Kazakhstan, France Move Toward Easing Visa Rules

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev has commented on the prospects of easing the visa regime between Kazakhstan and France.

The issue was raised during a Senate session, where Senator Sergey Yershov asked how the recently signed readmission agreement could affect efforts to simplify visa procedures with France, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

Bakayev noted that bilateral agreements of this kind help lay the groundwork for both visa-free travel and readmission arrangements, accelerating their conclusion. “France is not the first country with which Kazakhstan has signed such documents. Any bilateral cooperation contributes to the development of broader multilateral interaction,” he said.

The deputy foreign minister said that practical work in this direction is already underway. He confirmed that the process of easing the visa regime for Kazakh citizens has been launched, with the second round of negotiations scheduled for next month.

Bakayev added that Kazakhstan’s engagement with the European Union is being pursued along two parallel tracks: one focused on readmission agreements and the other on visa facilitation.