Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in one place: who is visa-free, official e-visa sites, registration rules and the truth about the Silk Visa, as of November 2026, with sources and the date we checked them.
Facts, prices and schedules checked on November 4, 2026
Planning a trip through several Central Asian countries usually starts with one question: which visas do I need? The answer depends on your passport, and the rules have changed a lot in the last two years. Uzbekistan opened to US and Chinese citizens, Kyrgyzstan shortened its visa-free stay, and Turkmenistan launched an e-visa portal that, at the time of writing, is not yet taking applications.
This Central Asia visa guide puts the rules for all five countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) in one place, as of November 2026: visa-free stays for the main passports, the official e-visa websites, registration after arrival, and the status of the much-discussed "Silk Visa".
We are an Uzbekistan tour operator, so Uzbekistan is where we know the system from the inside. For the other four countries we have checked official and recent sources, listed at the end with the date we checked them. Visa rules in this region can change in weeks. Before you book, confirm your own case with the embassy or the official portal.
Central Asia visa rules at a glance (November 2026)
The short version, for most Western and many Asian passports:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free for 30 days for more than 90 nationalities, including the EU, the UK, the US, China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. Most others can use the e-visa.
- Kazakhstan: visa-free for 30 days for a long list of countries, with a cap of 90 days in any 180. India gets 14 days.
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free for many Western passports, but since January 2026 the standard stay is 30 days within any 60-day period (it used to be 60 days). Everyone else can use the e-visa.
- Tajikistan: visa-free for 30 days for the EU, the US, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and others; the UK, China and India need an e-visa. A separate permit is needed for the Pamirs.
- Turkmenistan: a visa is required for almost everyone, normally through a letter of invitation from a licensed Turkmen agency.
The practical consequence: a typical Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan trip needs no visas at all for most travellers, Tajikistan may need a quick e-visa, and Turkmenistan always needs planning weeks in advance.
Visa-free stays by passport: EU, UK and US
Here is each country in turn for the three most common Western passports. Days are counted from the day of entry.
EU citizens (all 27 member states):
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days per entry, maximum 90 days in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 30 days within any 60 days
- Tajikistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Turkmenistan: visa required (letter of invitation)
United Kingdom:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days, maximum 90 in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 30 days within any 60 days
- Tajikistan: visa required; apply for the e-visa online
- Turkmenistan: visa required (letter of invitation)
United States:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days (since 1 January 2026)
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days, maximum 90 in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 30 days within any 60 days
- Tajikistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Turkmenistan: visa required (letter of invitation)
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway are treated broadly like the EU in most of the region, but check each country, as Tajikistan in particular has added and removed countries in recent years.
Visa-free stays by passport: China, Japan and India
China (ordinary passports):
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days (since 1 June 2025)
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days per stay, maximum 90 days in 180, under the bilateral agreement in force since November 2023
- Kyrgyzstan: visa required; use the e-visa (a conditional seven-day visa-free entry at Manas airport in Bishkek exists for travellers with a tour voucher and return ticket)
- Tajikistan: e-visa; visa-free for 14 days only for travellers aged 55 and over
- Turkmenistan: visa required
Japan:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days, maximum 90 in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 30 days within any 60 days
- Tajikistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Turkmenistan: visa required
India:
- Uzbekistan: e-visa (20 USD single entry). Since 1 September 2026, Indian citizens with a valid multiple-entry visa from the US, the UK, a Schengen country, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand or South Korea can stay up to 30 days visa-free, with an onward ticket
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 14 days per visit, maximum 42 days in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: e-visa
- Tajikistan: e-visa
- Turkmenistan: visa required
Visa-free stays by passport: Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and the CIS
Indonesia:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days, maximum 90 in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa required; e-visa, or visa on arrival at Manas airport
- Tajikistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Turkmenistan: visa required
Malaysia:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 30 days, maximum 90 in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 30 days
- Tajikistan: visa-free, 30 days
- Turkmenistan: visa required
For travellers from Indonesia and Malaysia, Uzbekistan is the easiest entry point to the region, and its Islamic heritage sites in Bukhara and Samarkand are the focus of many ziyarat trips.
Russia:
- Uzbekistan: visa-free, without the 30-day limit (registration still applies)
- Kazakhstan: visa-free, 90 days in 180
- Kyrgyzstan: visa-free, 90 days in 180 (Eurasian Economic Union rules)
- Tajikistan: visa-free
- Turkmenistan: visa required
Other CIS countries have their own bilateral agreements. Citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan travel visa-free between each other and to Uzbekistan, with stay limits that vary by pair: Kyrgyz citizens, for example, may stay 60 days in Uzbekistan, and Uzbek citizens 60 days in any 120 in Kyrgyzstan. Turkmenistan requires visas from almost all CIS citizens too.
Official e-visa websites for Central Asia
If your passport is not visa-free, use only the official government portals. Lookalike sites charge several times the real fee for the same form.
- Uzbekistan: e-visa.gov.uz. 20 USD single entry, 35 USD double, 50 USD multiple; stay up to 30 days; officially two working days to process. Apply at least three working days before travel.
- Kazakhstan: vmp.gov.kz (the Visa and Migration Portal). E-visa holders must arrive at an international airport, such as Almaty or Astana, not by land.
- Kyrgyzstan: evisa.e-gov.kg. Tourist e-visas for 30 or 60 days; open to all nationalities. Entry is allowed at Manas and Osh airports and at listed land crossings, including from Uzbekistan.
