Turkmenistan Entry Means $85 Visa, $35 Test and Cash Only

Anyone planning to cross into Turkmenistan should allow plenty of time and bring cash. In a first-hand account of a crossing from Khiva in Uzbekistan, traveller Richard Bangs describes an $85 visa fee, a $35 Covid swab taken at the border and a wait of roughly four hours before the group was allowed through.

Key facts

• $85 visa fee charged at the border.
• $35 "Advanced Covid Test" — a brief nasal swab, with no results given to travellers.
• $1 per person for a bus across the no-man's-land between the two border posts.
• The crossing described took about four hours in total.
• Payments in Turkmen manat only: no ATMs and no credit cards accepted.
• No photographs of government buildings, bridges, the airport, soldiers or police.

What will you pay at the border?

The account lists three charges. Travellers paid the $85 visa fee, plus $35 each for what officials called an "Advanced Covid Test" — a three-second nasal swab for which no results were ever provided, the writer says. Turkmenistan has officially never recorded a case of Covid.

After processing, travellers paid $1 each to ride an old school bus across the no-man's-land between the Turkmen and Uzbek border posts. The bus took 30 minutes to appear and a further 15 minutes to reach the final gate.

How long does the crossing take?

Slowly, in the experience described. The writer found a locked gate and around 30 travellers waiting; officials were letting people in in controlled batches. The group then queued for an hour outside before entering the immigration hall, where their passports were taken to a back room for another hour of waiting.

The delay was attributed to Independence Day, with most staff on holiday and a skeleton crew handling arrivals. When the group was finally admitted, it was only after one traveller — a woman in her eighties who appeared close to fainting — was pushed to the front. Others were then let through one by one. The writer notes this was a single crossing on a public holiday, so queues and procedures may differ at other times.

What rules apply once you are in Turkmenistan?

The writer's guide set out four rules for visitors: no smoking, no jaywalking, no photographs of government buildings, bridges, the airport, soldiers or police, and no use of foreign currency. Music is not permitted after 11pm at the hotel bar described.

On money, the restrictions are strict. Every payment is in manat, exchanged at select banks or through guides. There are no ATMs, credit cards are not accepted, and foreign currency is forbidden. The writer also reports no compatible mobile service for foreign phones and little Wi-Fi outside the hotel and a few restaurants, behind heavily censored internet access.

At the National Museum of Turkmenistan entry is free, but there is a separate fee for taking photographs. In Ashgabat, speed limits are strictly enforced with cameras, fines arrive by text message and, according to the guide, failure to pay promptly can lead to jail.

What this means for travellers

• Budget for the visa fee and the border test, and expect to pay for transport between the two border gates.
• Plan how you will obtain manat before arriving, since foreign currency cannot be used and cards and ATMs are not an option.
• Check which buildings and sites you are allowed to photograph, and expect to pay a fee for photos in museums.
• Allow much more time than the distance suggests for border formalities and for overland drives across the Karakum Desert.

No change to these procedures has been announced. The account covers one group's journey from the Uzbek border through Darvaza to Ashgabat, and readers should verify current fees and crossing conditions before travelling.