Azerbaijan Visa & Entry Requirements: e-Visa, Visa-Free, and Rules

Azerbaijan's entry rules are different from those of Georgia and Armenia, and the difference matters. Most travelers from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia enter Georgia and Armenia without a visa, but for Azerbaijan they normally need an electronic visa issued in advance through the official ASAN Visa system. A smaller group of nationalities is visa-free, and a few must apply at an Azerbaijani embassy or consulate.

Verify before you travel. Azerbaijan's visa lists, fees and border rules are set by government decision and change from time to time, and several exemptions currently in force are temporary. Always confirm your nationality's current status and the current fee on the official ASAN Visa portal before booking: https://evisa.gov.az/. That is the only official electronic-visa site; commercial sites that resemble it charge more for the same visa. Admission is always decided by the border authorities at the point of entry.

Do I need a visa for Azerbaijan?

Almost every traveler falls into one of three situations:

e-Visa. Your nationality is eligible for the ASAN Visa, which you apply for online before you travel. This covers most European, North American and Australasian passports.
Visa-free. Your nationality is exempt, for 90 or 30 days depending on the arrangement, some of them temporary.
Visa through an embassy or consulate. Your nationality is not eligible for the e-Visa, and you apply at an Azerbaijani diplomatic mission, in some cases with an invitation.

If you hold a passport from a country such as Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada or Australia, plan on the e-Visa unless a current exemption applies to your exact passport.

The ASAN e-Visa

The e-Visa is issued through the official ASAN Visa portal, operated by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations. The application is completed online and the visa is sent by e-mail.

Entry type: single entry.
Validity: 90 days from the date of issue, within which you must enter.
Permitted stay: up to 30 days.
Standard processing: within 3 working days.
Urgent processing: within 3 hours, including on holidays and non-working days, at a higher fee.
Fee: at the time of writing the portal lists a state fee of USD 20 plus a service fee of USD 9, a total of USD 29 for a standard application. Fees are set by the government and can change, so treat the amount shown on the portal at the moment you apply as the correct one.

Eligibility currently includes ordinary passport holders from every European Union member state, the EFTA countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and many other countries. The portal's own eligibility list is the authority; check it for your passport.

e-Visa conditions that catch travelers out

Your passport must remain valid for at least three months beyond the expiry date of the e-Visa.
You must travel on the same passport you used in the application; a visa is tied to that document.
Print the e-Visa and present it together with your passport at the border, and keep it with you during your stay.
The e-Visa is single entry. Leaving Azerbaijan, for instance on a side trip, and returning requires a new visa.
A new e-Visa cannot be obtained from inside Azerbaijan to extend a stay; extensions are a matter for the State Migration Service.
An approved visa does not guarantee admission. Border officers keep their normal powers to refuse entry.

Visa-free entry to Azerbaijan

At the time of writing, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists ordinary passport holders of the following countries as visa-free for stays of up to 90 days:

Albania
Belarus
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Maldives
Moldova
Morocco
Russian Federation
Serbia
Tajikistan
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan

Ordinary passport holders of the following countries are visa-free for stays of up to 30 days; several of these are temporary measures, listed in the next section with their end dates:

Bahrain
Bosnia and Herzegovina
China
Hong Kong
Japan
Kuwait
Macao
Oman
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Saudi Arabia
Singapore

Diplomatic and service passports are a separate matter. Azerbaijan has further agreements that apply only to diplomatic, service or official passports. Those do not give ordinary tourists visa-free entry. If you see your country on a visa-free list, check which passport types the arrangement actually covers.

Temporary visa exemptions in force in 2026 and 2027

Several of the 30-day exemptions above were introduced as one-year measures. Unless extended by a new decision, they run until the dates below:

Hong Kong: 2 February 2026 to 2 February 2027
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia: 15 February 2026 to 15 February 2027
Japan and the Republic of Korea: 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2027
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Singapore: 1 August 2026 to 1 August 2027

If you are traveling near one of these end dates, confirm on the official portal whether the exemption has been extended. Once it lapses, the e-Visa applies again.

