Kazakhstan’s Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) in Almaty has posted a 4 February 2026 holiday notice confirming closure from 16 to 23 February for the Lunar New Year. Although Kazakhstan and China introduced mutual 30-day visa-free travel in 2024, the waiver does not cover study, work or media visas, for which demand has grown sharply as bilateral trade tops US$30 billion.
Visa consultants report that appointment slots for the week preceding the closure are already fully booked. Applicants who miss the cut-off will have to wait until 26 February for passport collection, because 24–25 February are dedicated to backlog clearance. The disruption is likely to affect mining-sector assignees and oil-and-gas engineers scheduled to rotate into western China’s Xinjiang projects after the holidays.
![Almaty Chinese Visa Centre to close 16–23 February amid post-waiver traffic surge]()
Kazakhstan has become China’s fastest-growing overland passenger market, benefitting from the visa-free regime and expanded Urumqi–Almaty high-speed rail links. Mobility managers should therefore cross-check whether travellers actually fall under the mutual waiver; if not, contingency plans—such as remote onboarding or shifting meetings online—may be necessary.
Companies or individuals who need to secure study, work or media visas ahead of these deadlines can outsource the process to VisaHQ, whose Almaty-based specialists track CVASC slot availability in real time and can reroute applications to alternate jurisdictions if necessary. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/) also offers step-by-step checklists and document pre-screening to minimise rejections, providing a valuable safety net during holiday closures.
CVASC’s Astana branch is expected to issue a matching notice, though as of publication it had not been posted online. Travellers transiting to third countries via Beijing or Shanghai can still use China’s 144-hour transit-visa exemption if they hold onward tickets.
Visa consultants report that appointment slots for the week preceding the closure are already fully booked. Applicants who miss the cut-off will have to wait until 26 February for passport collection, because 24–25 February are dedicated to backlog clearance. The disruption is likely to affect mining-sector assignees and oil-and-gas engineers scheduled to rotate into western China’s Xinjiang projects after the holidays.
Kazakhstan has become China’s fastest-growing overland passenger market, benefitting from the visa-free regime and expanded Urumqi–Almaty high-speed rail links. Mobility managers should therefore cross-check whether travellers actually fall under the mutual waiver; if not, contingency plans—such as remote onboarding or shifting meetings online—may be necessary.
Companies or individuals who need to secure study, work or media visas ahead of these deadlines can outsource the process to VisaHQ, whose Almaty-based specialists track CVASC slot availability in real time and can reroute applications to alternate jurisdictions if necessary. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/china/) also offers step-by-step checklists and document pre-screening to minimise rejections, providing a valuable safety net during holiday closures.
CVASC’s Astana branch is expected to issue a matching notice, though as of publication it had not been posted online. Travellers transiting to third countries via Beijing or Shanghai can still use China’s 144-hour transit-visa exemption if they hold onward tickets.
