EU and Kazakhstan advance negotiations towards signing Visa Facilitation Treaty
Vibe Check: Let's dive into the latest on the EU and Kazakhstan's visa game plan!
Goss: They're about to ink a visa facilitation agreement, y'all! Negotiations are in full swing, and things are looking pretty peachy after some high-level diplomatic chats in early 2025. Here's a lowdown on their progress:
- EU and Kazakh officials showed they were ready to start formal talks back in April 2024.
- On April 3, 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Ursula von der Leyen met in Samarkand, raving about visa simplifications before the Central Asia–EU summit.
- The Central Asia–EU Summit on April 4, 2025, reaffirmed collaboration commitments, though specifics on the visa timeline are still TBA.
What They Wanna Do: Kazakhstan's wish list includes:
- Faster processing and lower fees for Schengen visas.
- Longer-validity, multiple-entry visas to ditch those pesky bureaucratic hurdles.
- Fewer required documents and preferential treatment for business pros, academics, and students.
What's Cooking: If this deal goes through, it'll have some tasty consequences:
- Business and Investment: Simplified travel could give a boost to EU-backed projects under the €12 billion Global Gateway initiative, especially in transport and critical raw materials.
- Tourism and Exchanges: Kazakhstan's already got a 2017 visa-free regime for EU citizens, and reciprocal ease could lead to a tourism and cultural ties boost.
- Regional Integration: The agreement would jive with broader EU-Central Asia collaboration on energy, digital infrastructure, and sanctions enforcement.
When's the Party: The signing date ain't set yet, but once negotiations wrap up, both parties gotta go through their own internal procedures before it's official.
Kazakh Citizens' App Chek: In 2023, Kazakh citizens submitted a little over 159,000 Schengen visa applications, with 143,970 being approved and 14,285 getting turned down. Looks like those cats are game for a European getaway!
After the successful negotiations, the visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan may be signed soon, potentially improving travel opportunities for both parties. To expedite the process, Kazakhstan aims for faster visa processing, lower fees, longer-validity multiple-entry visas, and preferential treatment for business professionals, academics, and students.
This agreement, if concluded, could have significant impacts on various sectors. Simplified travel could stimulate EU-backed projects under the €12 billion Global Gateway initiative, particularly in the areas of transport and critical raw materials. Moreover, there might be an increase in tourism and cultural exchanges as both countries experience reciprocal visa ease. Lastly, the agreement aligns with broader EU-Central Asia collaboration on energy, digital infrastructure, and sanctions enforcement, promoting regional integration.
Kazakh citizens are enthusiastic about these visa changes; in 2023, over 159,000 Schengen visa applications were submitted, with 143,970 being approved. With the facilitation agreement, Kazakh citizens may find it easier and more affordable to travel across Europe for tourism, business, studies, and other purposes.
