Visa-free non-CIS counties
The citizens of Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and the USA may enter the territory of Kazakhstan with all types of valid passports for a stay for up to 15 days until December 31, 2017.
Starting January, 2017 the citizens of 1. USA; 2 Australia; 3. Austria; 4. Belgium; 5. UAE; 6. German;y 7. Greece; 8. Denmark; 9. New Zealand; 10.Japan; 11.Israel; 12.Ireland; 13.Iceland; 14.Spain; 15. Italy; 16. Canada; 17.Korea; 18. Latvia; 19. Luxembourg; 20. Hungary; 21. Malaysia; 22. Mexico; 23. Monaco; 24.Netherlands; 25.Norway; 26. Poland; 27. Portugal; 28. Singapore; 29. Slovenia; 30. Slovakia; 31.Turkey; 32. UK; 33. Finland; 34. France; 35. Check Republic; 36. Chile; 37. Switzerland; 38. Sweden; 39. Estonia may enter the territory of Kazakhstan with all types of valid passports for a stay for up to 30 days.
Kazakhstan Standard Time
Kazakhstan standard Time is 6 hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +6), 5 hour in advance of central European winter time and 10 hours in advance of United States eastern standard time throughout the year. There are 2 time zone differences within the country (GMT+ 5 and +6), with Almaty and Astana GMT +6.
Security and Safety
Crime does exist in Kazakhstan, so I would advise you to take a few basic precautions. All valuables are recommended to be locked in the safe of your hotel. The thieves usually operate in public transport, private taxies and crowded areas, such as outdoor markets. Kazakhstani police are easily recognised in their blue uniforms and by their white (grey) and blue patrol vehicles.
Phoning overseas from Kazakhstan
If you wish to make a call overseas, you must first dial +. You then dial the country code, area code of the city or region and the number of the person you wish to call. e.g. if you make a call to USA, telephone number you must dial +1-812-123-45-67
Currency
The Kazakhstani tenge is used here and notes come in denominations of 200KZT, 500KZT, 1000KZT, 2000KZT, 5000KZT, 10000KZT. Coins come in 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 KZT
Wi-Fi
Visitors can register for a free public Wi-Fi account with their foreign mobile numbers at airport, hotels, shoping mall areas, restaurants. The wi-fi is usually password-protected, and the pswd is provided to the clients.
Local sim-cards
Visitors can purchase a sim card from a local telecommunication company (KCell, Beeline, Tele 2, Altel). The offices are located in every big store as well as at the airport (2nd level). The average cost is about 3000 tenge (or about $10) for a monthly plan, including internet access and local calls.
Language
You wont easly find Kazakhstanis who speak English. The official languages are Kazakh and Russian. Most of the restaurants don’t offer menu in English, the signs in the city don’t have English names, therefore carrying English-Russian vocabulary is an essential. But the subway is adopted to the non-CIS tourists.
Weather
Kazakhstan has 4 seasons, the climate is continental, with temperatures usually reaching over 30°C in summer and below -10 C in winter.
Power Plug
The standard electrical current used in Kazakhstan is 220 and you can use power plugs with two square prongs here.
Tipping
The 10% service fee is always included to the bills, but tipping is encouraged when you experience good service.
No Smoking Areas
You are not allowed to smoke in all air-conditioned places, such as malls and eateries. There are designated smoking areas.
Safe Drinking Water
You can drink water straight from the tap. You can also buy bottled water easily.
Useful Numbers
Police
102
Ambulance
103
Fire Brigade
101
Flight Information
155