Kazakhstan and Benelux Countries to Remove Visa Reuqirements for Service Passport Holders

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On Thursday, November 7, a signing ceremony for the Protocol amending the Agreement between Kazakhstan and the Benelux States on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders was held at the Benelux General Secretariat in Brussels, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

On the Kazakh side, the document was signed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Belgium Margulan Baimukhan, on behalf of the Benelux countries [Editor’s note – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg] – by the Director General for Consular Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Joris Salden, the Ambassador of Luxembourg to Belgium Jean-Louis Thill, and the Deputy Head of Mission of the Netherlands to Belgium Max Valstar. The Protocol extends the scope of the Agreement of March 2, 2015, on visa-free requirements for holders of diplomatic passports by allowing holders of service passports to enter without a visa.

This significantly facilitates the work of public officials from Kazakhstan and the Benelux countries, enabling them to travel freely for official duties without the need for a visa and to stay for a period not exceeding 90 days. The Protocol shall enter into force 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels of the completion by the parties of the necessary internal procedures. Today, Kazakhstan has visa-free travel agreements for citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan with 96 countries for holders of diplomatic passports, with 77 countries for holders of service passports, and with 43 countries for holders of national passports.