Digest April 2025: Overview of Legislative Changes in the Republic of Kazakhstan

20.05.2025

• Changes to Visa Issuance Rules for Foreigners
• New Conditions for Obtaining an Investor Visa
• Constitutional Court Clarifies the Legal Status of Foreigners
• Planned Improvements to Labour Legislation
• Innovations in Intellectual Property Law
• Contact our lawyer to learn more

Changes to Visa Issuance Rules for Foreigners

A joint order by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan has amended the rules for processing and issuing visas to foreigners and stateless persons. Now, notification of the applicant’s hearing must be sent at least three working days before the final decision on visa issuance or refusal is made. The order comes into force on 13 May 2025.

The full text of the order is available at the link.

New Conditions for Obtaining an Investor Visa

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has approved changes clarifying the procedure for issuing petitions for investor visas:

• Applicants may be individuals or legal entities registered in Kazakhstan.
• Petitions are issued to heads, their deputies, or heads of structural subdivisions of legal entities, or directly to individuals.
• Applications must be submitted via the electronic portal with mandatory attachment of documents confirming investments (for individuals – at least $300,000 invested in the last year).
• The validity period of the petition depends on the amount invested and the presence of recommendations from government bodies, ranging from 3 to 10 years.
• Application processing time is three working days.
   

Grounds for refusal include:

• Inaccurate or outdated documents.
• Non-compliance with established requirements.
• Presence of a court ruling prohibiting activities.
• Applicants retain the right to be heard and to present objections—the procedure for this remains unchanged.

These changes come into force on 11 May 2025. Full text of the order is at the link.

Constitutional Court Clarifies the Legal Status of Foreigners

The Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Sarsembayev, submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court requesting interpretation of the normative ruling of the Constitutional Council dated 1 December 2003, concerning differences in rights between foreigners and Kazakhstani citizens. The request arose amid preparation of a draft law prohibiting Kazakh citizens from gambling in certain territories while permitting foreigners to do so.

In response, the Constitutional Court emphasized that foreigners and stateless persons have a limited constitutional-legal status compared to Kazakh citizens. This means some rights and freedoms explicitly guaranteed to citizens do not apply to them. Such restrictions are permissible but must be clearly established by law and comply with Article 39 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, which allows limitations on rights and freedoms solely to protect the constitutional order, public safety, health, and public morality.

However, the Court declined to consider whether the proposed restriction—prohibiting Kazakh citizens but allowing foreigners to gamble in certain areas—meets the criteria of Article 39, stating this issue falls outside its competence.

The full text of the ruling is available at the link.

Planned Improvements to Labour Legislation

The Ministry of Labour has proposed enhancements to labour law, including:

• The possibility of concluding employment contracts electronically.
• A new system for assessing working conditions and professional risks.
• Regulation of sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Strengthening the role of local executive bodies in resolving labour disputes.
• Improved regulation of trade union activities.

The provisions are planned to be included in a draft law by the end of 2025 and submitted to Parliament in January 2026. The document is posted on the “Open Regulatory Acts” website at the link for public discussion until 15 May 2025.

Innovations in Intellectual Property Law

The Mazhilis will consider amendments to the legislation on patent attorneys in Kazakhstan:

• Introduction of specialisation for patent attorneys into two categories: trademarks and invention patents.
• Accelerated examination of trademarks, reducing registration time to 7 months.
• Extension of the period for filing objections to trademark registration from 1 to 2 months.
• Introduction of restrictions on authors’ rights to ensure accessibility of publications for visually impaired persons.
• The amendments aim to strengthen intellectual property protection and promote the creative economy.