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Information for Travelers to Tajikistan
Tajik Visas, Entry Requirements and Registration Procedures
A valid passport and visa are required to enter Tajikistan. Persons attempting to enter Tajikistan without a valid Tajik visa or Tajik visa support form approved by the Tajik MFA will be detained and deported. Failure to produce a valid visa and register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or OVIR (Ministry of Internal Affairs) within three working days upon arrival in Tajikistan may force a traveler to leave the country immediately after the traveler registers and pays a fine at the MFA or OVIR. Tajik immigration officials will deny boarding of passengers who are required to be registered with the MFA or OVIR but have no valid registration stamps in their passports. U.S. citizens planning to arrive in Tajikistan from countries with Tajik embassies or consulates must obtain Tajik visas abroad prior to their travel. U.S. citizens arriving in Tajikistan from countries in which there are no Tajik embassies or consulates must have a visa support letter issued by the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in order to receive a Tajik visa at Dushanbe airport upon arrival. If you choose to obtain a Tajik visa at Dushanbe airport, please keep in mind that the MFA Consular Bureau at Dushanbe Airport is not staffed 24 hours a day and you may have to wait for the Tajik Consular Officer to arrive at the airport (sometimes for several hours) before your visa can be issued and you are allowed to leave the immigration control area of the airport and pick up your luggage. Travelers need to have two passport-size photos and the passport should be valid for at least six months longer than the duration of the planned stay in Tajikistan. Visas issued at Dushanbe airport are normally valid for only 45 days. Please note that Tajik visas CANNOT be obtained at any other Tajik airports or land border crossings. In order to receive visa support, an organization inviting a U.S. citizen to Tajikistan must submit a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan at least two weeks in advance of the planned travel date. Travelers planning to arrive in Tajikistan at the invitation of private Tajik residents (e.g. friends or relatives) need to obtain a notification letter from the Tajik Department of Visas and Registration under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (OVIR). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will issue Tajik visa support on the basis of the OVIR letter of notification. When the MFA issues the visa support, the inviting party will send a copy of it to the U.S. citizen. The MFA will forward the original visa support letter to the Consular bureau at Dushanbe airport. According to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. citizens applying for visas at Tajik embassies or consulates abroad will be able to obtain Tajik visas valid up to three months upon direct submission of their visa request to the Tajik embassy or consulate (without a visa support letter). Please note that three months is the maximum validity and in practice Tajik embassies frequently issue visas of lesser validity (e.g. single-entry visas valid for 45 days).
Tajikistan is represented by the Embassies and Consulates in the following countries:
1. USA
2. Austria
3. Federative Republic of Germany
4. Belgium
5. Republic of Turkey
6. People's Republic of China
7. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Kabul, Mazori Sharif)
8. Islamic Republic of Iran
9. Islamic Republic of Pakistan
10. India
11. Russian Federation
12. Republic of Belarus
13. Republic of Kazakhstan
14. Republic of Uzbekistan
15. Kyrgyz Republic
16. United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Please note: Entry into Tajikistan along the Gorno-Badakhshan border requires special authorization in advance, in addition to a valid Tajik visa. Tajik authorities consider an attempt to enter Gorno-Badakhshan without travel authorization to be a violation of the Tajik border-crossing regime, which is punishable by arrest
Travel authorization for Gorno-Badakhshan is written in travelers’ passports by the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), OVIR (Department of Visas and Registration) in Dushanbe and Tajik embassies and consulates abroad. Travelers should apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, OVIR or Tajik embassies and consulates abroad for Gorno-Badakhshan travel authorization in advance. The Tajik MFA or OVIR will list the names of the settlements and cities in Gorno-Badakhshan, which the traveler plans on visiting in the travel authorization and stamp it. The Gorno-Badakhshan travel authorization is not written on the Tajik visa sticker. It is a separate note written in a passport.
