(AZERBAIJAN) — Azerbaijan implemented expanded visa-free entry rules in early 2026, adding temporary one-year pilot programs for specific nationalities while keeping permanent visa exemptions that already let many visitors enter for up to 90 days.
Travelers now face a two-track system: long-standing visa-free arrangements that apply on an ongoing basis, and time-limited pilot programs with tighter entry caps and extra conditions that can change how often a person can come and what they must carry.
Azerbaijani authorities framed the changes as a way to support tourism and business travel, and to strengthen ties through initiatives that include China’s Belt and Road.
In practice, “expanded” rules do not mean every passport gets easier access. It means certain nationalities gained new temporary waivers, some existing exemptions continued into 2026, and travelers need to match their trip plans to the rule that applies to their nationality and document type.
Azerbaijan’s entry options split broadly into visa-free travel and an electronic visa route known as ASAN viza. Visitors who do not qualify for a visa exemption, or who exceed pilot limits, can use ASAN viza, which the rules describe as a single-entry option for up to 30 days.
One recurring point in the visa-free framework is that the fine print varies by agreement. The general expectation across the permanent exemptions is a stay “typically for 90 days,” but the counting method can differ, including “no more than 90 days within any 180-day period or calendar year, depending on the agreement.”
Russia illustrates the difference. Russian citizens receive 90 days per calendar year under the permanent exemption, even as many other 90-day arrangements do not spell out the same calendar-year wording in the same way.
A second practical complication involves the document a traveler uses. Turkey’s arrangement keeps a 90-day visa-free exemption, but Turkish nationals “may use a national ID card instead of a passport when arriving directly from Turkey,” a condition that can affect check-in decisions and onward itineraries.
The list of permanent visa-free access for ordinary passports includes Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco, and Qatar, though Qatar’s maximum is 30 days.
Shorter permanent exemptions also shape planning for visitors who expect the same 90-day framework everywhere. Iran has a 15-day exemption, while Malaysia and Lebanon have 30-day exemptions.
China’s arrangement sits in a shifting category. The rules specify “30 days per entry,” and note it was “extended from July 20, 2024, to July 20, 2025,” with “recent sources confirm continuation into 2026,” creating a need for travelers to pay attention to date-stamped updates rather than rely on older guidance.
Across both permanent exemptions and pilots, Azerbaijan ties entry to baseline document conditions that can stop a trip before it starts. “All visitors require a passport valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned stay (or 6 months for certain new pilots),” a requirement that can matter for people booking short trips close to passport expiry.
Registration rules can also turn a lawful entry into a compliance problem for longer stays. The rules state that stays over 15 days require registration with the State Migration Service, with a different threshold “or 30 days for Kazakhs.”
Those registration thresholds operate separately from the length of the visa-free permission itself. A traveler can have a visa-free right to remain longer, but still trigger a registration obligation after crossing the applicable day count.
The shift in early 2026 comes mainly from one-year pilot programs that add visa-free entry for certain travelers under narrower terms than many permanent exemptions. Azerbaijan announced the pilots as targeted waivers “starting in February 2026” to boost tourism, business, and ties.
Oman received one of the clearest pilot structures. The Omani waiver runs from February 15, 2026, to February 15, 2027, and permits entry visa-free up to 3 times, with 30 days per visit.
That Oman pilot also raises the baseline entry conditions. It “requires passport valid for 6 months from entry and health insurance covering the stay,” making it stricter than the general “3 months” validity rule applied to visitors more broadly.
A separate pilot applies to Hong Kong SAR passport holders. It runs from February 2, 2026, to February 2, 2027, and allows up to 3 entries, with 30 days per stay.
Azerbaijan announced the Hong Kong SAR pilot “via diplomatic notification on January 30, 2026,” and tied it to document and planning expectations: the “passport must be valid for at least 3 months,” with health insurance “recommended.”
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs framed that move in strategic terms. It said the pilot “signals our commitment to deepening ties with the Asia-Pacific.”
Macao appears in the 2026 updates as well, described as “implied extension alongside Hong Kong and China at 30 days, per broader 2026 updates.” The updates, as described, point travelers toward checking the specific status and conditions that apply at the time they intend to fly.
The pilots add a new compliance challenge that does not arise as often under open-ended visa-free regimes: the concept of “entries” as a limited resource. Under both the Oman and Hong Kong SAR pilots, a visitor who uses three entries and later wants to return during the same pilot year faces a different process.
Azerbaijan’s rules tie that scenario to the e-visa pathway. The pilots “exclude stays beyond the limits,” and “fourth entries revert to e-visa requirements via ASAN viza.”
For travelers, the easiest mistake is treating a “30 days per stay” rule as if it guarantees repeated travel throughout the year. Under the pilots, someone can comply with day limits and still run out of entries, which can matter for business travelers trying to schedule multiple short visits.
Miscounting entries can also happen when itineraries include brief departures. Under a system that caps the number of entries, each time a traveler leaves Azerbaijan and returns can count toward the entry limit, even if the trip out is short.
The ASAN viza alternative exists for those who do not qualify for visa-free entry, or who need a further entry after exhausting a pilot cap. The framework described for ASAN viza is a “single-entry” permission “up to 30 days.”
The rules also set expectations about how quickly that e-visa can be obtained and what it costs. ASAN viza is described as “processed in up to 3 days for ~US$25,” a timeline and fee that can become central when a traveler discovers too late that a fourth entry is not covered by a pilot waiver.
Even when travelers qualify for visa-free entry, border and airline checks can turn on small details, including whether a document meets the validity requirement and whether a traveler can show proof that matches the conditions of admission. That is one reason officials advise travelers to confirm the rule that applies to their passport before booking.
Azerbaijan’s visa-free framework also produces different outcomes for nationals who share a destination pattern but not the same legal basis for entry. A traveler from the United Arab Emirates has a permanent 90-day visa-free exemption listed alongside Turkey and several countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while a traveler under a pilot program faces an entry cap and potentially stricter documentation expectations.
The policy mix can confuse even frequent travelers who are used to stable rules in other regions. Azerbaijan’s approach in early 2026 combines permanent agreements, extensions of earlier arrangements, and pilots that are explicitly time-limited, and that mix increases the need to verify which category applies.
Officials also flagged a separate, unrelated development that some travelers have confused with Azerbaijan’s inbound entry rules. The U.S. Department of State paused “U.S. immigrant visa issuances to Azerbaijani nationals (and others)” beginning January 21, 2026.
That U.S. pause “does not affect outbound travel from Azerbaijan or visitor entries to Azerbaijan,” the rules note, drawing a line between U.S. immigration processing and Azerbaijan’s visitor admission requirements.
For travelers trying to keep up with fast-moving pilots and extensions, Azerbaijan’s guidance points toward official confirmation through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or evisa.gov.az for real-time updates.
Practical preparation can still reduce problems at check-in and arrival even when the traveler believes they qualify for visa-free entry. The underlying framework emphasizes passport validity as a hard threshold, and links longer stays to State Migration Service registration obligations.
The expanded 2026 approach, built around pilot programs and a continued e-visa option, leaves travelers with a clear decision point: confirm whether they sit under a permanent exemption, a shorter permanent exemption, or a one-year pilot with entry caps, and plan the number of trips and the length of each stay around that rule.
For those who expect to travel frequently, the difference between “up to 3 entries” and an open-ended visa-free regime can become the defining factor. Under Azerbaijan’s pilots, a traveler who needs the flexibility of a fourth arrival in the same year must be ready to shift to ASAN viza, which the rules describe as a single-entry document allowing up to 30 days, processed in up to 3 days for ~US$25.
