Azerbaijan digital nomad visa: requirements (2026)

Under an agreement signed in Beijing on 23 April 2025, citizens of both countries may stay up to 30 days per trip (90 days within any 180-day period) without a visa, expanding the pool of Chinese remote workers who can enter Azerbaijan visa-free. The MFA list of visa-free countries was updated accordingly.

In 2025, the Ministry of Labour was added as a co-approver on work-permit applications, increasing scrutiny of labour-market impact. Simultaneously, the 'highly qualified' work-permit exemption was expanded to cover any field matching the holder's specialism (not just designated authorities), with status valid up to five years and renewable.

President Aliyev's order created a points-based HSMP through which qualifying foreign professionals score ≥70 of 100 points across qualifications, experience, and salary, and receive up to five years of status, with the right to work without a pre-existing job offer and without counting against work-permit quotas. This is the most accessible long-term pathway for self-employed remote professionals in Azerbaijan.

A Ministry of Economy decision operationalised the May 2023 Migration Code amendment by setting the minimum charter capital at AZN 50,000 and minimum annual turnover at AZN 100,000 for a foreign director of an Azerbaijani legal entity to qualify for a Temporary Residence Permit, closing a previously open-ended standard.

President Aliyev signed amendments adding new Temporary Residence Permit grounds (AZN 100,000 fixed-term bank deposit, state-enterprise securities) and raising the Permanent Residence threshold to AZN 200,000; simultaneously, deputy directors and minority founders of foreign-invested companies lost their automatic work-permit exemption, narrowing the immigration routes that had been used by some self-employed foreign nationals.

Azerbaijan opened its ASAN e-visa portal, enabling nationals of eligible countries to obtain a 30-day single-entry visa entirely online for USD 25 (standard) or USD 60 (3-hour urgent), with no embassy visit required. Rated the world's easiest visa by Wanderlust magazine, the system became the standard entry route for short-stay remote workers exploring Azerbaijan.

A presidential decree in June 2016 established the institutional and legal basis for Azerbaijan's electronic visa system, mandating the ASAN service infrastructure to process visa applications digitally, the instrument that enabled the January 2017 portal launch.

Amendments made it compulsory for all foreigners remaining in Azerbaijan more than 10 days to register their place of stay, and added a dedicated chapter on detention of illegal migrants. This registration obligation is the key compliance requirement that short-stay remote workers, entering on tourist/e-visas, must meet.

The first ASAN (Azerbaijani Service and Assessment Network) centres opened, co-locating multiple ministries, including migration services, under one roof with digital workflows, replacing opaque bureaucratic channels. ASAN became, and remains, the primary administrative gateway for foreigners to obtain visas, residence permits, and mandatory registrations.

President Aliyev signed the founding decree for the Azerbaijani Service and Assessment Network (ASAN), creating the digital-service infrastructure that would later deliver all migration and residency administration electronically, eliminating cash-handling and reducing corruption risks in immigration processing.