Last updated 18 April 2013

All travelers to Azerbaijan (apart from citizens of most CIS countries) should obtain entry visa before they travel. There are now two ways to obtain tourist visa.

The first way is to obtain a newly introduced (from March 2013) e-visa (sample of e-visa). The advantages of this way is a lower cost, online process only (no need to visit embassies), you keep your passport with yourself all the time, you get a visa to your email as PDF attachment that you need just to print. You can enter Azerbaijan at any border entry point with this type of visa. However, there are also some disadvantages: 15 working days processing timeline; the need to book a hotel for the whole duration of your visa (booking has to be done through travel agency that arranges you e-visa); E-visa is issued strictly for the N of days the hotel booking is confirmed for. Potential problem for travelers to regions outside of Baku: the problem with hotels in Azerbaijan is that most of them outside Baku have no Internet or accept bookings via phone only. So this is not going to be feasible to secure any hotel confirmations outside of Baku. In practice that will generally mean that e-visa wiould work only to those who plan to limit they stay in Azerbaijan by Baku only.

To initiate a process of obtaining e-visa choose the hotel from www.Azerbaijan24.com frontpage and proceed with booking. You can book a hotel yourself BUT hotel confirmations should be on a hotel's headed paper (no online booking system confirmations are accepted). Then make a payment of 100$ (this includes all service costs and a consular fee of $20), send a scanned copy of your passport, passport size photo, filled in application form along with the following information:

• Full Name
• Passport number
• Citizenship
• Duration of stay
• Arrival date
• Your contact details

Please bear in mind that no refunds or changes to e-visa are possible after docs are submitted to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Azerbaijan24.com bears no responsibility for non-implementation or timeliness of visa processing by Consular Section of Ministry of Foreign affairs, nor we are responsible for visa rejection.

As soon as we receive all necessary info from the applicant the documents will be uploaded to the MFA's site's dedicated section and we will await until the visa is granted. When visa is received it will be forwarded straightaway to applicant's email address. Processing timeline by MFA is 15 working days (3 weeks).

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The second way is to apply for visa in traditional way through the embassy/consulate of Azerbaijan republic. To obtain tourist visa in this way you will need an official Letter of Invitation (LOI) from travel agency licensed by Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Visa support letter has to be on a headed paper, duly stamped and signed. Invitation letter has to be submitted to Azeri embassy abroad along with application form, two passport-size (3x4 cm) photos and original passport/travel document (must be valid for at least 6 months after the expiry date of the Azerbaijani visa you apply for). It will allow applicant to obtain single or double entry (rarely granted) tourist visa that is valid for three months and authorizes to enter and stay in Azerbaijan for up to 30 days.

Azerbaijan24.com will provide you with visa support documents from a travel agency licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan and guide you through a tricky process of obtainment Azeri visa. Should you need an assistance with getting Azerbaijan tourist visa contact us for arrangements. We are working every day and aim to process all requests within 24 hours. Below you will find useful information that is updated on a regular basis.

The complexity of the process is that there is no universal rule and every single Azerbaijan embassy interpret visa regulations with some variations of their own. Some consulates insist on that every single Letter of Invitation has to be separately validated through Consular Section of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Azerbaijan. This is a lengthy & bureaucratic procedure involves substantial costs, mainly related to corrupt practices of visa officials. As a result tourists would have to be charged $250 USD just for the visa support only.

Most of the embassies though are happy with standard letterhead LOIs (properly signed & stamped) from Azeri travel agency along with official Travel Vouchers from Ministry of Tourism of Azerbaijan but without separate approval of that LOI through Consular Department of MFA in Baku. As mentioned, these documents are working fine for many (even most) embassies, but double check is highly recommended. For this reason we highly recommend customers applying for visa support through us to check with the relevant embassy whether they would accept such a document for visa. At the bottom of the page you can find more detailed info for most frequently used embassies.

Also, as recommendation - try to obtain visa in your own country where AZ embassy is based. In case there is no AZ embassy in your country you should ideally obtain your visa in AZ embassy in any other country without hassle. However, if there is such an embassy in your country, but you apply in other country (and have no permanent residency there) then most likely you would be requested to provide MFA attested LOI. So CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL! Check the bottom of the page for situation with AZ embassies  in various countries.

PLEASE, don't make inquiries on current situation with us, all the information that we have we immediately post on our site. We are physically not able to track all changes in every embassy. Please contact the embassy where you plan to obtain your visa and check with them. Thank you for understanding.   

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NOTE: There are no visas upon arrival in Baku airport since October 2010. 

Effective 15 October 2010, the Azeri Government has officially stopped to Issue Visa’s on arrival at the Baku airport for European and US Citizens (Turkish & Russian nationals are not affected). All affected nationals are required to obtain their visa in advance from an Azeri embassy. Azerbaijan is sending back any passengers without a pre-arranged visa. Only diplomats and people on official government business are being allowed in without a visa. No visas are available at land borders as well. All visas has to be obtained in advance in one of Azeri diplomatic missions abroad.

Azerbaijan Visa Support Service 

1. Visa support provided as part of one of our tour packages (at least 3 days) is free of charge
   
2. If you need just a letter of invitation (LOI) from our travel agency the fee for our service is $60 USD *

N.B. If your visa is rejected for some reason we refund that fee in full minus bank transfer fees if there are any.
- * Requirements and fees are subject to change without prior notice.

Please note that additional consular fees are paid at the embassy with your visa application. Azerbaijan24.com can also provide you with tourist vouchers that will entitle you to a reduced visa fee of just 20 USD, in other words instead of paying full standard visa fee in the embassy (ranging from 40 to 130 USD depending on the length of your stay and the country of your citizenship) you will pay just 20 USD. Tourist vouchers are provided as part of visa support package only. Bear in mind, that tourist vouchers might not work in some embassies (though they have to be accepted by any Azeri consulate), and you will be charged the full standard visa fee instead of $20. Unfortunately, we have no opportunities to influence embassies on this matter. We also make no refund if vouchers does not work for reduced visa fee. Refunds are made only if the visa is rejected. For situation with vouchers in some embassies check the bottom of this page. 

Document list, terms & dates of visa preparation & consular fees may be changed according to the regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan24.com does not carry responsibility for the non-implementation or timeliness of visa processing by consular sections of Azeri embassies abroad, nor we are responsible for visa rejection.

To proceed with a visa support please make a payment, send a scanned copy of your passport along with the following information:

• Full Name
• Passport number
• Citizenship
• Duration of stay
• Arrival date
• Planned Accommodation (Hotel, Hostel, Friend)
• Your contact details
• Place of applying for visa (in what country, city)

We aim to process all requests within 24 hours (excluding Sundays).

Based on the information received we will issue a Letter of Invitation and send scanned copies of LOI & Tourist Voucher to your email within 24 hours. You will need to print off the documents that we will send you and enclose with application form (Some embassies have different forms, so its worth checking their websites. For those applying in London, application form should be filled online on Visa Centre's website) that you will submit to the embassy.

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STANDARD TOURIST LETTER OF INVITATION WITHOUT MFA APPROVAL
Europe, USA, Canada, Japan	Visa Duration	Our Price
	30 days	$60
Processing time:	1 working day
Requested docs and info:	1. Passport Copy, 2. Exact entry and Departure dates 3. Embassy of application

TOURIST LETTER OF INVITATION WITH MFA APPROVAL
Europe, USA, Canada, Japan	Visa Duration	Our Price
	30 days for express visa (20 days visa for 100$ visa application)
Processing time:	25 working days	$100
Processing time:	express (3 working days)	$250
Requested docs and info:	1. Passport Copy, 2. Exact entry and Departure dates 3. Embassy of application

 P.S. We are not providing visa support for African nationals

MULTIPLE ENTRY BUSINESS VISA INVITATION WITH MFA APPROVAL
Europe, USA, Canada, Japan	Visa Duration
	1 month / USD	3 months / USD	1 year / USD
	$250	$350	$500
	single entry only	double entry only	multiple entry
Processing time:	2 working days
Requested docs and info:	1. Passport Copy, 2. Entry and Departure dates 3. Embassy of application
Our side provides:	1. Letter from the company 2. Copy of company registration certificate

P/S.Multiple entry visa has no limits on number of entries to AZ with each entry not exceeding 90 days, i.e. one have to leave & re-enter AZ after 3 months stay

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For those applying for AZ visa in UK

To meet the increasing demand, while maintaining high standards of service the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in London has outsourced its visa application processing to Visa Services Centre Limited (VSC) that will start accepting documents from 15 July 2011.

