Politics of Turkmenistan
Constitution People's Council Chairman:Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow President Serdar Berdimuhamedow Cabinet Assembly Speaker:Dünýägözel Gulmanowa State Security Council Political parties Agrarian Party Democratic Party Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Recentelections Presidential:2012 2017 2022 Parliamentary:2018 2021 2023 Administrative divisions Region Districts Cities Foreign relations Visa policy Human rights Ruhnama
Other countries
v t e

Citizens of all countries require a visa to enterTurkmenistan unless they havespecial passports. To obtain a tourist visa for Turkmenistan, all foreign citizens must supply an invitation letter issued by a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan.^[1]

Holders of a letter of invitation issued by a company registered in Turkmenistan with a prior approval from theMinistry of Foreign Affairs may obtain a visa on arrival valid for 10 days, and extendable for another 10 days.^[2]

There are plans to introduceelectronic visas and abolish the requirement of a letter of invitiation. A decree that will introduce these changes was signed byPresidentSerdar Berdimuhamedow and entered into force on April 18, 2025. The types of electronic visas that will be available, how they will be issued, and how long they will be valid for are still to be decided by the Turkmen President. This new law aims to allow smoother business visits and potentially boost foreign tourism.^[3][4][5]

• United Nations Laissez-Passer — from 2023, foreign citizens with UN passports were allowed up to 30 calendar days from the date of arrival in Turkmenistan without a visa to come to Turkmenistan, stay in it, travel outside it, cross the border, and cross the territory in transit the territory of Turkmenistan. Foreign citizens who are employees of the United Nations or its specialized agencies accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, as well as members of their families, were exempt from visa issuance during the period of work in Turkmenistan.^[6][7][8]

• Uzbekistan — from November 2025 citizens of Uzbekistan can visit the Shavat-Dashoguz Border Trade Zone without a visa.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Holders of diplomatic, official and service passports ofArmenia,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Bulgaria,China,Georgia,Hungary,Iran,Japan (90 days),Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Moldova,Mongolia,Malaysia,^[13]Romania,Russia,Switzerland,^[14]Singapore,Slovakia,South Korea,Tajikistan,Turkey,Ukraine,United Arab Emirates and holders of diplomatic passports ofEstonia,India,Pakistan andUzbekistan do not require a visa to visit Turkmenistan for up to 30 days (unless otherwise stated).^[2] Holders of diplomatic passports ofCanada and theUnited States may obtain a free visa on arrival.^[2]

A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places:Kerki,Hazar,Dashoguz,Serakhs andSerhetabat.^[15]

Entry and transit is refused to holders of passports of the following jurisdictions, even if not leaving the aircraft and proceeding by the same flight:

Turkmenistan is generally considered one of the most isolationist and least visited countries in the world. In comparison with other countries with strict visa policies, very few foreigners are granted a Turkmenistani visa. Directly after independence, in the 1990s, Turkmenistan was a slightly more open country than it is now, and in 1998, for example, 300,000 foreigners visited the country. Between 2000 and 2013, however, the number of visas issued decreased significantly, due to the enactedisolationism, theTurkmen government's self-professedneutral status andtotalitarian regime.^[16]

Year	Visitors
1992—1994	No data
1995	218,000[17]
1996	217,000[17]
1997	257,000[17]
1998	300,000[17]
1999	No data
2000	3,256[18]
2001	5,200[17]
2002	10,800[17]
2003	8,200[17]
2004	14,800[17]
2005	11,600[17]
2006	5,600[17]
2007	8,177[18]
2008	9,777[18]
2009	7,628[18]
2010	9,631[18]
2011	8,687[18]
2012—2013	No data
2014	More 110,000[19]
2015	More 110,000[19]
2016	More 130,000[19]
2017	More 130,000[19]
2018	More 130,000[19]
Total (1995-1998, 2000-2011 and 2014-2018)	More 1,700,000[19]

Country	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2011[18]	2010[18]	2009[18]	2008[18]	2007[18]	2000[18]
Uzbekistan	108,288[20]	105,269[21]	98,176[22]	96,604[23]	77,387[24]	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data
Iran	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	3,874	3,397	2,391	2,355	2,133	122
Germany	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	1,143	1,277	1,392	1,576	1,338	270
United States	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	531	660	535	663	566	430
Italy	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	277	392	412	595	600	340
Japan	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	253	388	344	508	537	282
Netherlands	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	245	238	296	439	160	95
France	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	212	230	315	232	682	650
Other	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	2,080	2,799	1,803	3,313	2,081	999
Total	No data	No data	No data	No data	No data	8,697	9,631	7,628	9,777	8,177	3,256

Country	2021[25]	2020[25]	2019[25]	2018[25]	2017[25]	2016[25]	2015[25]	2014[25]	2013[25]	2012[25]	2011[25]	2010[25]
Russia	6,096	11,322	30,504	28,127	27,490	29,047	28,470	29,530	34,494	36,387	42,664	45,052

Passengers transiting throughAşgabat International Airport do not require a visa.^[26][27]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forTurkmenistan.

• Visa requirements for Turkmen citizens
• Turkmenistan passport
• Ashgabat International Airport
• Turkmenistan Airlines

• State Migration Service of TurkmenistanArchived 2017-02-28 at theWayback Machine

• Visa policy by country
• Foreign relations of Turkmenistan

• CS1 errors: missing title
• CS1 errors: bare URL
• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links