This article concerns the B8 Visa for obtaining residency in Kazakhstan. This route does not concern people from the Euroasian Economic Area, or people already in Kazakhstan on a work visa, who may be thinking of applying for residency.
The writer is a UK Citizen, but the sames issues apply to anyone who might be thinking of trying the B8 route to residency. At the time of writing the B8 Visa is still being advertised on the website of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, in London. [1] The Visa offers a 3 month stay in Kazakhstan during which the applicant can put in an application for permanent residency.
Prior to February 2026 the process was straightforward. it involved assembling a ‘packet of documents’, apostilled, of course, and then once in Kazakhstan having a notarised translation of those documents made. Once done, one could have simply applied. There were some other requirments; to have a certain amount of money in a bank account, to pass a medical inspection, and so on; but nothing too onerous. I don’t know how reliable it is but I was told that so long as there were no issues with a criminal record applications were likely to be successful. I set out on this path, buoyed by the knowledge that teaching is high on the list of in-demand professions in Kazakhstan.
However; in February 2026 a new pilot project has been introduced. This applies to people who are applying for residency who are already in Kazakhstan, and people on the B8 Visa. (In my case; I simply didn’t know about this. I had heard something, but found a news article which said that the new regime did not come into force until July 2026 – and dismissed it. A clear case of ‘confirmation bias’. However; in my defence, neither the agency I paid $250.00 to for advice nor the lawyer I contacted in Almaty in advance mentioned anything).
What is the new regime? The new regime does not replace the old paper-based application route; rather, it now fronts it with a new digital route. The main two innovations are that applicants have to register for and take an (online, I think), test in the Kazakh language, and then complete an online application form. The language test requires a basic A1 pass. Only once this has been achieved can the applicant proceed to the application form stage. The application form will ask questions such as age, profession, qualifications and will score the application on points. A certain number is required to proceed to the actual, paper-based, application.
In my case; this unexpected development was a total blocker. It might have been theoretically possible to achieve the admittedly very low bar of a 30% pass mark, (according to Gemina AI which does seem quite well informed on this), after one month of study – but I didn’t feel like taking an intensive course because it would have disrupted my other plans, and, because the tests are available to book on a random basis. And, this is why I have to say, very clearly:
The B8 Visa route for residency in Kazakhstan is obselete. It has been rendered obselete by the new digital regime.
This is the case even if you are confident of passing a Kazakh language test at A1 and are confident you will score well on the graded application form, (young professional graduates preferred). Why is this? The following is an approximate scheme of what an application involves under the new regime.
- Obtain (pay for) your B8 Visa in your country of origin. This will be for 3 months.
- Arrive in Kazakhstan.
- You will need to obtain notarised translations of your documents. (1 week)
- Obtain a digital signature. This is necessary for completing the online application forms. There is a supposed procedure to do this, which involves completing an online form, visiting the service centre, (цон), to have your identify confirmed, and then going home and downloading they key. In my case this did not work. At the service centre they told me that this is not uncommon. The solution is to get the service centre to do the whole procedure on the spot and issue you the key on a USB drive. (1 week)
- Now – you can apply for the Kaztest. But, and here is the rub. The tests slots are released at random intervals. It seems to be about once a month. The only definitness that the Kaztest Centre provides is “follow our Instagram feed”. When the tests are released they are for two or three days ahead. You had better be ready to take the test. I don’t know if the test slots get overbooked. I followed the site for a few weeks. When I saw slots available, they were still bookable. (Allow one month).
- After the Kaztest wait for the results. I am afraid I don’t know. At this point, I am relying on Gemini AI for the timings, but it seems the test results can be available in a few days. You can then proceed to complete the actual online application form. Geminia AI says that the decision takes 30 days. This sounds plausible. (5 weeks).
- Now – you can proceed to your paper application. (Assuming that a language test slot was published, was bookable, and you passed, and you passed the suitablility scoring test). The problem is that all this has taken 11 weeks, add one for contigency, and that makes 12. Your Visa has expired and it is time to go home!
- I was told by a lawyer that if you can get to the point of your packet of paper documents being accepted then you can, at that point, apply for a Visa extension. But, it looks like touch and go.
The main reason no one in their right mind would use the B8 route now is the uncertainty around the Kaz Language tests. It is simply not a rational proposition to go to the cost and effort to enter a process which contains a very large randomised element as the first step. If the tests were bookable in advance on known days, this might make a difference, though even then the overall timings are tight, but the randomness caused by the “follow our Instagram page” uncertainty rules this out for rational actors.
It is clear that what has happened is the government services Digital team, Kazakhstan is going through a big digitisation of government services campaign, has come up with what seems to them a nice, clean, digitally based system for processing residency applications which also honours a new push to promote Kazakh langauge. They have, however, clearly, only designed the new system with reference to people who are already in the country. I would imagine this cohort massively outnumber those on the B8 Visa route. For these people, the wait and the uncertainty around the langauge tests is not a huge problem. If you are already working in Kazakhstan you can take your time and wait patiently for a Kaztest to become available. However; the significantly increased processing time and the uncertainty around the langauge test booking system mean that the system no longer works for people on a 3 month B8 Visa.
I would imagine that at some point this will dawn on the immigration authorities in Kazakhstan and either the new regime will adapted for the B8 Visa case, (for example the online parts are done as part of the B8 Visa application in the user’s home country), or the B8 Visa will simply be cancelled.
I have no reason to believe that this is some kind of a ‘scam’. It looks like a classic case of a new system rendering another one obselete and no one has quite realised that yet. But, the bottom line is; the B8 Visa no longer works.
(If anyone is interested in more detail about the process feel free to reach out to me by email and I will try to answer, though, of course I cannot give legal advice).
Notes