Central Asia Visa FAQs

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We have collected a list of some of the most common questions about Central Asia Visas to help you with any questions you may have. Our Central Asia Visa FAQs have been put into 6 handy categories.

Click on a category to jump to that section:


LETTERS OF INVITATION
What is a Letter of Invitation?
A Letter of Invitation is a document issued with the help of our local suppliers to facilitate a visa application. The Letter of Invitation usually needs to be approved by an official Government body such as The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What is an LOI / Visa support document?
L.O.I. stands for Letter of Invitation. We sometimes refer to these letters as LOI's or Visa support documents but it is essentially the same thing.

Which countries do I require a Letter of Invitation before getting a visa?
This does depend on your nationality and where you wish to obtain your visa. All nationals should check with their respective embassies for more information regarding individual requirements. However, Dragoman also has additional visa information in our Trip Notes. We do try and keep this information as up to date as possible and ask all customers to check the trip notes before departure for the latest information or any changes to the visa notes. All nationalities require a Letter of Invitation for Turkmenistan and most nationalities require a letter of Invitation for Uzbekistan.

Where do I find my Trip Notes?
Trip Notes for your trip can be found on Dragoman's website under the Dates and Prices tab for your particular trip.

Who supplies me with a Letter of Invitation?
Dragoman will apply for a letter of Invitation for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on the clients behalf.
However we do need specific details from clients in order to be able to apply. We collect these details by asking all customers booked on a Central Asia trip to fill out the Central Asia Visa form - see notes further in this document.

How does the application process work?
Dragoman will apply for the Letter of Invitation on your behalf. We can only apply for a Letter of Invitation 3 Months before you are due to enter the country so that the Letters of Invitation are still valid (you have to then apply for the visa within this 3 month period of validity). In order for us to do this we need you to complete the Central Asia Visa form as this will give us passport details and location of the visa application. This information is required before we can apply for a Letter of Invitation. Once we have gathered the required information we will send this off along with a copy of your passport to our local suppliers in either Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. They in turn apply to the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs for authorization. Once the Letter of Invitation has been granted Dragoman will forward this letter to you. You can then apply for your visa at your nominated Embassy or Consulate.

How long can I expect to wait until I receive a Letter of Invitation?
It will 2-3 weeks for the Letter of Invitation to be issued, from the date the application was sent. It is therefore vital that we get your Central Asia & China Visa form, Colour copy of your passport and Letter of Employment as soon as possible after booking, preferably 4 months before your trip starts so we can get the process started for your application as soon as it is 3 months before the trips starts date.

Who do I contact if I need to follow up on my Letter of Invitation?
Please contact your sales consultant or agent that you booked through.

What happens if my application for a Letter of Invitation is rejected?
This does happen from time to time and in most instances we will not find out why the application was rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the relevant country. If the application for a Letter of Invitation is rejected please contact your sales consultant.


CENTRAL ASIA & CHINA VISA FORM– (C.A.V Form)
What is a Central Asia & China Visa form (C.A.V. Form)?
The Central Asia & China Visa form is a form we require all of our customers booked on a trip travelling through Central Asia and China.
The China section is ONLY for customers entering China from Kyrgyzstan.
This form is used by Dragoman to give us the necessary information to apply for a Letter of Invitation on the customers behalf.

Where can I find the Central Asia & China Visa Form?
The Central Asia & China Visa Form can be found in Dragoman's Trip Notes under the visa notes section. You will see a link in the individual country visa notes text.

What do I need to complete the Asia Visa form?
You will need your Passport and a copy of Dragoman's trip notes. The information in the trip notes will help you decide where to apply for your visas.

Who do I send the completed Asia visa form to?
This depends on who you booked your trip with.
If you booked directly through Dragoman the Asia Visa form will need to be returned to Dragoman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
If you have any further questions regarding visas please contact your sales consultant.
If you have booked your trip with an alternative travel agent, your travel agent will liaise with Dragoman on your behalf.
Agents - Please send all Central Asia & China Visa forms to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Do I need to send anything else to Dragoman?
As soon as you have booked your trip we will need you to provide:

  • Completed Central Asia visa form
  • Good quality colour copy of your passport
  • Letter of Employment - Uzbekistan ONLY (Letter from your employer on letter headed paper confirming that you are travelling for holiday purposes) or if your are a student, a letter from your place of study confirming you are in fact, a student. If you are unemployed, self employed or retired at the time of booking please indicate this on the Central Asia & China Visa form as a Letter if Employment in these cases are not required.