Obtaining a Tajik Visa
At Dushanbe Airport
U.S. citizens can obtain a visa at Dushanbe airport upon arrival ONLY if they have visa support issued by the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they are arriving from a country with no Tajik embassy or consulate. The traveler must have a copy of the visa support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send the original visa support to the Consular Bureau at the airport. The traveler should have a passport valid for at least six months longer than their planned stay in Tajikistan, and two passport-size photos.
Please note that the Tajik MFA Consular Bureau at Dushanbe bureau is not staffed 24 hours a day and there may be lines and long delays in getting a visa at Dushanbe International Airport and that you might need to wait for the representative of the Tajik Consular Bureau.
At Tajik Embassies
Visitors arriving from the United States or other countries with Tajik embassies (see the list above) must apply for a visa abroad. It is advised to contact the Embassy in advance for information. According to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. citizens applying for visas at Tajik embassies or consulates abroad will be able to obtain single entry Tajik visas valid up to three months upon direct submission of their visa request to the Tajik embassy or consulate (without a visa support letter). Normally Tajik embassies issue visas valid for up to 45 days.
The Embassy of Tajikistan to the United States of America:
1005 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington DC 200037
Tel: 1 (202) 223-6090
Fax: 1 (202) 223-6091
Email: Tajikistan@verizon.net; tjusconsulate@verizon.net
Website: http://www.tjus.org/
Contact information of Tajik embassies and consulates in other countries is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan http://mid.tj/
RULES FOR REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN CITIZENS IN TAJIKISTAN
Registration at OVIR and MFA must be done through a written request from inviting organizations, permanent international representations or applications of private persons in Tajikistan. Requests for registration should be submitted to OVIR office having jurisdiction over the foreign citizen’s place of residence in Tajikistan or MFA within three working days of arrival in Tajikistan.
Persons staying in Tajikistan without valid visas and without registering their passports within three working days of arrival in Tajikistan will be fined and may be required to leave the country immediately after they register and pay the fine at the MFA or OVIR. Tajik immigration officials will deny boarding of passengers, who are required to be registered with the MFA or OVIR but have no valid registration stamps in their passports. Currently the fine for a a stay in Tajikistan without registration ranges from 1250 to 1500 Tajik Somoni or from $364 to $437 depending on the duration of the stay without registration (from 50 to 60 minimum wages in Tajikistan; please note that the amount of the fine is subject to exchange rate fluctuations and change of the minimum wage amount in Tajikistan). If failure to register a foreign citizen was the fault of a receiving organization in Tajikistan (not of the traveler), the receiving organization will have to pay the fine amounting from 1505 Tajik Somoni to 1750 Somoni depending on the duration of the stay without registration or from $437 to $508 (from 60 to 70 minimum wages in Tajikistan).
a) Persons exempt from registration:
Heads of state and government, members of Parliamentary and governmental delegations invited to Tajikistan by the President and Majlisi Oli, technical personnel of these delegations, UN passport holders, minors under 16, persons staying in Tajikistan for three working days and less (Saturday and Sunday are days off and are not counted as working days).
b) Registration at hotels:
The following hotels in Dushanbe may register foreign citizens, who arrive in Dushanbe for business, trade or social matters, for treatment or vacation, tourism staying at these hotels for up to one month: “Dushanbe”, “Avesto”, “Kayon-2”, “Mercury”, “Tajikistan”, “Taj Palace” and “Vakhsh” (hotel “Bahor” does OVIR registration).
c) Registration at the MFA:
Who needs to register with MFA? Representatives of diplomatic and consular services of foreign states, administrative and technical personnel of diplomatic missions and consulates, personnel of military attaché and trade representative offices, their spouses, children and dependent parents, guests of heads of foreign diplomatic missions if these guests live in their residences or in the territory of the diplomatic mission, employees of foreign affairs agencies of foreign states, who arrived in Tajikistan for business and have diplomatic and official passports and their family members, foreign journalists accredited to the MFA and their family members, officials of international organizations and employees of international organizations headquartered in Tajikistan (and their family members) who enjoy diplomatic privileges according to the charter documents of those organizations and/or appropriate international agreements.
