Visa Information | Bishkek to Ashgabat – Silk Road Highlights

Visa & Passports

Passports
Please bring 2 photocopies of your passport details to give to your Tour Leader and 6 passport photos if completing the whole trip (2 photos if only visiting Iran). You will need at least 1 blank page per country in your passport, which must be valid for at least 9 months from your departure date. If you have dual nationality you can only use one passport for the entire trip.

If you are applying for a new passport before doing this trip, get a frequent traveler or jumbo size passport, with more pages than a standard passport. 

Visas
This visa information is a guide & may change without notice.

Most of the countries we travel through in Central Asia require a visa.  Prior to departure you will be provided with full and comprehensive information that will guide you through the process and give you all the tools you need to help get your visas. Visas in South East Asia can be obtained either en route or at the border.

This summarises the visa requirements for most nationalities:

Turkey – E-visa applied for before departure.
Georgia – free
Armenia – free
Azerbaijan – Visa obtained en route
Turkmenistan – Letter of Invitation required & applied for with us (incl in trip price).  Visas issued on arrival, either at the border if on trip or at Ashgabat airport (for those starting their trip in Ashgabat).
Uzbekistan –Visa before travel, Letter of Invitation optional and can be applied for with us (at extra cost).
Tajikistan – Most passport holders require an E-visa in advance.
Kazakhstan – Visas free and on arrival.
Kyrgyzstan – Visas £35 or free and on arrival
China – Visa before travel, Letter of Invitation required and applied for through us (incl in trip price).

Laos – Visa on arrival
Cambodia – Visa on arrival
Vietnam – Visa obtained en route
Thailand – Visa free and on arrival
Malaysia – Visa free and on arrival
Indonesia – Visa on arrival
Singapore – Visa free and on arrival

To get all the necessary visas before travelling it may be necessary to submit your passport to a number of different embassies at different times, so we recommend you remain in your home country for two months before starting your trip.  If you are travelling beforehand, please contact us for more guidance and we will work with you to make a different visa plan.

All information given pertaining to visas is given in good faith and is accurate, to the best of our knowledge.  The rules and timings for obtaining each visa can vary enormously from one embassy to the next, and the processes and requirements can and often do change overnight and without prior notice.  Please allow time for unexpected delays and be regularly contactable in the two months running up to your trip should any amendments be made or extra information required.

We will do everything we can, in liaison with our strong support network of local operators and agents, to help you get all your visas in time and with minimal inconvenience and cost.  But please remember it is ultimately your own responsibility to ensure you have all the necessary valid documents for your trip and we offer no guarantees that your applications will be successful; these decisions are ultimately in the hands of the officials in the various countries we visit.

 KEY: 

*   =   Iran vsisa code is an additional £55. Visa obtained in advance.
** =  All nationalities need a letter of invitation before departure, which is included in your trip price
# = Visa price through Istanbul Consulate