residential area (except the cases when there is a residential area in possession of the foreigner or stateless person); Receipt certifying payment of the state fee.
  • AZ__sms_state_duties.txt#L206-L226
    1. For issuance of decision on extension of temporary staying period of adult foreigners and stateless persons in the country: 1.1. In case of issuance within 1 working day up to 30 days 50 manat up to 60 days 100 manat 1.2. In case of issuance within 3 working days up to 30 days 30 manat up to 60 days 60 manat
  • AZ__sms_faq.txt#L394-L394
    Applications for extending temporary staying period are received at “ASAN service” centers, regional migration departments or electronically
  • AZ__sms_news_extension_digitalised_20260728.txt#L206-L206
    28.07.2026
  • AZ__sms_news_extension_digitalised_20260728.txt#L214-L214
    According to the recent amendments to the legislation, the service for the extension of the temporary staying period in the Republic of Azerbaijan provided by the State Migration Service to foreigners and stateless persons has been fully digitalized while the option to submit an aplication  in person has been retained, and the paper-based version of the decision on the extension of the temporary staying period in the Republic of Azerbaijan, provided to applicants as the outcome of that service, has been discontinued.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L2866-L2877
    42.7. Müvəqqəti olma müddətinin uzadılmasından imtina edilmiş əcnəbilər və vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslər Azərbaycan Respublikasında müvəqqəti olma müddətləri bitənədək ölkə ərazisini tərk etməlidirlər. Müvəqqəti olma müddətinin uzadılması barədə müraciətə baxılanadək əcnəbilərin və vətəndaşlığı olmayan şəxslərin Azərbaycan Respublikasında müvəqqəti olma müddəti bitdiyi halda, onlar imtina barədə qərarı aldıqları vaxtdan 48 saat ərzində ölkə ərazisini tərk etməlidirlər.
  • AZ__sms_migration_code_english_pdf.txt#L1053-L1059
    42.7. Foreigners and stateless persons whose application for the prolongation of the temporary staying period are rejected, shall exit from the territory of the country until their temporary staying period in the Republic of Azerbaijan ends. Until an application for the prolongation of the temporary staying period is reviewed, when the temporary staying period of foreigners and stateless persons in the Republic of Azerbaijan ends, they shall exit from the territory of the country within 48 hours from the time of the decision on the rejection.
  • AZ__mfa_extension_of_temporary_stay.txt#L269-L269
    A relevant decision on an application of foreigners and stateless persons on the extension of temporary stay in the Republic of Azerbaijan is made within 3 business days.
  • AZ__eqanun_migration_code_46959.txt#L11241-L11246
    14 iyul 2026-cı il tarixli 465-VIIQD nömrəli Azərbaycan Respublikasının Qanunu

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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