Immigration law in Kyrgyzstan

The main framework is the Law on External Migration No. 61 of 17 July 2000 and the current residence rules approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 541 of 10 October 2023, including later amendments recorded through No. 190 of 24 March 2026. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GU «Kyzmat» and ЦОН public service centres, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the ministry responsible for labour, social security and migration, and the GKNB carry out different parts of the system. No separate regional or municipal immigration regime has been established for the country. Foreign nationals and stateless persons must comply with Kyrgyz laws, visa and residence conditions, registration rules and the deadline for leaving the country. Entry depends on the passport and the applicable visa or visa-free regime. An e-Visa application is submitted online in English. Supporting documents must be in Kyrgyz or Russian, or accompanied by a translation. The passport generally needs at least six months of validity after the visa ends and at least two blank pages. The examination period is five working days after the application and any corrections are complete. Fees depend on the visa category and duration and are not refunded. Transit without a visa applies only when the traveller remains in the international transit area. A visa-free arrangement does not remove the need to check the particular passport, permitted stay and status conditions. Permitted stays vary by nationality. Citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia may generally stay for up to 90 days in each 180-day period without an additional residence document. Citizens of states listed in the current Annex 1 generally have a maximum of 30 days in each 60-day period. Other bilateral or special regimes may apply, so the current passport list controls. The stay period is calculated in calendar days from entry through the Unified System for Registration of Foreign Citizens. An extension is generally requested by the original inviting or applying party. Foreign nationals and stateless persons who are not exempt normally register within five working days after entry. A hotel, host, online registration through «Онлайн регистрация иностранных граждан» at ereg.e-gov.kg, or another authorised channel may complete the process. The result is a registration card or talon. Exemptions and deadlines depend on the passport and the applicable list. A change of address and an extension of the permitted stay may require a new notification. Registration does not replace a visa or residence right. Kyrgyzstan uses several visa and residence categories. They include diplomatic, official or service, investment, special work, student, driver, family reunification for close relatives, ethnic Kyrgyz return, religious, foreign-family, transit, leave for departure after an overstay or status expiry, emergency, Digital Nomad, business, tourist and Sapar categories. Business and Sapar status do not by themselves grant a right to work or earn profit. A family-reunification RL visa can cover defined close relatives for up to 90 days, while an FF visa can cover defined family members of certain status holders for up to 90 days and generally does not grant employment. A Digital Nomad visa can last up to one year, a student visa up to 90 days, a tourist visa up to 30 days, a transit visa up to three days and a leave visa up to ten days. An investment visa can last up to five years for an investment of at least KGS 10,000,000 and up to ten years for at least KGS 20,000,000, provided the investment is documented and concerns an eligible economic sector. Work normally requires the Unified Permit, an electronic document combining the work visa, permission to attract foreign labour and the work permit, with a QR code. The e-Visa portal continues the procedure. The operational legal basis and quotas after the reported expiry of Cabinet Resolution No. 721 of 2 December 2024 are not sufficiently consolidated, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the labour and migration authorities should confirm the current requirements before an application. Working without the appropriate legal basis is not permitted. A temporary residence permit may last up to three years and a permanent residence permit up to five years. Applications can use the documented digital QR module for the permanent residence permit. The regular access condition stated in official guidance is more than five years of legal residence together with legal income. Earlier or privileged six-month access should not be assumed generally. A resident card was a transitional measure expressly valid until 1 July 2026; although the e-Visa portal may still display it, its availability after that date requires current confirmation and should not be treated as established. Residence permits, resident cards and registration records have different functions. Family status does not automatically create permanent residence or employment rights. An FF visa covers defined relatives of eligible status holders, including a spouse, children under 18, parents of minor children, children with disabilities and dependent parents. The RL family-reunification category covers close relatives within its legal scope. The applicant must check the sponsor's status, the permitted relationship and whether a separate work basis is required. An ethnic Kyrgyz foreign citizen with a permanent intention to return may apply for Kayrylman status through the ministry responsible for labour and migration and the interministerial commission. A decision or refusal may take up to two months. The identity document is issued for three years. Kayrylman status provides social guarantees and access to work, education and medical care at a level close to that of citizens, and the holder may apply for citizenship during those three years. Meken-kart is intended for former Kyrgyz citizens, their children or grandchildren, subject to exclusions including citizens of neighbouring states. It can last ten years, permits visa-free entry, departure and stay, allows permanent residence without a permanent residence permit and permits work on the same basis as citizens. Applications are submitted through a territorial ЦОН or diplomatic mission; processing is approximately three months normally or one and a half months under the simplified procedure. Kyrgyzstan is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. A person may request asylum inside the country or at a border crossing through the Department for Kayrylman and Refugees of the ministry responsible for labour, social security and migration. The application uses Kyrgyz or Russian and may include identity documents, an account of flight reasons and supporting material. Missing documents do not by themselves exclude an application. Irregular entry is not sanctioned when the person reports without delay and applies for asylum. A registration certificate lasts three months and can be extended for further three-month periods; the address must be reported to a ЦОН within five working days. The procedure is free and includes an interpreter where required. An asylum applicant may remain lawfully until the final decision, including available appeals, if the certificate is extended in time. Movement is generally allowed except in closed areas. A recognised refugee may work without a separate work permit, conduct business or self-employment, study and use public healthcare. Applicants and refugees must provide truthful information, cooperate, complete medical checks and renew registration annually. Changes connected with status must be reported within seven days. After three years, a refugee may qualify for simplified citizenship. Citizenship is granted by presidential decree. The general naturalisation procedure requires the applicant to be at least 18, to have lived permanently and continuously in Kyrgyzstan for five years, with departures normally not exceeding three months in a year, to communicate in Kyrgyz or Russian, comply with the Constitution and laws, have a lawful means of support and have no conviction in Kyrgyzstan or the home state. The residence period may be reduced to three years for high achievements or a sought qualification, priority investment, refugee status or statelessness, or marriage to a Kyrgyz citizen. A simplified one-year procedure may apply to a person with a Kyrgyz parent in Kyrgyzstan, a person born in the Kyrgyz SSR or Kyrgyzstan, a former USSR citizen or a person restoring citizenship. Ethnic Kyrgyz applicants do not need the general minimum residence period or the general Article 13 conditions, but must provide a written renunciation of other citizenship and need not first prove a previous withdrawal. Dual citizenship is generally recognised by law, subject to special restrictions. Evidence commonly includes passports, visa and registration talons, residence documents, family-status records, proof of income, criminal records, address details and sponsor or inviter documents. Original documents may need translation, certification or legalisation depending on their origin and use. A refusal of a visa, registration or residence permit may allow a corrected re-application unless the law provides otherwise. Immigration status may be shortened by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the GKNB for violations, national security or public-order reasons. Immigration-status refusals can involve public-health or rights risks, false information, visa or residence violations and missing language knowledge. The authority should notify the applicant within three days, and the applicant may request a written decision. A new immigration petition is generally available no earlier than one year later. Expulsion may follow grounds involving national security, public order, health, morals or the rights of others, and may also follow a criminal sentence when no legal basis for stay remains. The ordinary appeal procedure for visa decisions is not specified consistently in the available sources, so the competent authority and court path must be checked for the individual decision. An asylum refusal can be challenged in court within three months, beginning at the first-instance court in Bishkek and continuing through the appellate court and Supreme Court. The asylum certificate must be extended during the appeal so that lawful stay continues. A temporary voluntary-exit amnesty that ran from 1 July through 31 July 2026 has ended and did not create a general legalisation option.