Since 2021 it has been possible in Kazakhstan for a foreigner to obtain an IIN (individual identification number) online. But literally yesterday news feeds began reporting that the service had become unavailable “for technical reasons”, and the notice said that it would be unavailable until October. However, as VRKNews.kz reports, today, 27 May, this clarification of the timeframe was removed, and it is now promised that the service will be resumed in the near future.
When trying to order an IIN online on the Egov.kz website, the following message began to appear: “The service is unavailable for technical reasons. We apologise for the inconvenience. The service will be available shortly”.
A day earlier, when trying to order an IIN online on the Egov.kz website, the following message appeared.
“This service is currently unavailable. The planned date for the service to become available again is 1 October 2022,” the message said.
In other words, the remark that the service would become available “from 1 October 2022” has disappeared.
According to official information, a foreign citizen can obtain an IIN independently and free of charge within a day by applying online through Egov.kz.
According to the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan, as of 17 May 34,960 citizens of the Russian Federation and 606 citizens of Ukraine had obtained an IIN in Kazakhstan.
In addition, according to data as of 7 April, Russians and Belarusians had opened 162 thousand bank accounts in Kazakhstan.
What an IIN is
The individual identification number (Kazakh: Жеке сәйкестендіру нөмірі) is a unique 12-digit number assigned to an individual of the Republic of Kazakhstan once and for life. In Kazakhstan it replaced the RNN and SIK from 1 January 2013. It is on the front and back of the new-style Kazakhstan citizen's identity card (since 1 December 2014): on the front, in the lower left corner; on the back, at the end of the first line of the machine-readable zone of the card.
Who issues the IIN
Recall that since 1 January 2021 in Kazakhstan the assigning of IINs to foreigners has been handled by the migration police bodies, through the Non-Profit Joint-Stock Company State Corporation “Government for Citizens”.
Since then, until recently, the service was provided electronically, and as a result of the service a corresponding certificate is issued as an electronic document in PDF format.
How long IIN registration takes in Kazakhstan
Since 2021 an IIN has been assigned to a non-resident without a visit to Kazakhstan, within one working day.
Documents for registering an IIN for a foreigner
- A scanned copy of the foreigner's passport.
- If the foreigner's passport does not give the identification data (surname, first name, patronymic, place of birth) in Cyrillic, a copy of a notarised translation of the passport into Cyrillic must be attached.
- If the passport does not give the identification data (surname, first name, patronymic, place of birth) in Latin script, a copy of a notarised translation of the passport into Latin script must be attached.
- Copies of documents must be made up as a single file in jpg format, no larger than 1 megabyte. Changed 21:35
How a non-resident of Kazakhstan can obtain an electronic digital signature
Everything is set out in a special guide on the website of the National Certification Centre, which issues the electronic digital signature (EDS). A foreigner will need the EDS in order, for example, to open a business or a bank account in Kazakhstan.