There is no need for these travelers to register their passports at hotels or agencies of internal affairs of Tajikistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will either issue diplomatic, official or consular cards to these persons or put registration stamps in their passports.
The following documents are required:
- Passport with a valid Tajik visa,
- Registration Fee of 20 Tajik Somoni (only for tourist passport holders),
- Written request of the sponsoring organization for registration.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan
Consular Department, Visa Section,
42 Rudaki Avenue
Tel: (992-372) 21-61-03
Fax: (992-372) 21-15-60
E-mail: kumid@tojikiston.com
Website: http://www.mfatj.org/.
d) Registration at Department of Visas and Registration of Tajikistan (OVIR):
Who needs to register with OVIR? Foreign citizens who arrived in Tajikistan on private matters, at the invitation of private Tajik citizens, for business or commercial matters, for study, training or practical training, for work which falls under intergovernmental agreements, and also tourists, refugees, and foreign citizens applying for permanent residence in Tajikistan. If a foreign citizen is living in a private apartment in Dushanbe, the owner of the apartment should write a letter to OVIR stating the address and intended period of stay of the foreign citizen in Tajikistan. Any organization inviting a foreign citizen to Tajikistan must be registered with the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan. A tourist agency, which invites a foreign citizen to Tajikistan, must submit a request for visa registration to OVIR.
The following documents are required:
- Passport with a valid Tajik visa;
- Written request for registration (normally a letter from an organization or individual in Tajikistan that invited a foreign citizen to Tajikistan);
- One photo (color or black-and-white, 3x4 cm);
- HIV/AIDS-free medical certificate (required for foreign citizens, who plan to stay in Tajikistan for over 90 days)*;
- Registration fee of US$15 + 24 Tajik Somoni (for registration up to two months); US$30 + 24 Tajik Somoni for over three months). The fee amounts are subject to change due to exchange rate fluctuations.
* Tajik authorities require all foreign citizens planning to stay in Tajikistan for over 90 days to submit to an HIV test in Tajikistan unless they have internationally approved HIV-free medical certificates confirming that the blood tests were taken not earlier than within the last three months. Persons arriving in Tajikistan with HIV-free certificates from the United States should contact the Tajik National HIV/AIDS Prevention Center for verification of their certificates.
Contact information of the Tajik National HIV/AIDS Prevention Center
(responsible for administration of HIV tests in Tajikistan):
Tel. 236-01-38, 236-51-80
Address: 5/4 Navoi St., 4th floor
Dushanbe
Directions: across the street from Qarabolo hospital, behind Avicenna monument, after the Ministry of Labor and “Oriyonbank” branch turn to the right, the building of the former dormitory of the Medical University, fourth floor),
Hours: Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Cost of a certificate is T.S.15.00 per person (subject to change)
Passports or passport copies are necessary to obtain test results
Contact information of OVIR of the Ministry of Interior Affairs
Dushanbe, 5 Mirzo Tursunzoda Street, Room 16
Hours: Monday-Friday, from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and from 3-5 p.m.
Tel. 227-56-84, 227-55-69, 227-86-31
(OVIR of the Ministry of Interior Affairs registers foreign citizens, who arrived in Dushanbe and Regions of Republican subordination for business, social and trade matters and tourism (when there is a request from a tourist agency).
Contact information of Dushanbe City OVIR
36/3 Negmat Karabaev Street
Hours: Monday-Friday
Tel. 233-76-40, 233-76-41, 233-76-43, 233-76-87, 233-76-88, 233-76-61, 233-76-57, 233-75-27
(Dushanbe City OVIR registers refugees, persons residing in Tajikistan permanently and foreign citizens, who arrived in Dushanbe at invitation of private citizens of Tajikistan.)
Foreign citizens visiting Sughd and Khatlon Regions and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region for three working days or longer must register with regional OVIR offices there within three working days.
Please note that Tajik authorities require that foreign citizens notify OVIR of the change of their address in Tajikistan in writing so that OVIR makes a note in their registration cards.