Azerbaijan, officially known as the ‘Republic of Azerbaijan’, is a Muslim country established in 1991. It is located between the boundaries of Western Asia and the Eastern edge of Europe. The name translates to ‘The guardian of fire’ where ‘Azer’ is ‘Fire’ and ‘Baijan’ means ‘Guardian’.

It touches Russia to the north and Turkey to the west. The official currency of Azerbaijan is Manat. 1 Azerbaijan Manat is equal to about 0.59 United States Dollars as of January 21st, 2021.

Purpose of Visa:

Your visa to Azerbaijan may vary depending on the passport nationality you hold, what is the purpose of your arrival in Azerbaijan, and how long you intend to stay in the country.

Azerbaijan allows travelers from ten countries to enter its territories without a visa for a specific period. Here are the details of countries that enjoy visa-free travel to Azerbaijan and the duration of stay.

1	Republic of Belarus	90 days
2	Georgia	90 days
3	Republic of Kazakhstan	90 days
4	Kyrgyz Republic	90 days
5	Republic of Moldova	90 days
6	Republic of Uzbekistan	90 days
7	Russian Federation	90 days
8	Republic of Tajikistan	90 days
9	Ukraine	90 days
10	Turkey	90 days

The remaining one hundred and forty countries that can enter Azerbaijan have to go through visa formalities to enter the country. And e visa and visa is required.

An Azerbaijani Guide to Experiences and Visa Information

Curious about what Azerbaijan has to offer? Take a quick virtual tour with us and discover all the amazing experiences waiting for you! After you’ve seen all that Azerbaijan has in store, you can dive into the details of the visa types that suit your trip.

Visa Types and Purpose of Visa:

Even though the stay time at Azerbaijan is comparatively short, it offers visas for probably everything. This helps give the travelers both option and flexibility to get the visa that fits their requirements the best. The visas offered by Azerbaijan revolve around the purpose of official, business, humanitarian, education, scientific, tourist, employment, sports, culture, private and medical visits:

1. Tourism:

A tourist visa, more commonly known as a visitor visa, shows that the visitor is in the country for entertainment purposes only. In Azerbaijan, a tourist visa will forbid you from working, involving yourself with any sort of education or any sort of political involvement. If any of these activities are tracked, your visa will be canceled immediately, and you will be requested to leave the country within a maximum time limit of fifteen days only.

2. Business Trip:

A business visa is issued when the bearer wants to conduct some sort of business in Azerbaijan. This can be a business meeting with another company or business, or it can be some other sort of business-related activity.

The only purpose of a business visa is to show that the bearer of the visa will not be receiving anything like a salary or such from Azerbaijan and is not interested in being directly part of their labour market.

3. Official Trip:

An official visa is offered and accepted when a diplomat or other type of foreign government official wants to travel to Azerbaijan and conduct business directly with the government of Azerbaijan and officially represent their country. If these personnel travel with some other type of visa, then they will not be allowed to undergo their official duties with the Azerbaijan government.

4. Science:

A scientific visa gives the bearer permission to enter, stay, research, and work in Azerbaijan to improve or complete their scientific studies.

To obtain a scientific visa, the recipient must show proof of their scientific work up until that point, what it is that requires them to travel to Azerbaijan, and how will the completion or advancement of the research benefit Azerbaijan and the bearer in the future.

5. Educational:

An education visit allows the holder to hold a student visa. This visa allows the holder to be enrolled in a qualified educational institute without the need for citizenship.

Under a student visa, only can the bearer be allowed to enter and study properly in the host country.

6. Labor / Employment :

Traveling to Azerbaijan for work or employment reasons will require the visitor to have an employment-based visa, also known as a work visa. This allows the bearer to work in the host country without having to worry about any other legal issues.

A work visa shows that the holder is involved with the labor market, the number of jobs, and any changes regarding the laborers in Azerbaijan. This visa will also show that the visitor is earning a salary from Azerbaijan and is allowed to spend it.

7. Cultural :

An exchange of the public to expand their culture is known as a cultural visit, and the visa is called an exchange visitor visa for the cultural-exchange program.

This visa allows the bearer to be trained by a professional and get employment to learn about the culture of Azerbaijan as well as share their own country’s history, traditions, and culture to help expand the knowledge and improve the relationship of both the countries.

