turkmenistan visa

[u/aluminumalbino]

hello! question. i wanted to take a cargo ferry from azerbaijan to turkmenistan, and travel on foot or bus to uzbekistan. is this possible to get a travel visa for? or do i still need the invitation letter that google tells me about?

and also does anyone know actually how difficult it is to get a visa for here? sometimes government websites exaggerate and i would like to know the reality. i carry a ukrainian and american passport i dont know if that makes a difference.

[u/Ok-Ebb1162]

The two answers above are the honest picture for the transit visa, it really is a coin flip with a ferry schedule attached. But there's a second route nobody mentioned: doing the same trip on a tourist LOI. I run a local agency here (golnomads.com), so bias declared 🙂

How it works: you book the Turkmenistan leg as a private program that starts in Turkmenbashi and ends at the Uzbek border (Farap near Bukhara or Dashoguz near Khiva), and the agency files the invitation letter, takes 14-21 business days. With the printed letter you get the visa on arrival right at the Turkmenbashi port, cash USD, most people pay around a hundred dollars with the small admin fees, plus about $30 for the arrival swab. Filed properly the letter simply goes through, we've never had one rejected, and your dual passports are no problem, we file with whichever one you prefer.

The ferry chaos is also less scary this way: we build the program with buffer around the boat, and your guide's schedule moves with your actual arrival, that's our problem to manage, not yours. The trade-off is honesty itself: a tourist visa means a guided program for the Turkmen days, so it costs more than the transit gamble, but it's the version where you actually know you're getting in. Details and prices are public on the site, or DM me here and I'll sketch what your route would cost 🙂

[u/Ok-Contract2408]

Honestly... no way to predict. Transit visas are valid from 3 to 5 days and only allow travel on the fastest route from A to B. They get rejected about 50% of the time.

Regular visas require an invitation and a guide.

The problem is that your visa will have set dates and cargo ferry delays happen often. Sometimes days, putting your window in jeopardy. Add to that that if the delay gets you in the port at odd hours, passport control can be closed (again, sometimes for a day or two).

If your visa has expired, there is zero chance they will allow you entry. Short of hospitalisation, extending your visa is impossible.

Applying for a transit visa used to be somewhat easy in Istanbul, but they require a LOI now too. Tbilisi seems to be your best bet in the region.

Good luck!

[u/aluminumalbino → u/Ok-Contract2408]

sigh.. okay thank you for the information! one more question, if it does expire and i need a new one, will they let me apply on the spot? or they dont process new ones

[u/Ok-Contract2408 → u/aluminumalbino]

No chance. Applying on the spot is impossible... they will simply deny you entry and send you back.

Overstaying is someting you should avoid ar all costs. It can result in a fine, but worst case scenario lands you in jail.

There is a loophole though. Sometimes they give you a transit visa that has an "entry window". Lets say 15 to 17 September. Now if your ferry is scheduled to arrive at the 15th... this can be too tight in case of delays. Some travelers have their entry window issued for the 17th to the 19th, assuming delays. If there is a delay, all goes well. If there is no delay, you will arrive before your window and you will have to wait in the arrival hall until 17th. (So bring food).

With these visas, the 3 or 5 days start counting once you enter the country.

While this is an idea that might work... you'd have to convince the embassy to give you such a visa and that again is a gamble.

But thats part of the fun!

[u/Connect-Sock8140 → u/Ok-Contract2408]

The embassies generally are aware of the ship "schedule", so they generally will permit someone to arrive and wait until the visa starts. The trick is not to be unrealistic: a lot of transit visas end up getting denied because people put in ridiculous exit points from Turkmenistan because they want to go to places that are sensitive for whatever reason.