France Signals Willingness to Ease Visa Rules for Kazakhstanis

France has expressed support for simplifying the visa process for citizens of Kazakhstan, following a meeting between the interior ministers of the two countries, Orda.kz reports.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Yerzhan Sadenov, recently visited France and the Netherlands, where he met with his French counterpart, Bruno Retailleau.

The two discussed cooperation under the bilateral agreement on combating crime, and also touched on the possibility of streamlining the process for obtaining Schengen visas.

The French side expressed its readiness to support the procedure for simplifying the visa regime by the European Union countries for citizens of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement. 

One of the key issues discussed was readmission — the return of individuals residing illegally in a country. Unlike deportation or extradition, readmission involves repatriating people based on specific agreements between states.

During his visit, Sadenov also met with Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock in Lyon and Europol Deputy Executive Director Andrei Linta in The Hague. Kazakhstan and France agreed to deepen cooperation in combating transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal migration, extremism, and cyber fraud.

Earlier, the European Union had already expressed willingness to simplify Schengen visa procedures for Kazakhstanis during a meeting between President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev and European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas in Almaty.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny