Kazakhstan border crossings: which ones foreigners can use

If you are not a citizen of Kazakhstan or the country next door, you can only cross at a multilateral checkpoint. Bilateral crossings look the same on a map but will turn you back. The tables below come from Kazakhstan’s official list of crossing points (Government Resolution No. 697) and the bilateral agreements that set each checkpoint’s status and hours.

Multilateral vs bilateral: the rule that matters

Kazakhstan’s border crossing rules (Resolution No. 977, para. 24) define multilateral points as open to people “regardless of citizenship” and bilateral points as open “only to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the neighbouring state”. International treaties decide which is which.

A crossing point is not the same as the border zone. Border-zone permits apply to travel inside Kazakhstan near the frontier; see our border zone permits page. Entry requirements for Kazakhstan itself are on the visa page.

Kyrgyzstan

The road crossings with Kyrgyzstan are not in the open text of Resolution No. 697. Their list, status and hours come from the 2003 intergovernmental agreement (ratified in 2005, amended in 2016 and 2019).

Two draft protocols would change this. One, approved for signing in 2023, makes Kegen a 24-hour crossing; another, from 2025, replaces Kamyshanovka with a new multilateral 24-hour point at Aksu and upgrades Besagash. We could not confirm that either has entered into force, so the table above still applies. The busiest route, via Korday, is covered step by step on Almaty to Bishkek. Remember that Bishkek is one hour ahead of Kazakhstan (time zone).

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is the easiest neighbour for walkers. The 2001 agreement explicitly allows crossing at road checkpoints by vehicle or on foot (Art. 2), and the protocol as amended by Law No. 346-VIII of 9 July 2026 lists every crossing as international and open 24 hours.

One caveat: the national list (No. 697) still shows Tselinny and Syrdarya as bilateral, while the 2026 protocol makes them multilateral. The national list has not been updated since March 2024, so check those two with the border service. For the trip itself, see Almaty to Tashkent.

China

There are five road and two rail crossings with China. All are multilateral in the national list, though the documents disagree about Kolzhat.

Under the 2012 draft agreement, road crossings open Monday to Saturday, 08:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00 Astana time, and close on both countries’ public holidays, including Nauryz, 1 and 9 May, Chinese New Year and 1–3 October. We found no record of ratification, so treat these hours as indicative and check before travelling.

The Khorgos International Centre for Boundary Cooperation is a special case. Under Article 15 of the 2005 agreement, citizens of Kazakhstan, China and third countries who are legally present on either side can enter the centre without a visa for up to 30 days. You must leave through the checkpoint you entered by; to continue into the other country you need a passport, a visa and a full crossing at the Khorgos checkpoints. The centre’s hours are 08:30–18:00 from 1 May to 30 September and 09:00–17:00 from 1 October to 30 April, Astana time. Those hours date from 2015, when Astana was on UTC+6, so they may have shifted by an hour since Kazakhstan moved to UTC+5.

Russia

Russia has the longest border and the most crossings, and roughly half of the road crossings are bilateral.

All 20 rail crossings with Russia in the national list are multilateral, so train travellers do not face this problem. See trains in Kazakhstan.

Turkmenistan and the Caspian

Both crossings with Turkmenistan are in Mangystau region and multilateral: Temirbaba by road and Bolashak by rail. The Caspian seaports of Aktau, Bautino and Kuryk are multilateral sea crossings.

Queues and the control itself

Border control works on a first-come, first-served basis, with no appointments or fast-track, except at crossings that run an electronic queue booking system (KNB Order No. 42/қе, para. 8). Seriously ill people, scheduled buses and vehicles carrying animals, perishable or dangerous goods go to the front (para. 14).

Legally, the border for people is the passport control line (Art. 19 of the Law on the State Border). If you are driving a rental car, check with the rental company that it may leave the country; see car rental.