Kyrgyzstan can attract investors by issuing residence permits for them, says Askar Sydykov, the executive director of the International Business Council (IBC) based in Bishkek.

“Our landlocked country does not have a good infrastructure, and this negatively affects investment planning. Unpredictable legislation and inconsistency of decisions of various government branches deteriorate the situation,” he said at a roundtable to discuss visa barriers to investment activity in Kyrgyzstan.

“Our openness including an open visa policy can be good for attracting investors," he added.

In 2012, Kyrgyzstan abolished the visa regime for 44 countries, and the number of visitors to the country has increased significantly. The country was listed among the top 10 countries recommended to visit by the National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

More affluent states of the region, such as Kazakhstan, are promoting their country by placing advertisements in leading magazines like The Economist. Kyrgyzstan has no money for that. "But we can remove barriers and the world will know more about us. The practice of attracting investors by issuing residence permits is widespread, including the European Union," Sydykov added.

Kyrgyzstan’s consular offices abroad and the visa office at Bishkek’s Manas International Airport now have the right to issue business visas. If foreigners want to start a career or business in Kyrgyzstan, they often have to travel outside their country for a primary Kyrgyz visa, as Kyrgyzstan has very few consular offices abroad.

So, foreign citizens that enjoy visa-free entry to Kyrgyzstan cannot obtain a primary business visa at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan. In this regard, the IBC suggested giving the Consular Service Department of the Foreign Ministry the authority to issue primary business visas.

There were investors who wanted to obtain investment visas, but having learned about the conditions, they gave up the idea. Procedures for obtaining a visa are too complicated and the visa itself is too expensive.

The investment visa threshold ($500 thousand) is high in Kyrgyzstan compared to developed countries, business representatives say. For instance, the investment visa threshold is $50 thousand in the USA. In other countries, investors can fill in applications for a visa electronically. The excessive demands hinder the flow of investors to Kyrgyzstan.

In Kyrgyzstan, an investor that has paid $500 thousand can get a visa for five years, but he also has to obtain a separate work permit and a separate visa for his family members. The investor also needs to separately obtain visas for his employees and managers. Difficulties in these procedures deter investors.

The threshold of $500 thousand is negative for Kyrgyzstan, the State Registration Service said. For many investors, it is a lot of money, because mostly investors from small and medium businesses come to Kyrgyzstan. Big investors are rare guests in this country.

This issue should be solved at the government level. However, there are also matters of security, as the State Registration Service deals with visas for countries with risks including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, and it was proposed to transfer the issue of visas for such countries to the Foreign Ministry.

Business associations have repeatedly proposed the Government to simplify procedures for obtaining a work permit and issue investment visas in one package, but no final decision has been made so far, and discussions continue. Frequent changes of Cabinets of Ministers in Kyrgyzstan only complicate the situation, as with every new Cabinet this issue has to be raised again.

Published by The Times of Central Asia:

http://www.timesca.com/index.php/news/16940-kyrgyzstan-investment-visa-difficult-to-obtain-and-expensive