Since January, citizens of the Russian Federation will be able to stay in Azerbaijan without a visa for only 90 days a year
Azerbaijan has tightened migration rules for Russian citizens and stateless persons permanently residing in the Russian Federation. According to the government resolution published on December 29, the maximum period of their visa-free stay in the country is now 90 days a year. The new conditions will enter into force in 2025.
 
As a reminder, under current conditions, Russian citizens can stay in Azerbaijan without a visa for 90 days after entry. Thus, having gone abroad and immediately returned, it is possible to "reset" the term and continue to legally reside in the country. Since January, the Russians will not have such an opportunity.
 
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that the country will react in a mirror manner to the tightening of the conditions of visa-free stay of foreigners in the Russian Federation. Let us remind you that the Russian authorities also set a limit of 90 days.
 
The retaliatory tightening of the rules by Azerbaijan took place against the background of the recently high-profile plane crash. On December 25, the Embraer plane of the Azerbaijan Airlines airline, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board, 42 of them citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 citizens of Russia, 6 citizens of Kazakhstan, and 3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan. It is reported that 29 passengers survived. The investigation into the causes of the crash continues, however, the dominant version is that the plane came under fire from Russian air defense equipment during an attack by Ukrainian drones on the territory of Chechnya.