Visas through an embassy or consulate

Nationalities that are neither visa-free nor eligible for the e-Visa apply at an Azerbaijani embassy or consulate. Some of these applications require an invitation from an organisation or host in Azerbaijan, and processing takes considerably longer than the electronic route, so allow several weeks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the list of missions and their requirements.

Registration for stays of more than 15 days

Foreign visitors who stay in Azerbaijan for more than 15 days must be registered at their place of stay with the State Migration Service. Hotels and licensed guesthouses normally submit this registration for their guests; if you are staying in a private apartment or with friends, the host is expected to register you, and it can also be done online through the State Migration Service's electronic services. Registration is free. Leaving the country without having been registered after a stay of more than 15 days can lead to a fine at the border, so confirm with your accommodation that it has been done.

Official information: https://migration.gov.az/.

Land borders: the current situation

This is where Azerbaijan differs most from its neighbours. Azerbaijan closed its land borders to regular passenger traffic in 2020 and has kept a special border regime in place since, extending it by government decision. At the time of writing, in September 2026, the regime is in force until at least 1 October 2026, and it can be extended again. In practice this means that tourists arrive and depart by air, and that the road crossings from Georgia, Russia, Iran and Turkey are not open for ordinary tourist crossings.

A separate 2026 provision allows travelers who are entitled to visa-free entry into Azerbaijan to enter and leave on the Baku–Tbilisi railway. It does not open the road borders, and it does not apply to travelers who need an e-Visa. Do not plan an overland Georgia–Azerbaijan or Azerbaijan–Georgia itinerary on the assumption that a road crossing will be available; check the current official position immediately before travel, and expect to fly between the countries.

Entry restrictions to know about

Azerbaijan does not admit citizens of Armenia. Travelers of any nationality who have visited the Karabakh region without the authorisation of the Azerbaijani authorities can be refused entry and declared persona non grata, and a previous unauthorised visit can be checked against passport stamps and public records. Azerbaijan also does not recognise passports issued by Abkhazia, South Ossetia and several other unrecognised entities.

General entry requirements

Beyond the visa itself, carry a passport valid for the required period, your printed e-Visa if you hold one, and be ready to say where you are staying and how you are leaving if the border officer asks. Azerbaijan does not require tourists to hold travel insurance as a condition of entry, but medical insurance is strongly recommended. Bring any prescription medicines in their original packaging with the prescription, since some substances that are legal elsewhere are controlled in Azerbaijan.

Nakhchivan, the Azerbaijani exclave between Armenia, Iran and Turkey, is reached from Baku by domestic flight. The same visa or exemption covers it.

Yes. Citizens of European Union member states need a visa, and can apply online for the single-entry ASAN e-Visa before travel: valid for 90 days from issue, for a stay of up to 30 days, normally processed within three working days.

Yes. Citizens of the United Kingdom are eligible for the ASAN e-Visa and should apply on the official portal before travel. There is no visa on arrival for tourists.

Yes. Citizens of the United States need a visa and are eligible for the ASAN e-Visa, applied for online before travel and printed for presentation at the border.

At the time of writing the official portal lists a state fee of USD 20 plus a service fee of USD 9, USD 29 in total for standard processing within three working days; urgent processing within three hours costs more. Fees can change, so the amount shown on evisa.gov.az when you apply is the correct one.

At the time of writing, no. Azerbaijan's land borders remain under a special regime that keeps road crossings closed to regular tourist traffic, currently until at least 1 October 2026 and subject to extension. A 2026 provision allows visa-free-eligible travelers to use the Baku–Tbilisi railway, but tourists who need an e-Visa should expect to fly. Check the official position before travel.

Yes, if you stay for more than 15 days. Registration with the State Migration Service is free and is normally done by your hotel; for private accommodation the host registers you, or it can be done online. Leaving after more than 15 days without registration can lead to a fine.