Visas and entry
Georgia and Azerbaijan: two very different entry rules
Tbilisi and Baku are neighbours a short flight apart, they are frequently sold as one trip, and their entry systems have almost nothing in common. Planning them as a pair without knowing that is the usual way a Caucasus itinerary goes wrong.
Georgia is unusually open
Georgia operates one of the more liberal entry policies in the region. A wide range of nationalities may enter without a visa for an extended period — considerably longer than the ninety days typical elsewhere — and the process at Tbilisi airport is correspondingly quick.
Georgia also recognises certain visas and residence permits issued by other countries as a basis for visa-free entry, which is one of the genuine exceptions to the passport-only rule and a real convenience for anyone living abroad on such a permit.
Long permitted stays are not permission to work or reside, and the authorities distinguish between visiting and living there. For an ordinary holiday, none of this is a constraint.
Azerbaijan is pre-approval, every time
Azerbaijan runs an electronic visa system called ASAN Visa for most visitors who are not visa-exempt. It is fast and inexpensive, but it is emphatically not a visa-on-arrival: approval has to exist before you board.
This is where a combined trip most often fails. Travellers apply Georgia's rules to both countries, arrive at the airport for the Baku leg, and are refused boarding — not by Azerbaijan, but by the airline, which is liable for returning passengers denied entry.
Apply through the official ASAN system directly. As with Turkey, there is an entire industry of intermediary sites charging a markup to submit the same form.
Doing both in one trip
The pairing is popular for a good reason: the two capitals are a short hop apart, the cities are genuinely different from one another, and fares are usually reasonable in both directions.
Plan it in this order. Confirm your Azerbaijani e-visa first, because it is the step that can refuse you; treat Georgia as the flexible half. Then book the flights around the approval rather than hoping it arrives in time.
Note also that the land border between the two has been subject to closures and changing rules, so an itinerary that assumes an overland crossing carries more risk than one built on two separate flights.
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Common questions
- Is the Azerbaijani e-visa available at the airport?
- No, and this is the mistake worth avoiding. It must be approved before departure. Airlines check for it at the departure gate, so an application made on the way to the airport does not help you.
- Does a Georgian entry stamp affect entry to Azerbaijan?
- No. Travel between Georgia and Azerbaijan is ordinary. The sensitivity in the region concerns evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a separate matter from a Georgian stamp.
- How long should I allow for the e-visa?
- The standard service is quoted in working days and an expedited option exists. Allow more than the minimum: applications are occasionally referred for further checks, and the cost of a delay is a missed flight rather than a rescheduled form.
Where this applies
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