BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. To promote inbound
tourism to Azerbaijan, there are plans to increase the number of
countries whose citizens are eligible for visa-free travel.
This is outlined in the “State Program for Tourism Development
for 2026–2030,” approved by the President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev today.
According to the Action Plan, the necessary internal procedures
will be carried out to implement a unilateral or reciprocal
visa-free regime for citizens of countries that are tourist
destinations, based on their standard passports.
As an interim goal of the program, the plan is to ensure the
implementation of a visa-free regime for citizens of 28 countries
that are popular tourist destinations. The ultimate goal is to
achieve this target for 34 countries.
The implementation period for this initiative spans
2026–2030.
The Cabinet of Ministers is the lead implementing agency for
this initiative. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Agency
for Tourism, the State Migration Service, the State Security
Service, the State Border Service, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, and other relevant agencies will
be involved in this process.
In addition to simplifying visa policy, the State Program also
provides for improving the procedures for issuing multiple-entry
electronic visas for tourism purposes and expanding the number of
countries eligible for electronic visas, including visa-on-arrival.
There are plans to update the procedures and technical capabilities
of the “ASAN Visa” system for issuing multiple-entry electronic
visas.
Furthermore, plans include identifying a list of new countries
to which the electronic visa regime will apply, considering the
possibility of implementing a border visa regime with no expiration
date, and establishing the ability to designate citizens of new
countries as eligible for electronic visas. These measures are
scheduled to be implemented in 2026–2027.
