The Azerbaijan visa from Pakistan
Azerbaijan
The short answer. Azerbaijan runs an online visa, applied for before you travel rather than through an appointment at a mission. It is one of the quicker permissions on this page, which is a large part of why Baku has become the short break Pakistani families take when Europe is out of reach.
Baku is the trip that looks like Europe, costs a third of it and does not need a Schengen visa. That is the whole proposition, and it is an honest one.
The tours page carries three Azerbaijani itineraries, and the cheapest of them is the least expensive international departure this office sells after Vietnam.
Why it has become so popular
A Schengen application is six to eight weeks, an appointment, a thick file and a fee that is not refunded if the answer is no. Baku is none of those things.
What you get for it: a seafront city with boulevards and a walled old town, mountain country a couple of hours out, and a flight that is short enough that a four day trip is genuinely four days rather than two days and two flights.
What you do not get: Europe. Baku is its own place and the people who come back disappointed are the ones who were sold it as a substitute rather than as itself.
What the file wants
- The passport, with the validity required on the day.
- Confirmed return flights.
- Accommodation for the stay.
- Evidence you can support yourself.
- For a family, the children's documents and the relationship evidence.
It is a short file by the standards of this page, which is the point.
Four days or seven
Four days is Baku: the old city, the boulevard, the modern architecture, and a day trip out to the mud volcanoes or Gobustan.
Seven days adds Gabala in the mountains, which is a different country in feel: green, cooler, and in winter a ski resort. This is the version families with children prefer, because the city alone runs out on the third day.
Both are on the tours page with their prices, so the difference costs what it costs rather than being a conversation.
When to go
Baku is windy, which is where its name comes from, and it is genuinely cold in winter. May, June, September and October are the good months. July and August are hot and humid on the coast, which is when the mountains earn their place in the itinerary.
Do I need a Schengen visa for Azerbaijan?
No. Azerbaijan is not in the European Union or the Schengen Area and its permission is entirely its own. This is precisely why it has become the trip people take while a European application is pending, or instead of one.
How quickly can it be arranged?
Faster than almost anything else on this page, which makes it the realistic answer for a short notice trip. Send us the dates and we will tell you honestly what is achievable, including whether the flights work at that notice.
Is halal food available?
Azerbaijan is a Muslim-majority country and it is not a question you will have to ask twice. This, with the short flight and the quick permission, is most of why it suits Pakistani families.
Is it good for children?
The seven day version is. Four days of a city is a lot for a child; the mountains, the cable car and the snow in season are what make it a family trip rather than a couple's one.
Before you pay anything
Azerbaijani entry arrangements and fees change. We confirm the current position before every application rather than trusting any list, including this one.
Send us the passports and the dates. We will confirm the route, file it, and tell you whether four days or seven suits who is travelling.