On June 20, during a joint statement with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his country's support for visa facilitation for citizens of Kazakhstan, QazMonitor reports citing the Telegram channel of Akorda.
"This is a very important aspect. We are interested in making it as easy as possible for Kazakh citizens to visit Germany and for German citizens to visit Kazakhstan. Visa matters are handled at the EU level by European agencies, therefore, we endorse the EU's efforts in this regard,” explained Steinmeier.
Earlier, on May 16, Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, expressed the Union's commitment to enhancing interactions between the citizens of both parties. Kazakhstan had previously implemented a unilateral visa-free regime for citizens of all EU states in 2017, aiming to promote business and tourism cooperation.
However, this statement was made following the EU's notification to Kazakhstan regarding updates to the requirements for issuing Schengen visas on February 27. As a result, Kazakh citizens are now required to undergo additional consultations.
