Visa-Free Soon

From Moscow Times:

"Visa Rules Set to Be Eased in Central Asia"

The Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are planning to liberalize their visa rules this summer, marking what looks like a trend among former Soviet states. The Kyrgyz parliament approved a bill Thursday that would unilaterally scrap visas for citizens of 44 countries, including almost all European countries and the United States, for stays up to 90 days, according to local media reports.  The bill has yet to be signed by President Almazbek Atambayev.  Tajikistan's lower house of parliament last month approved a bill that would permit visa-free visits by U.S. and EU citizens as well as citizens of some Southeast Asian countries, local media reported.  It was unclear Thursday when the Tajik bill might become law. Kazakhstan, the region's economic powerhouse, is also planning a visa-free regime, but only for tourists who are citizens of countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  The group's 34 members include most EU countries, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said last month that the Kazakh Foreign Ministry was considering lifting visa requirements for these countries.  While Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have been relatively open to foreigners before, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan rank among the most difficult countries to get into. If the changes become law, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would join Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia among former Soviet countries that have unilaterally dropped visa requirements for Western visitors.  Full visa-free travel with much of Europe is in place for the three Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — which are part of the Schengen border-free zone. These examples contrast with Russia and Belarus, which retain cumbersome invitation and registration requirements for citizens of most Western countries.  Armenia and Azerbaijan still require visas, and Azerbaijan has recently made the process of getting them more difficult and expensive. Talks between Moscow and the EU about abolishing visas have yet to begin. However, a facilitation agreement with the United States is expected to be ratified by the State Duma soon.

^ I think this is a good thing that will help all the countries involved. Americans and Europeans will be able to travel to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan without visas and the three former Soviet Republics will get more tourism and money. Hopefully this trend will extend to all the former Soviet Republics (especially Russia.) I have applied for several Russian visas and it costs a lot of money. You need to get a copy of your passport page and pay to get an official invitation letter from a sponsor in Russia and then have the original mailed to you in the US (which can take several months) and then apply at the Embassy. Then once you are in Russia you have to register your visa at every Russian town you visit and stay 3 days or longer. To register your visa (if you don't stay at a hotel - I have never stayed in a Russian hotel) you have to go with your sponsor to OVIR, fill out the paperwork, then go to a Sberbank and pay the fee, then go back to OVIR and give them the receipt and then go to another office and get them to sign off on everything while making sure your passport and migration card get stamped. In Russia, if you don't carry your passport with you at all times the police can arrest you - and the visa registration can take several days. (It's a "catch-22.) Russia is currently debating an agreement with the US to allow 3 year, multi-entry visas available. White the US Government can just make the change it has to be read and approved by the Russian Duma. I have to say that one reason I went (with my sister and mother) to the Ukraine a few years ago was that we didn't need visas or registration to go there (and I was going to interview for a job.) My mom and I are considering going to Georgia next year with one reason being that we don't need visas. Last year I worked with a Russian tour company to get a trip to Russia planned for my mom and myself, but in the end it became too complicated and expensive (the visa issue came up too.) If Russia stops requiring visas and/or registration I would take my mom there in a heart-beat so she can see all that I experienced when I was living there. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/visa-rules-set-to-be-eased-in-central-asia/460390.html