ALMATY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will no longer allow Russian citizens to stay in the Central Asian country indefinitely by doing so-called visa runs every three months, according to a government directive published this week.
The Astana government will disallow the practice from Jan. 26, requiring Russians and citizens of other members of the Eurasian Economic Union, a post-Soviet bloc, to leave the country for at least 90 days after the permitted three-month stay.
The Interior Ministry, which proposed the reform, has said it would give the state greater control over immigration.
Tens of thousands of Russians, mostly young and middle-aged men, relocated to Kazakhstan last year as Moscow, embroiled in the Ukraine conflict, launched its first conscription campaign since World War Two.
The Russian language is widely spoken in Kazakhstan and the two countries share the world's longest continuous land border, making Kazakhstan a popular choice among Russians fleeing the draft.
The ability to stay in the country de facto indefinitely - by leaving it and reentering every 90 days - has been another important factor.
However, the country has struggled to cope with the influx of Russians. Authorities in Kazakhstan have said the unusually large inflows contributed to inflation, which soared to more than 20% last year, its highest since the 1990s.
The war in Ukraine has also strained ties between Moscow and Astana as the latter has refused to support its former Soviet overlord and called for peace.
Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov. Editing by Sharon Singleton
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Kosusanso on January 18th, 2023 at 09:17 UTC »
I am from Kazakhstan. The title of this article is wrong. The actual article is right - there was no unlimited stay. Russians are allowed to be in Kazakhstan (KZ) only for 90 days.
But for those who fled the mobilisation, those 90 days are long over. Those who decided to stay in KZ either already did visa runs, or received the documents to stay in KZ.
But important thing is that russians who are staying in northern territories didn't do visaruns too, because Kazakhstan is huge, so visarun will take lots of time. Most of them just received documents to stay in KZ.
To receive the document to stay in KZ for a year officially, you need to work for KZ employer, but the practice shows that it is extremely easy to get documents even if you don't work here.
I have two friends who fled Russia in September. One of them already works for KZ employer who made them documents for one year, and the other is remote worker, but he still got documents to stay in the country without any problems.
Fugitiveofkarma on January 18th, 2023 at 05:48 UTC »
I live in Thailand. My city is getting weekly influxes of Russian tourists.
So so so many 18-45yr olds are just staying here and hoping to not get caught on an overstay for long enough that when they inevitable do get sent home the war will be over.
Lots of couples and families. Very few single men.
aridiculousmess on January 17th, 2023 at 21:57 UTC »
Hopefully nothing about this is a mutually agreed upon tactic for to round up & mobilize a portion of those who evaded mobilization.