Visa requirements constantly change, usually to the advantage of the traveller so the below info is only as relevant as June of 2018.
Kazakhstan: Visa free travel Kyrgyzstan: Visa free travel Tajikistan: 45 Day Electronic visas are available at https://www.evisa.tj/index.evisa.html and the application only takes 10-15 minutes to complete. The cost is $50 USD, and an additional $25 if you plan on visiting the GBAO area which encompasses most of the pamir highway, the area east of Khorog. A document upload is part of the application and once paid by credit card a confirmation email will be sent. It took about two days to get the approved visa emailed. A hard copy makes things easier when visiting the GBAO as it is checked at the many checkpoints unless you prefer to hand over your phone each time. Note: If visiting Afghanistan one can obtain another single entry e-visa to avoid the multiple entry visa that has to be mailed to the embassy. The cost is the same amount again, just update the entry dates. Total Cost: $50-$75 USD per entry Afghanistan: We applied for the 30 Day visa in Khorog, Tajikistan which was an easy and quick process. The consulate is only open Monday-Friday from 9-12 in the morning. We filled out the application form, provided a photo and wrote a letter stating we take full responsibility for our safety while traveling in Afghanistan. The cost was $150 USD per person and the consulate had the visa ready in less than one hour. We visited Afghanistan the same day. Total Cost: $150 USD - Exact Cash Only Uzbekistan: Since there was no Embassy in Canada we had to mail the application form, photo, passports and bank draft (no other payment option) to the embassy in Washington. The application form can be filled out at http://evisa.mfa.uz/evisa_en/ but does ask for an address and places one plans to visit. It can be printed and then mailed in. The bank draft has to be in USD for $60 per person. It has to be mailed by Fedex or UPS and has to include a prepaid return envelope. The turn around time was one week from the time we mailed it and got it back so it’s fairly quick. The big cost is the mailing to and back which added up to ~$150 Canadian Dollars. Total Cost: $60 USD for visa + draft cost (~7.50 CND) + mailing cost (~150 CND) Note: Starting July Uzbekistan introduced a 30 Day Electronic visa as well, but we have not met anyone who had successfully gone through this process during our travels. Information is here: https://e-visa.gov.uz/main and the cost is $20 USD considerably less than what we had to pay. To find out more about eligibility for other nationalities beside Canadians check out this useful website: https://www.uzbekistanvisa.org Turkmenistan: The visa is issued on arrival at the border, in our case at Ashgabat airport. However, a letter of invitation (LOI) is needed to even get on a flight to Turkmenistan plus an organized tour needs to be booked (exception are transit visas). To get the LOI we had to complete a basic application form, scan a photo, copy of our passports and email it to the travel agency that we used for the organized tour. The cost was included in the tour price. The turn around time was almost exactly three weeks to get the LOI emailed back. We printed the letter and it was checked before boarding the plane and is needed to actually get the visa when arriving. The visa on arrival can be paid by credit card (no additional fees) or US Cash and the whole process took about 20 minutes. Go to the visa queue, provide passport and letter, pay at the bank and return with receipt to collect visa. Total Cost: $85 USD + $14 USD (migration fee) = $99 USD per person Happy Travels!
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