Kazakhstan drafts law for a digital golden visa

Kazakhstan's parliament, the Kurultai, has begun work on a draft law that would introduce a "golden visa" for major investors and highly skilled professionals, Kursiv reported on 16 October. A working group chaired by MP Lyazzat Zhylkybayeva held its first meeting on the bill, which is being prepared on the instruction of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Astana TV reported the meeting a day earlier.

According to Kursiv, investors would receive a digital golden visa certificate, and the whole process, including document submission, would run online through QazETA, the Interior Ministry's unified platform. Astana TV adds that the draft also provides for a long-term resident status. The Kurultai press service said the golden visa should help bring foreign capital, technology and qualified specialists to Kazakhstan. Kursiv reports that the wider bill also aims to protect Kazakh citizens who go abroad to work.

This is an upgrade rather than a first. Kazakhstan already has an investor visa. Under rules approved on 30 April 2025, foreigners investing at least US$300,000 in the charter capital of Kazakh companies or in local publicly traded securities can apply online and may obtain a residence permit for up to 10 years (as of 30 April 2025, per the state agency Kazakh Invest). Neither Kursiv nor Astana TV says how the new law would relate to that route.

The draft law has not been published, and no investment threshold, fees or timetable for the new scheme have been announced.