Who do I contact if I need to change details on my Central Asia & China Visa Form?
If you have booked directly with Dragoman please contact your sales consultant. If you have booked through another travel agency please contact this agency with any changes as soon as possible. If your passport details have changed, Dragoman will require a new good quality copy of your passport. Please note that if you wish to change the location of obtaining a visa from example from ‘London’ to ‘Istanbul’ Dragoman will need to apply for a new Letter of Invitation and this will cause delay to the process. We also cannot guarantee that the second application will be successful. Please contact your sales consultant if this is the case.


GETTING YOUR VISA
When can I apply for my Visa?
You can apply for your visa as soon as you have a copy of your letter of Invitation. If you are getting your visa en route with the group you will still need to take a copy of the Letter of Invitation with you in order to apply for a Visa.

Where can I apply for my Visa?
You can apply for a visa in any country with an Embassy or Consulate and in some case you can obtain visas en route with the group leaders. Please refer to the Trip Notes for all options.

What if there isn’t an Embassy or Consulate is my Country of residency (for example Australia/ New Zealand)
Again please refer to your trip notes. In some case you will have to post your passport and application overseas in order to obtain a visa beforehand (please take into account postage time to/from the Embassy/Consulate when you apply). It is also possible to obtain a visa on arrival at a main airports (Ashgabat, Tashkent, and Bishkek). If you wish to do this we will require full Entry / Exit Flight details on your Central Asia & China Visa form. In some cases it is also possible to obtain visas en route with you Group Leader. For further information regarding all of these options please read the Trip Notes.

What if I haven’t booked any flights yet?
Please still fill out the other information requested on the Central Asia & China Visa form and send this back to Dragoman with your estimated date of arrival. We only require full flight information (Flight number, date & arrival time) from you if you are planning to obtain a visa on arrival in Ashgabat, Tashkent or Bishkek. If you do want to obtain a visa on arrival we cannot apply for a Letter of Invitation for you until we have these flight details so it is important that you book a flight as soon as possible and send these additional details to Dragoman. If you are finishing your trip and flying out of Ashgabat, Tashkent or Bishkek and have not yet booked flights (or are travelling overland), again please give details of an estimated date of departure to Dragoman.

Who do I contact if I need advice on where to obtain my visas?
Firstly please refer to your trip notes for your particular trip as this is where visa information is given. If anything is still unclear after reading your trip notes please contact your sales consultant.  
If you have booked through an agent, please contact them explaining the information that you require and they will liaise with Dragoman.

What do I do if I need to change the place of obtaining a visa?
It is often very difficult for us to change the place of obtaining a visa if we have already applied for your Letter of Invitation as the location is written on the Letter of Invitation. Dragoman would have to apply for a new Letter of Invitation which would then take a further 2-3 weeks for this to be issued and will cause delays to the visa process. We therefore can only do this in very exceptional circumstances. Dragoman will also need to charge an application fee to the customer for a second application. It is therefore very important that you are very sure of the place you will apply for the visa in advance.

What if I don’t know where I am going to apply for my visas yet?
It is very important that you decide where to obtain your visas well in advance of the trip starting (at least 4 months before or as soon as possible after booking). The Trip Notes should help you decide the best place for you to apply for visas but if you do have any further questions please contact your sales consultant.  
If you have booked through an agent, please contact them explaining the information that you require and they will liaise with Dragoman.


LETTER OF GUARANTEE
What is the difference between a Letter of Invitation and Letter of Guarantee?
A Letter of Invitation is a document approved by an official Government body such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is often essential to obtain a visa. They are necessary for countries such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (for many nationalities).
A Letter of Guarantee is a Letter issued by Dragoman (on letter headed paper) stating that you are traveling with Dragoman on an organized trip with us.

How do I get a Letter of Guarantee?
Please contact your sales consultant at Dragoman. They will be able to supply you with this letter.

What do I need a Letter of Guarantee for?
Embassies and Consulates of Kazakhstan require a Letter of Guarantee to support your visa application.
For some nationalities Embassies or Consulates of Kyrgyzstan will also require a letter.
If you are applying for a Chinese Visa in a country that is NOT your country of citizenship, a letter of Guarantee is usually required to support your application.


KAZAKHSTAN VISAS
Can I get a visa for Kazakhstan on my trip?
NO, There is not time on the trip to do this, you must apply for your visas beforehand.


LATE BOOKINGS
What if I have booked a trip less than 16 weeks before the trip starts?
Please contact your sales consultant. If Dragoman does not consider there to be enough time to apply for Letters of Invitation and then apply for visas then you will not be able to book the trip. If you wish to book this trip around 16 weeks prior to the trip start date your booking will be put ‘on request’ Dragoman will then look at individual circumstances before this booking can be confirmed. If the booking is confirmed will need you to submit the Central Asia & China visa form, a colour copy of your passport and Letter of Employment (for Uzbekistan only) as soon as possible once the booking has been confirmed.

 

 

 

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