ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 8. Kazakhstan and the Benelux countries have tied the knot on a protocol to wave goodbye to visa requirements for those holding service passports, Trend reports.
The signing ceremony of the Protocol on Amendments took place at the General Secretariat of Benelux in Brussels, Belgium.
The document was signed on the Kazakh side by Margulan Baymukhan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Belgium, and on behalf of the Benelux countries by Joris Salden, the Director General of the Consular Department of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Jean-Louis Till, the Ambassador of Luxembourg to Belgium; and Max Valstar, the Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Belgium.
This protocol opens the door for holders of official passports, giving civil servants from Kazakhstan and the Benelux countries a free pass to travel for official duties without the hassle of a visa, with a stay not to exceed 90 days.
The protocol will kick into gear 30 calendar days after the last written notification comes through the diplomatic channels, confirming that all the necessary domestic ducks are in a row by the parties involved.
As of now, Kazakhstan has established visa-free arrangements for persons holding diplomatic passports with 96 countries, for those with official passports with 77 countries, and for national passport holders with 43 countries.
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