Azerbaijan Visa Centre
Lower Ground Floor
1 Star Street
London, W2 1QD

For further details on how to apply for a visa, please visit the website below:
_www.visaforazerbaijan.org.uk_
Please be aware that Application Forms must be completed online on the website of the Azerbaijan Visa Centre.

LOI & Tourist Voucher from travel agency is still needed for travelers to apply for AZ visa in UK. They are issued ONLY for customers booking hotel or tour (at least 3 days) through our travel agency. According to some reports just a hotel booking confirmation (on a headed paper signed and stamped) might be sufficient to obtain visa. You can place a hotel booking with us (check the frontpage for hotel options) and we'll make sure you get a proper confirmation paper from the hotel.

For those applying for AZ visa in Tbilisi (Georgia)

Despite being one of the most efficient embassies for many years, embassy in Tbilisi is no more reliable as was before. They have started requesting visa support documents approved through MFA (mainly for those passport-holders that have AZ embassy in their own country). Still, that started causing serious problems for  many travelers that planned to obtain visa in Tbilisi on the way to AZ.

Perhaps the easier option for those planning to get a visa in Tbilisi is to apply through local travel agency that is located just behind the corner of Azerbaijan embassy. According to recent reports no LOI is required there, an agency will do all the the process for 20 USD plus the cost of the visa. They'll even get it to you same day. The company is called X-tours (68, Chavchavadze Ave. It's near the Azeri Embassy. Their e-mail is Info@xtour.ge). If the LOI would still be needed, we can arrange you one. 

For those who experience problems or have no other alternative but Georgia we recommend to get visas in AZ consulate in Batumi that was recently opened. So far very efficient, helpful consul.

The address is
Nodar Dumbadze str.
146010, Batumi
Tel: +(995 22) 276700
The consulates' officer name is Elmar, and the consulate is next door to the Iranian Embassy(consulate), and opens at 10 am.  

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NOTE!

Standard LOI is required only (no MFA needed) by the embassy

1. Austria (Vienna) - insist on having originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee. Vouchers need to be posted to applicants from Baku (will take 10-14 days by standard air-mail. Courier service is available for extra fee if needed.
2. Belgium (Brussels) - tourist vouchers are not accepted for reduced visa fee.
3. Georgia (Batumi consulate) one of the most efficient. No LOI is required. 3 days visa processing. Embassy in Tbilisi asks for MFA approval
4. Germany (Berlin) - tourist vouchers are not accepted for reduced visa fee and one has to pay full fee of 60 Euros.
5. Greece (Athens) - accepts visa support docs without any problems
6. France (Paris) - accepts visa support docs without any problems. Vouchers seems to be not working for discounted visa fee, perhaps originals needed. 
7. Holland (Hague) - processes vouchers without problems. Reduced visa cost is 15 Euro. Processing time is around 1 week.
8. Indonesia (Jakarta) - processes vouchers without problems. MFA approval for LOIs is required for visits exceeding 15 days.
9. Iran (Tehran embassy & Tabriz consulate) - need no LOI at all. Visas could be obtained same day without any support documents. They don't accept tourist vouchers. More info here >>>
   
10. Italy (Rome) - contradictory reports. MFA approval is required from time to time. Hotel booking confirmation would be helpful to avoid that. Also very lengthy processing procedure might be expected (up to 2 weeks).
11. Japan (Tokyo)
    
