How I was denied an Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival. Although there is an Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival it is available to the citizens of only 14 countries. And, as a country, which I am drawn to, I have visited it thrice in the span of five years. While every visit is unique, the country has never failed to amaze me with sheer elegance and an air of mystery.
But every time I had to visit the Republic of Azerbaijan, I had to take care of the visa formalities. As a resident of Florida possessing a Green Card, I opted for a visa on arrival on my second visit, personally, I favour the e-visa in advance. While I had chosen the ASAN visa or Azeri e-visa on the other two accounts, here is my experience with both.
[su_button url=”https://blinkvisa.com/visa/azerbaijan-tourist-visa” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#F49122″ color=”#ffffff” size=”6″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#ffffff” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #fffffff”]Apply for Azerbaijan E-Visa[/su_button]
Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival Denied
While I was able to travel Azerbaijan using my visa on arrival, which entitled me to a stay period of 30 days, my co-passenger and his family weren’t fortunate enough. They were denied entry as the family had visited Armenia a while ago.
Now, this may sound like a downer, but I recommend to visit Azerbaijan first when you are planning on touring Armenia alongside. Although neighbours, the nations do not have a good diplomatic relation. Nevertheless, you can enter Armenia after visiting Azerbaijan but you cannot enter Azerbaijan after visiting Armenia.
Thus, rather than an on-arrival visa, travellers prefer the Azerbaijan e-visa or ASAN visa.
Conditional visa on arrival in Azerbaijan
Although the visa on arrival is granted to around 14 countries, there are certain conditions one must comply. For instance, to avail a visa on arrival, I had to take a flight directly from New York.
Also, I had to board an Azerbaijan Airlines. In fact, this was the pre-requisite to get a visa upon arriving Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the below mentioned eligible nations may arrive via any of the airlines and may stay up to 30 days.
Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival Eligible Nations
- Qatar
- Oman
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Bahrain Kuwait
- Japan
- Indonesia
- The Islamic Republic of Iran
- People’s Republic of China
- Republic of Korea
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Israel
- United Arab Emirates
I was surprised to see the crowd at the Immigration office of the airport despite the fact that it is granted to only 14 nationals. Thus, you will have to wait endlessly to get your hands on the visa.
Visa on arrival costs more than e-visa
Now, this was truly a shocker. On my first visit, for my e-visa in advance, I paid $20 and an additional $4 as processing and international operations charges.
The second time, I could not apply for a visa in advance, thus, opted to seek one upon arrival. And I was expecting it to cost me much lower than an e-visa.
On the contrary, it cost me $26 where I had to pay the exact change, not a penny more. Though there is the option of paying via credit/debit card, the price difference was indeed a dampener.
Needless to say, the period awaiting in the long queue certainly grated on my nerves. It is the precious moments I lost lounging at the airport while I would rather have spent exploring the destination.
Moreover, the fairly higher cost of a visa on arrival when compared to the advance visa is something one must often consider. It is one of the major reasons, I choose the online visa in advance over the visas upon arrival.
Azerbaijan Visa for Indians
The third time, however, was a completely different experience. In fact, it was the most convenient ways of applying for an Azeri e-visa. Then, at that time around, I had to apply for an Azerbaijan visa from India. While I had an Indian passport, the proceedings were taken care of by this reliable visa agency.
The first time I paid $24, and the second time it was $26. Although I paid INR 2240 ($30), surprisingly enough I got the complete cashback. Don’t believe me, check this out for yourself.
Did you know?
You need to pay the complete visa fee when applying for an Azeri ASAN visa on the government site or other visa agents who charge double the amount. But at Blinkvisa, they charge only INR 500 to process your application. The rest could be paid after visa approval. And the best part, you will get a 100% cashback on the entire visa fee, service charges and taxes included.
Read more: Azerbaijan Visa Fee
Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival vs. Azerbaijan E-visa or ASAN Visa
An ASAN Visa or Azerbaijan e-visa is similar to a visa on arrival. Nevertheless, the difference lies in the fact that close to 95 countries are eligible for the former and also, it is a visa in advance.
| Azerbaijan E-visa | Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival | |
| Eligible countries | 95 | 14 |
| Stay Period | up to 30 days | up to 30days |
| Registration for stay exceeding 15 days | Yes | Yes |
| Cashback on Visa Fee | Yes | No |
[su_button url=”https://blinkvisa.com/visa/azerbaijan-tourist-visa” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#F49122″ color=”#ffffff” size=”6″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#ffffff” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #fffffff”]Apply for Azerbaijan E-Visa[/su_button]
Azerbaijan e-visa or online visa is also referred to as Azerbaijan tourist visa. Let’s take a look at the Azerbaijan visa online.
Read more: Azerbaijan Tourist Visa
Getting the application right for the first time was a pretty cumbersome experience. And, although the form was quite a simple one, I had to be very specific with the most basic segments like the name section. After five to six attempts I was able to nail it right only after which, I was directed to the payment option.
The second time as you already know, I had to tolerate the long queue which never seemed to end. And the third time was the easiest where I applied for my Azerbaijan Visa Online from India by visiting www.blinkvisa.com
So, here is how I applied via an online visa agent,
Step-by-step application process
- Visit www.blinkvisa.com or click here
- Select the country, type of visa and provide your basic details
- Fill in your tentative travel date, return date, number of applicants, etc information
- Pay INR 500 to initiate your application and receive INR 2240 as cashback
- Upload your documents and receive your visa in three working days
- Pay the remaining visa fee to download the e-visa
Read more, Azerbaijan Visa Application Process
Azerbaijan Visa Online FAQs
1. Is there an Azerbaijan Visa on Arrival for Indians?
While there is no visa on arrival for Indians, they may opt for the ASAN visa or e-visa, which is a visa in advance and enables a stay period of up to 30 days, which is same as the visa on arrival. Also, read Azerbaijan Visa for Indians.
2. What are the Azerbaijan Visa Requirements?
The requirements are as follows;
- Passport with a validity of more than three months at the time of exiting the country or visa expiry.
- Copy of your latest passport-sized photograph.
For more information on the requirements for various Azeri visa categories, refer to Azerbaijan Visa Requirements.
3. Is my Azerbaijan visa fee refundable?
The Republic of Azerbaijan charges the applicable visa fee to process one’s visa application. Thus, even if the visa gets rejected, the fee is non-refundable.
On the other hand, at Blinkvisa, one needs to pay only INR 500 and the remaining fee may be paid after visa approval, to download the visa. Moreover, Blinkvisa provides a 100% cashback which is akin to refund.
