The Federal Ministry of the Interior has updated its official list of ‘Visumpflichtige Länder’, confirming that a bilateral agreement (BGBl III No. 60/2026) granting visa-free entry to holders of Austrian and Kazakh diplomatic passports has been ratified and takes effect this week. While the waiver targets a narrow category of travellers, it tightens political links and could pave the way for wider facilitation talks covering business and official passports. Kazakhstan is Austria’s most important trading partner in Central Asia, with bilateral goods turnover exceeding €800 million last year, largely in machinery, pharmaceuticals and green-energy technology. Until now, even senior officials required a Schengen C visa to attend conferences or negotiate energy contracts in Vienna. The new rules allow stays of up to 90 days in any 180 without paperwork, aligning Austria with most other EU member-states that have already waived visas for Kazakh diplomats. Practical impact for multinational companies is indirect but real: high-level Kazakh delegations can now visit Austrian headquarters or factories on short notice, smoothing deal-making. Conversely, Austrian trade-missions to Astana gain the same freedom, reducing lead-times for obtaining Kazakh visas. Immigration teams should nonetheless remember that the benefit is limited to biometric diplomatic passports; ordinary and service passports remain subject to standard Schengen or Kazakh procedures. Observers note that the agreement lands as Vienna promotes itself as a gateway for Central Asian investment into the EU single market, and as Kazakhstan courts EU technology partners for its decarbonisation agenda.