12. Kazakhstan (Aktau consulate) - need originals of LOIs & Vouchers for reduced fee visa. Otherwise they can issue tourist visas just with scans but charging full visa price. Transit visa (valid for 5 days) from the Aktau consulate takes 3 working days, they require no LOI but just passport, $20 and an application form which they help to fill in. Their new number : +77292 422300/01 Email: Azconsul.aktau[@]gmail.com   They can accept tourist visa apps by email to speed up the process ahead of visiting their consulate
13. Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) - they only ask travel agency to send copies of docs to their email
14. Kuwait (Kuwait City) - standard LOIs are accepted only for citizens or permanent residents of Kuwait. All others have to apply with LOIs approved through MFA. Those applying without MFA approved LOIs have to submit docs in person. Fingerprints are taken.
15. Latvia (Riga) - only foreigners holding permanent residence in Baltic countries can apply for visa. They insist on having originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee.
16. Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) - accepts visa support docs without any problems. They ask travel agency to send copies of docs to their email. More info here >>>
    
17. Poland (Warsaw) - standard LOI accepted for Polish citizens only. All other citizens need to obtain MFA approved LOI
    
18. Romania (Bucharest)
19. Russia (Moscow) - accepts visa support docs in original only, that need to be posted from Baku. Will take around 10 working days to arrive by standard post. Courier service available for extra fee if needed.
20. South Korea (Seoul) - standard LOIs worked well until recently. Some problems were reported lately with the need to apply for MFA approval.
21. Sweden (Stockholm) - need originals of tourist vouchers to give reduced visa fee.
22. Switzerland (Bern) - http://evisa.mfa.gov.az/ is used to fill in the application. A couple of hours later you receive your application as PDF which you have to print out and submit to the embassy together with the support documents we provide. They *do* accept the tourist voucher which reduces the visa fee to CHF25. Processing time to obtain visa 7-10 days.
23. UAE (Abu-Dhabi embassy & Dubai consulate) - provide visa with standard visa support docs only to UAE citizens or permanent residents, otherwise MFA approval is needed. Application form for applying in  Dubai
    
24. Ukraine (Kiev) - standard LOI is OK for permanent residents only. Tourist vouchers are not accepted.
25. United Kingdom (London) - Standard LOI is OK. Process tourist vouchers without any problem and give discounted visa fee (?14 instead of standard ?55, but Visa Centre charges extra to process vouchers, though they are still worth using. Applications are accepted only from citizens of UK, Ireland, Iceland and Denmark (and those who have permanent residence there on student or work basis). If you are EU passport holder working in UK and you obviously don't need visa or work permit for that (and hence have no stamps in your passport) you will need to submit them your bank statements AND utility bills to prove that you live in UK on a permanent basis. Otherwise there is a chance that your application won't be accepted on non-residency grounds. Also, sometimes only hotel headed paper booking confirmation might be sufficient to get your visa even without LOI.  See above for info on Visa Centre.
26. USA (Washington embassy & Los-Angeles consulate) - need original tourist voucher to give reduced visa fee. Note: The visas in Washington DC are processed through Travisa Outsourcing (http://azerbaijanvisa.travisaoutsourcing com). Processing time is 10 days. As an alternative you can use consulate in LA, but check with consulate if they cover your state. Emabassy in Washington provides consular services to all states except Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Consular services for the afore-mentioned States are provided by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los-Angeles (azconsulatela.org). 

MFA approved LOI is required only for non-residents

1. UAE (Abu Dhabi & Dubai) - though sometimes even standard LOI for non-residents might be OK
2. Latvia (Riga)
3. Kuwait (Kuwait City)
4. Ukraine (Kiev)

MFA approved LOI is required for all nationals

1. China (Beijing)
2. Czech Republic (Prague)
3. Georgia (Tbilisi)
4. India (Delhi)
5. Italy (Rome) unless there is also a hotel confirmation
6. Morocco (Rabat)
7. Pakistan (Islamabad)
8. Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) - though sometimes standard LOI might be OK
9. Turkey (Ankara, Istanbul & Kars). Those with permanent residence in Turkey don't need any support docs to get AZ visa. 
10. Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)

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