- Tajikistan: evisa.tj. 30 USD single entry, 50 USD multiple entry; stays of up to 60 days. The Pamir (GBAO) permit can be added for 20 USD. Allow at least two weeks.
- Turkmenistan: evisa.migration.gov.tm. Launched in October 2026 with tourist, business and humanitarian categories, but in its first weeks there was no way to register an account. Until that changes, Turkmen visas still go through a letter of invitation from a licensed Turkmen travel agency.
Print every e-visa and carry the paper copy with your passport. Airline staff and land border officers may ask for it, and phones run out of battery at inconvenient moments.
Registration after arrival: the rule most travellers forget
Being visa-free does not always mean you can ignore the paperwork after arrival.
- Uzbekistan: every foreigner must be registered at their place of stay within three days, weekends included. Hotels and guesthouses do it automatically through the E-mehmon system when you check in. If you stay privately, your host must register you.
- Kazakhstan: hotels notify the migration service of foreign guests electronically. Visitors on short visa-free stays do not normally need to do anything themselves, but if you stay in a private flat, ask your host to file the notification.
- Kyrgyzstan: short visa-free stays do not normally require separate registration. Longer stays and some nationalities have different rules, so check if you plan to stay beyond 30 days.
- Tajikistan: if you enter without an e-visa and stay longer than 10 days, you must register in person with the OVIR office for foreigners. Hotels can no longer do it for you. Failing to register can stop you leaving the country.
- Turkmenistan: your inviting agency handles the formalities as part of your tour.
Keep hotel confirmations and registration slips until you leave each country. They are rarely checked at Uzbek borders now, but if they are, you will want them.
Tajikistan's Pamir permit and other special zones
Two extra documents catch people out.
The GBAO permit is required for the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, which covers the Pamir Highway, Khorog, the Wakhan Valley and Murghab. It is separate from your visa, even if you are visa-free. The easiest way to get it is to tick the GBAO option when applying for the e-visa (20 USD). Visa-free travellers should check with the Tajik embassy or a Tajik agency how to obtain it. Lake Sarez needs another, separate permit.
In Turkmenistan, border districts and several cities need extra permits beyond the visa, which your agency arranges. In Kyrgyzstan, some areas close to the Chinese border require a border-zone permit, again arranged locally.
No special permits are needed for the usual tourist routes in Uzbekistan, including Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea region.
Is there a single Central Asia visa? The Silk Visa in 2026
Not yet. The idea of a common tourist visa for Central Asia, a regional version of the Schengen visa, has been discussed for years:
- 2018 to 2019: Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan announced a joint "Silk Visa", and early reports predicted a launch in 2019. It never came into force.
- March 2025: Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov proposed a single visa covering all five countries.
- 31 July 2026: at a regional summit in Cholpon-Ata, Japarov said Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan now supported the idea and asked foreign ministries to speed up consultations.
- 8 October 2026: at the consultative meeting of Central Asian leaders in Avaza, Turkmenistan, Japarov proposed a single tourist visa again, this time also including Azerbaijan.
As of November 2026 there is no signed agreement, no application process, no price and no launch date. If you see a website selling a "Central Asia visa" or "Silk Road visa", it is not an official product. For now, each country issues its own visa, and with visa-free access for most travellers in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the lack of a joint visa matters less than it once did.
Planning a multi-country trip: practical tips
A few rules of thumb from routes our guests often combine with Uzbekistan:
- Watch the Kyrgyz 30-in-60 rule. If you go Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan and back again on a long loop, count your Kyrgyz days across both visits.
- Kazakh e-visas only work at airports. If you need a Kazakh visa and plan to arrive by land from Tashkent, get a regular embassy visa instead.
- Choose your Tajikistan entry type carefully. E-visa holders avoid the 10-day OVIR registration, which can save a day in Dushanbe.
- Book Turkmenistan first. Its letter of invitation takes two to four weeks or more, fixes your entry and exit borders and dates, and the rest of the trip has to fit around it.
- Passports: Uzbekistan requires at least three months' validity on arrival, but six months and a few blank pages keep you safe across five countries and several airlines.
- Medicines: carry prescriptions, and keep medicines in original packaging. Customs at land borders in the region check them closely, and some common painkillers and sleeping pills are controlled.
- Cash: currency declaration rules apply at every border. In Uzbekistan, cash above the equivalent of 100 million som (roughly 8,400 USD) must be declared on arrival.
The land border crossings themselves deserve their own planning; we cover them in our guide to Uzbekistan's border crossings.
Official sources to check before you travel
These are the official pages to confirm your own case (all checked on 4 November 2026):
- Uzbekistan: e-visa.gov.uz and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at gov.uz/mfa
- Kazakhstan: vmp.gov.kz and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at gov.kz
- Kyrgyzstan: evisa.e-gov.kg and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at mfa.gov.kg
- Tajikistan: evisa.tj and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at mfa.tj
- Turkmenistan: the State Migration Service at migration.gov.tm and evisa.migration.gov.tm
- Your own government's travel advice, for example the UK Foreign Office pages for each country
When sources disagree, trust the embassy of the country you are entering over any blog, including this one.
Help from TourEast
We handle entry questions for every guest travelling with us in Uzbekistan, from checking visa-free eligibility to registration at each hotel and transfers to the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik or Turkmen border. If you are combining Uzbekistan with its neighbours, we are happy to plan a private or small-group Uzbekistan itinerary that fits your visas and border dates.
