Azerbaijan visa for Indians

Azerbaijan offers an easy-to-get e-visa for Indian travellers. The process is straightforward and one of the easiest for Indian tourists. Azerbaijan was one of the countries that we visited during our recent Caucasus travel.

How to apply for an e-visa

I visited their e-visa website. There were two choices: urgent e-visa and single-entry e-visa. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, I chose the single-entry option. I entered my personal and travel details, paid the fee, and submitted the application. That’s it! It took less than 10 minutes. Besides my passport, they didn’t ask for any additional documents, not even a photo.

The visa was supposed to come in three working days, but we got it in five.

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh issue

Nagorno-Karabakh was an Armenian area inside Azerbaijan. Even though it is officially part of Azerbaijan, Armenia controlled it after the Soviet Union broke up. Azerbaijan does not allow people who have visited Nagorno-Karabakh to enter the country, as they see it as a threat to their sovereignty.

However, since 2023, things have changed. Azerbaijan took back control of this region after the war with Armenia.

Azerbaijan has no diplomatic ties with Armenia. We were told that people who have been to Armenia will be checked closely. Visitors need to show they did not go to Nagorno-Karabakh. Having hotel invoices can help.

The e-visa application asks if you have been to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Immigration in Baku Airport

Since we had been to Armenia before, we expected some questions at immigration. We had our hotel bookings and receipts from Yerevan to prove we stayed only there and not in the disputed region (which is now under Azerbaijan’s control).

To our surprise, they didn’t ask us any questions. The process was quick and smooth.

Summary

Unlike Armenia and Georgia, we saw a lot of Indian tourists in Azerbaijan. It seems this wealthy country is becoming a popular destination for Indian tourists, and the easy e-visa process makes it even better.