Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis voted on 25 February to ratify a bilateral Readmission and Transit Agreement with Austria, and the decision was published by The Astana Times on 27 February. The accord obliges both governments to take back their own nationals—and, under set conditions, third-country nationals or stateless persons—who are found to be staying illegally in the other country. Detailed annexes lay down identification procedures, deadlines for document issuance, transit arrangements and cost-sharing mechanisms.
For Vienna, which has tightened asylum and family-reunification rules since 2024, the deal adds another operational tool to accelerate removals and deter secondary movements along the Central Asian route. In 2025 Austrian police recorded more than 2,300 apprehensions of migrants who had transited Kazakhstan before reaching the EU; many could not be deported because no legal framework existed. The new agreement closes that loophole and signals Austria’s strategy of striking country-by-country pacts outside the slow-moving EU-level negotiations on a common return policy.
Kazakhstan gains reciprocal leverage to return its own overstayers from Austria—mostly seasonal workers in construction, agriculture and road transport—while projecting an image of a responsible partner ahead of its bid for visa-liberalisation talks with the Schengen area. The pact also covers “assisted voluntary return”, allowing NGOs and the International Organization for Migration to organise humane departures funded partly by EU instruments.
![Kazakhstan Parliament Ratifies Readmission Pact With Austria to Speed Return of Irregular Migrants]()
To help companies and individual travelers adjust to the evolving rules, VisaHQ provides an end-to-end visa and document processing service for both Austria and Kazakhstan, including real-time compliance updates, application review and expedited courier options; more information is available at https://www.visahq.com/austria/
Corporate mobility managers should note that the agreement does not affect legitimate business travel: holders of valid Schengen or Kazakh visas, residence permits and intra-corporate transferee passes remain untouched. However, companies employing Kazakh subcontractors in Austria will face stricter document checks; failure to regularise staff could trigger expedited removals and fines.
Implementation timelines are tight: both countries must designate competent authorities within 30 days and start exchanging biometric and travel-history data within six months. Practically, this means HR and global-mobility teams should audit the immigration status of any Kazakh employees on assignment in Austria—and vice-versa—well before summer 2026.
For Vienna, which has tightened asylum and family-reunification rules since 2024, the deal adds another operational tool to accelerate removals and deter secondary movements along the Central Asian route. In 2025 Austrian police recorded more than 2,300 apprehensions of migrants who had transited Kazakhstan before reaching the EU; many could not be deported because no legal framework existed. The new agreement closes that loophole and signals Austria’s strategy of striking country-by-country pacts outside the slow-moving EU-level negotiations on a common return policy.
Kazakhstan gains reciprocal leverage to return its own overstayers from Austria—mostly seasonal workers in construction, agriculture and road transport—while projecting an image of a responsible partner ahead of its bid for visa-liberalisation talks with the Schengen area. The pact also covers “assisted voluntary return”, allowing NGOs and the International Organization for Migration to organise humane departures funded partly by EU instruments.
To help companies and individual travelers adjust to the evolving rules, VisaHQ provides an end-to-end visa and document processing service for both Austria and Kazakhstan, including real-time compliance updates, application review and expedited courier options; more information is available at https://www.visahq.com/austria/
Corporate mobility managers should note that the agreement does not affect legitimate business travel: holders of valid Schengen or Kazakh visas, residence permits and intra-corporate transferee passes remain untouched. However, companies employing Kazakh subcontractors in Austria will face stricter document checks; failure to regularise staff could trigger expedited removals and fines.
Implementation timelines are tight: both countries must designate competent authorities within 30 days and start exchanging biometric and travel-history data within six months. Practically, this means HR and global-mobility teams should audit the immigration status of any Kazakh employees on assignment in Austria—and vice-versa—well before summer 2026.
