Central Asia is renowned for its excessively complicated and extortionately expensive visa regulations. In this beaurocracy ridden region, the rules can change from day to day. On this page, we will document our own trials and tribulations, and list any useful contact details we come across. Please bear in mind that these details are only correct at the time of writing, and that in this rapidly changing part of the world, regulations are bound to change. Please note that unless otherwise stated, these are the regulations that apply to British and Australian citizens.

From previous experience, both of our own and fellow travellers, we have tried to cut down on potential fuss by organising as many visas as we can before our departure.

For this, we have Amanda at Travcour to thanks, who has advised us greatly on untangling this complicated web.

Travcour:
Tempo House,
15 Falcon Road,
Battersea,
London,
SW11 2PJ
Tel 020 7223 5295

Fax 020 7738 2617
E-mail travcour@cableinet.co.uk
Web www.travcour.com

Visas for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Our vias for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were organised very efficiently and swiftly by David Berghof at Ayan Travel.

The Turkmen letter of introduction cost 25 dollars; we collected our ten day tourist visa in London. Bear in mind all possible travel destinations should be included on the letter of introduction for Turkmenistan. Regulations are becoming more strict; it's possible a travel permit, for a further 30 dollars, will also be required in some cases. This cannot be issued if the required towns have been omitted on the original letter. Also note that most tourist visas are almost impossible to extend.

The Uzbek letter of recommendation cost 30 dollars and required 10 days to process. The visa itself cost 60 dollars for 25 days, which we collected in Ashgabat. The Uzbek embassy is open from 10 o'clock to 1 o' oclock, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only. Usually, a visa should be issued on the spot with the necessary letter - unfortunately, we had to wait four days for the embassy to reopen.

Visit Ayan travel's excellent web site for up to date details, or contact David.

Ayan Travel
Magtumkuli 108-4
tel: +993 (12) 35 29 14
fax: +993 (12) 39 33 55
email: ayan@online.tm
website: http://www.ayan-tour.hypermart.net

Visa for Kyrgyzstan

We dealt with our Kyrgyzstan visa in Istanbul. Unlike London, a letter of recommendation was not required. A 1 month visa, whose dates have to be specified, cost $60US, compared with the $30US we paid last year in Kazakhstan. The consul is open 9am to 12pm and one passport photo is required. The name of a hotel was also needed, perhaps in lieu of a letter. Dostyk is a cheap hotel which seemed to satisfy the lady in charge, easily befriended with a few words of Russian.

We registered in Osh, depositing around a dollar each in som at the AKB bank on the corner of Kumarja Datka and Lomonsov, taking the receipt to OVIR a block past the Lenin statue - ask around for the exact office, as there are several tucked away. Avoid lunch times.

We procured a month extension of our visa in Bishkek for 250 som ( around 5 dollars) at OVIR on Kiev, just past the junction with Soviet - close to the post office. Handing in our passports at 4pm, they were ready by 6pm - we were able to pay the money directly at the office rather than depositing it in a bank account. The extension was a small stamp next to our existing visa. 1 week to a month seemed to be the same fixed price.

The embassy address is:
Lamartin Cod 7, 3 Kat
No 7 Lamartin Street, 3rd floor
Near Taksim

Visa for China

Our China visa was picked up at the embassy in Tashkent, set amongst an enclave of embassies on leafy Gogol. Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, our visa took 3 days to process and cost $30 US, compared with the 5 day option at $30 US.

Tashkent is not necessarily the easiest place to pick up a China visa. The attendant scrutinised our passports and cross-examined us as to our reason for returning to Xinjiang, a politically sensitive area - we had visited the year before. We were also required to prove we could support ourselves in China - our visa card was inspected and our dollars counted. At one point we were asked for a letter of support but luckily the matter was dropped. Our tactic was to stress invented visits to Chengdu and Kunming, very much Han Chinese cities. We pressed for a month visa and were lucky to get it, as other travellers only received 2 weeks. Naturally, we didn't mention the bikes.

Despite our mini grilling, Tashkent does seem an easier place than Bishkek. Other travellers reported the need foor a letter of introduction, arranged by a travel agency for around 30US, taking a week.

In the event, we have decided not to push on to Kashgar, and will not be using our visas. Next time!