Citizens from 19 countries, including the UK, will be able to travel visa-free to Kazakhstan from tomorrow.
The move will allow travellers to access the country for a period of up to 15 days at a time.
It follows a successful 12-month pilot scheme that waived visa requirements for short-term visitors from ten nations.
The Kazakhstan government has now extended this to an additional nine countries until December 31, 2017.
The 19 countries are: Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK and the US.
Up until now, visitors had to pay £35 for a single-entry tourist visa, complete a visa application form, have hotel booking confirmations, and a letter addressed to the consular section of the Kazakhstan embassy.
Kalmukhanbet Kassymov, Kazakhstan's minister of internal affairs, said: "I am pleased to confirm the extension of a visa waiver. As a rapidly growing economy and a place of great natural beauty, Kazakhstan has a lot to offer to both tourists and business travelers, and we are delighted to welcome them."
The current July/August 2015 issue of Business Traveller contains a feature about Kazakhstan's trading growth. Subscribers can read it here.
Graham Smith