8. Sports:

An entertainment visa allows athletes, entertainers, athletes, and such to enter a foreign country and take part in whatever activity or event that they want to take part in.

This visa allows the bearer to practice alongside the Azerbaijanis and compete in competitions against or with them as well.

9. Humanitarian:

Azerbaijan allows the application of a humanitarian visa if the conditions make you eligible for one.

The few cases where a humanitarian visa is eligible are:

• When a loved one who is a national of Azerbaijan or is a resident in Azerbaijan is in critical condition and requires your presence and aid.
• When a relative or loved one is on their death bed, or their last moments, your presence is crucial as it can be your last meeting together.
• When the visitor is seeking refuge in Azerbaijan due to certain health risks, which may end up being fatal in the future.

10. Medical Treatment:

A medical visit allows the visitor to be issued with a medical treatment visa. This visa allows the traveller to visit the doctors and hospitals and stay in the country until their physical or mental condition has stabilized.

11. Private Trip:

A private visit is when an individual has relatives living in Azerbaijan who will let the foreigner stay with them. For a private visa to be issued, the individual’s relatives who are living in Azerbaijan will need to go to the local department for visa acceptance and ask for a visitation invitation assigned to the foreigner’s name, details, visa, and passport.

What is an Azerbaijan e Visa?

Azerbaijan provides the option to apply for Azerbaijan visa online and get the visa accepted and returned online as well. This method is known as an electronic visa or an e-visa. The services are provided by the ‘Azerbaijan Services and Assessment Network’ or ASAN in short.

The ASAN offers convenience to over 90 different countries and gives them the option to apply for visas on the tip of their fingers.

The tourists’ visas and the business visas are the most common and quickest visas to be applied and officially accepted by the e-visa system of ASAN. The third most common category would be the official visas or visas applied for by official government personnel only.

In general, ASAN takes a total of 3 - 5 days to process the request for a visa with one entry for a visa by each person. The maximum stay can be a month-long only. The visa must be confirmed, and an entry should be made within 90 days from the arrival date from the day of application.

However Due to Covid-19, To maintain the covid-19 spread and help the rest of the globe to maintain and minimize the spread of the covid-19 virus, Azerbaijan is allowing only 58 out of its original 90 countries to apply for the electronic visa.

Duration of Stay:

Visa holders are allowed to stay in Azerbaijan for a maximum of 30 days. Those who are interested in staying for more than fifteen days also must show documentation of where they will be staying at the time of applying for their visas.

After a visa has been approved, that traveler must confirm their visa and validate it within 90 days of the arrival date which will be indicated at the time of application.

After the duration of the stay has ended, the visitor can apply for a new Azerbaijan visa only after they have successfully left the grounds of Azerbaijan.

The countries that can receive a visa on arrival are as follows:

Citizens of the following countries can obtain a visa for Azerbaijan on arrival valid for 30 days obtainable at any international airport.

• Bahrain
• China
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Israel
• Japan
• Kuwait
• Macau
• Malaysia
• Oman
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• South Korea
• United Arab Emirates

Azerbaijan also bans two countries from entering Azerbaijan and forbids entry to travellers who have entered these countries for longer periods. This is due to territorial disputes. These countries include Armenia ( including people of Armenian descent such as Armenian Russians, Turkish Armenians) and travelers from the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

What Are Embassy Visas:

To help ease the public to visit Azerbaijan, the country offers embassy visas for more easy and quick visa applications. If an individual from one of the banned countries wants to visit Azerbaijan for business, personal, educational, scientific, or any other use, they can visit an Azerbaijan authorized embassy and get their visa directly from that embassy.

Unfortunately, to maintain the covid-19 protocols, Azerbaijan has temporarily closed all its embassies, and no authorized visas are being accepted into the country. This is solely to avoid the spread of the covid-19 virus, and all the previously approved and authorized agencies will still be considered authorized after this feature is restarted in the future.

If you are interested in getting an Azerbaijan visa, we recommend that you take the e-visa route as it is convenient and will be a quick 3-day process only. However, we expect everyone to wholeheartedly follow the covid-19 restrictions and protocols and have a safe and happy journey.