Kazakhstan Business Visa for Pakistani Citizens: B-Series Visit Visas vs the C5 Business Immigrant Visa, Why Founders Need C5, the Embassy in Islamabad and Its Appointed Agency, Documents, Fees, Timelines and the Rules After Arrival

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

A Kazakhstan business visa for Pakistani applicants is where more Pakistani entrepreneurs go wrong than anywhere else in the corridor, because the visa that gets you into a meeting in Almaty is not the visa that lets you register a company there. This guide separates the B-series visit visa from the C5 business immigrant visa, explains the legal reason founders need C5, and sets out the embassy process, the documents, and the deadlines that start running the moment a C5 holder lands.

It draws on egov.kz, Kazakh law firms and Pakistani visa agencies; it is general information, and the embassy and a Kazakh lawyer should confirm current rules. Read it with our Kazakhstan business setup guide.

Two visas, two purposes

• B-series (B1–B3): business visit visas for negotiations, contracts, exhibitions and short assignments; no right to found a company or work, per the classification on egov.kz.
• C5: the business immigrant visa for foreigners coming to establish a company; the legal basis for a foreign founder, per KD Legal.

The B-series business visit visa

Issued on an invitation from a Kazakh organisation approved by the migration police, for single or multiple entries with stays typically capped at 30 or 90 days per visit. It suits a Pakistani exporter visiting distributors, attending an exhibition in Astana or Almaty, or negotiating with a partner. It does not permit founding a company, being registered as a participant, or working.

The C5 business immigrant visa

Under Article 40 of the Law on Migration, a foreigner who does not hold a C5 business immigrant visa cannot be a founder of a Kazakh company; C5 is single-entry for up to 90 days, issued only abroad, and the holder must register the company and pay in the charter capital within two to three months of entry, per KD Legal and egov.kz. It requires a certificate confirming the absence of diseases barring entry and a certificate of no ban on running a business, per WPK.

Why founders cannot use a visit visa

The migration law ties the right to found to the C5 category, and the registrar checks the founder’s status; an LLP registered by a foreigner on a tourist or B-series visa risks refusal or later invalidation, and the founder cannot obtain the IIN and EDS needed for registration without the right basis. Consultants and lawyers are unanimous on this point, per KD Legal. Enter on C5 if you will be a founder; enter on B-series if you will only visit.

The invitation

• B-series: a Kazakh host organisation applies to the migration police for an invitation (vyzov) in your name; approval takes about a week and is transmitted to the embassy.
• C5: the applicant or their lawyer files a business plan and supporting documents with the local executive body (akimat) of the intended region, which issues the invitation; this takes several weeks, per KD Legal.

Tourist letters of invitation from agencies cost about USD 40, per Trips.pk; they are not business invitations.

The embassy and its appointed agency

Pakistan is not on Kazakhstan’s e-visa list, per Baltas Tour; applications go through the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Islamabad, which works through an appointed agency charging about PKR 8,000 for submission, per Trips.pk. The agency submits; it does not decide, and a consultant’s service fee is separate. See our student visa guide for the same submission mechanics.

Documents

• Passport valid at least six months beyond the visa, with blank pages.
• Completed application form and photos.
• Approved invitation number or original.
• Health insurance for the visa period.
• Bank statement, commonly three to six months; see our bank statement guide.
• Company letter or, for the self-employed, SECP and NTN documents.
• C5 only: business plan, certificate of no ban on business activity, medical certificate confirming absence of barred diseases, per WPK; apostilled corporate documents where a foreign company is the founder, per FCHAIN.

Pakistan is an Apostille Convention member since 2023; see our attestation guide.

Fees and processing

Consular fees vary by category and entries; the agency fee is about PKR 8,000; processing is 10–15 working days, per CC Consultings, with security screening adding five to twelve days and a gap after invitation approval before arrival, as described in our student visa guide. Allow six to eight weeks from invitation request to travel for B-series and longer for C5 because of the akimat stage.

After arrival: registration, IIN and the clock

• Registration of your stay is handled by the host or hotel; keep the confirmation.
• A C5 holder obtains an IIN in person at a public service centre, then an EDS, then registers the LLP on eGov in one working day, per egov.kz.
• The two-to-three-month clock to register and fund the company starts at entry, per KD Legal; plan the bank account and capital transfer before you fly.

From C5 to residence and work permit

C5 is single-entry and short; to manage the company on site the founder applies for a temporary residence permit through the migration police, per egov.kz, and a work permit as director. Managing remotely through a local director avoids this. See our work permit guide.

Common mistakes

• Entering on a tourist or B-series visa and trying to found a company.
• Applying for C5 inside Kazakhstan; it is issued only abroad.
• Missing the two-to-three-month registration and capital deadline.
• Treating the appointed agency’s fee as a consultant’s service.
• Arriving without the IIN plan and losing weeks.

A timeline

• C5, twelve weeks before travel: business plan and documents filed with the akimat via a lawyer.
• Eight weeks: invitation issued; medicals, no-ban certificate, insurance, bank statement.
• Six weeks: file submitted through the agency in Islamabad.
• Two weeks: visa collected; flight to Almaty or Astana booked.
• Week one after arrival: IIN, EDS, LLP registration, bank account opened, capital paid.
• Before C5 expires: TRP and work permit application if staying, or departure and remote management.

Bottom line

A Kazakhstan business visa for Pakistani entrepreneurs means a B-series visit visa for meetings and a C5 business immigrant visa for founding, both paper visas through the embassy in Islamabad on an approved invitation. Found only on C5, issued abroad, and land with the IIN, bank account and capital plan ready, because the registration clock runs from entry; then choose between remote management and the TRP and work permit route.