Kazakhstan Restores Fingerprint Database for Foreign Nationals

Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadyonov has announced that the fingerprint database for foreign nationals is now fully operational again, Orda.kz reports.

Serious technical problems with the system began in late August, and by September 11, fingerprinting at police service centers had stopped entirely. As a result, foreigners applying for temporary residence permits were allowed to postpone fingerprinting until later, while those applying for permanent residence were denied such flexibility, leaving many in uncertainty.

Earlier this week, an Orda.kz journalist asked Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadyonov during a briefing in the Majilis when the database would finally be restored. He replied:

I think we should be practically finished this week—it'll be running at full capacity. At the very least, we'll be speeding things up.

On the evening of October 15, readers informed Orda.kz that the database was back online and that fingerprinting had resumed. The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed this information the following day.

Mandatory fingerprinting for all foreigners applying for legal residence in Kazakhstan was introduced in 2024.

Initially, the procedure for temporary residence applicants was conducted at public service centers, but since 2025, it has been handled exclusively by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin