Moving from France to Kazakhstan (2026): Complete Guide

Relocating from France to Kazakhstan means managing two very different administrative systems: French customs and tax-exit formalities on one end, and Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) customs and immigration rules on the other. This guide is written for a French resident — employee, business owner, or family — moving household goods, a vehicle, and possibly pets from France to Almaty, Astana, or another Kazakh city. It covers what French customs (Douane) and tax authorities require before you leave, what Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee (kgd.gov.kz) and immigration authorities require on arrival, realistic freight routing, and a short note on moving back the other way.

Key takeaways

• Moving your main residence out of France to a non-EU country does not require a customs export declaration for ordinary personal effects, but you must carry proof of the move, an owner/landlord attestation, and a signed, dated inventory in duplicate — douane.gouv.fr.
• French citizens can enter Kazakhstan visa-free for stays under 30 days, but as of 24 August 2026 they must also obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) at qazeta.kz/fr at least 72 hours before arrival — a brand-new requirement, so confirm current status before booking travel — diplomatie.gouv.fr.
• A genuine relocation needs a longer-validity visa suited to your purpose (work, family, study) arranged before departure; once in Kazakhstan on that basis, staying beyond 90 days from entry requires a Temporary Residence Permit (TRP) from the migration authorities, and mandatory fingerprinting applies to TRP applicants from 1 January 2024 — egov.kz.
• "Exit tax" on securities only applies if you’ve been a French tax resident for 6 of the last 10 years and hold portfolio/business rights worth at least €800,000 (or ≥50% of a company’s profits) — impots.gouv.fr.
• Household goods you personally carry (accompanied/unaccompanied baggage, non-air) clear duty-free up to €500 and 25 kg; goods sent separately by carrier or international post — the more likely route for a full house move — clear duty-free only up to €200 and 31 kg, with a lower excess-duty rate than baggage — kgd.gov.kz / yko.kgd.gov.kz.
• Carrying €10,000 or more in cash (or equivalent) out of France, or the equivalent of US$10,000 into Kazakhstan, triggers a mandatory written declaration in both countries; France additionally requires proof of the funds’ origin above €50,000 — douane.gouv.fr / kgd.gov.kz.

1. Your Kazakh immigration status determines your customs treatment

Kazakhstan’s customs treatment of your incoming household goods depends on your legal status at the border, not just what you’re carrying. Someone entering visa-free or on a short-stay visa is treated under the ordinary duty-free personal-use allowances described in Section 5. Someone moving permanently — on a work, family, or study visa — must apply for a Temporary Residence Permit (TRP) from the migration authorities once their stay exceeds 90 days from entry, applied for through a Public Service Center egov.kz. Kazakh customs regulations also provide separate, more favorable duty-free conditions for individuals whose move qualifies as a recognized "transfer for permanent residence," alongside comparable provisions for refugees and ethnic-return ("oralman") status kgd.gov.kz. In practice, your residence-permit paperwork is what a Kazakh customs broker will ask for to support duty-free treatment of used household goods — confirm your visa category and residence status with a Kazakh consulate in France before your shipment leaves, and settle immigration status before the container arrives.

2. Entry formalities: visa-free stay, the new ETA, and longer-stay visas

As of 24 August 2026, Kazakhstan requires foreign nationals — including French citizens on visa-free short stays — to hold an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arrival, obtained online at qazeta.kz/fr at least 72 hours ahead (or at the border, at a higher cost), valid 180 days for multiple entries. Diplomatic-passport holders, existing visa holders, transit passengers, and travelers under 18 or over 65 are exempt. This is in addition to — not instead of — the underlying visa-free stay limit of under 30 days for French citizens; the ETA does not extend that limit diplomatie.gouv.fr. Because this requirement is very new, verify current terms with the French consular travel-advisory page or the Kazakh embassy before booking. For an actual relocation rather than a short visit, arrange the appropriate longer-validity visa (work, family reunification, study, etc.) with a Kazakh consulate in France before departure — visa-free entry alone is not a basis for settling permanently.

3. The France export side: Douane, deregistration and tax exit

Customs authority. The French customs authority is the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDD/Douane), reachable free of charge on 0 800 94 40 40. For a transfer of your main residence outside the EU, ordinary personal effects and non-commercial vehicles (cars, motorcycles, caravans, boats) do not require a formal export customs declaration. You do need to be ready to show: a document proving the change of residence (passport, property deed, or lease); an attestation from your landlord or the local authority (or a sworn declaration if unavailable); and a detailed, estimated, dated, numbered inventory of the goods being moved, signed in duplicate (a third copy if exporting from an inland customs office). Special formalities apply to weapons/ammunition, precious metals, dual-use goods, protected wildlife, and cultural goods douane.gouv.fr.

Cash. If you or your household is physically carrying €10,000 or more in cash, bearer instruments, gold or prepaid cards when leaving France for a non-EU country, it must be declared to Douane — free of charge, via the online DALIA service up to 30 days before travel, or at the border. Amounts over €50,000 must be accompanied by documents proving the funds’ origin douane.gouv.fr.

Vehicle export and deregistration. A used vehicle you’re taking to Kazakhstan is exported under its current French registration — no separate export deregistration procedure is required for customs purposes, and you travel with a copy of the carte grise plus the original purchase invoice (the old dedicated "export" plate no longer exists under the current registration system). Separately, once the car has permanently left France, cancel its French registration free of charge online through the France Titres (ANTS) portal so registration, insurance, and tax liabilities stop; a newly purchased, never-before-registered vehicle instead travels on a temporary CPI WW export plate issued by the prefecture douane.gouv.fr.

Tax residency exit. Notify your local tax centre of your new foreign address through your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. In the year following departure you must file a return covering income received while still a French resident, so the administration can settle tax due up to the date of transfer; you confirm your new address abroad at the same time. Once fiscal residence is established outside France, French tax generally applies only to French-source income (salaries for French work, French rental income, French-source capital gains, etc.), subject to any applicable tax treaty impots.gouv.fr. A specific "exit tax" on unrealized gains in securities/company rights applies only if you were a French tax resident for at least 6 of the last 10 years and hold qualifying assets worth ≥€800,000, or rights representing ≥50% of a company’s profits impots.gouv.fr.

Consular registration. Not a customs step, but French citizens settling abroad are encouraged to register with the Registre des Français établis hors de France via service-public.fr (valid 5 years, eases passport renewal, voting, and emergency contact) diplomatie.gouv.fr.

4. Ports, airports and transit — industry estimates, not official figures

Kazakhstan is landlocked, so there is no single-carrier sea route; shipments typically combine ocean freight with rail or a Caspian/Black Sea leg. The following routings and timings are freight-industry planning estimates only — not published by any customs or transport authority — and depend heavily on carrier schedule, season, and border congestion:

• Sea + rail via the Baltic: Container loaded at Le Havre or Marseille‑Fos, shipped to a Baltic hub (e.g., Riga or Klaipėda), then moved by rail into Kazakhstan (Almaty/Astana). Estimated door-to-door transit: roughly 8–12 weeks.
• Sea + rail via the Caucasus/Caspian: Container to a Black Sea port (e.g., via Türkiye or Georgia’s Poti/Batumi), Caspian ferry crossing, then rail/road into Kazakhstan. Estimated transit: roughly 9–13 weeks, more schedule-dependent.
• Air freight: From Paris–Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to Almaty (ALA) or Astana (NQZ), typically 1–3 weeks door-to-door for smaller, higher-value shipments — the fastest but most expensive option.

Because routings and border-crossing times vary significantly, always request a current, shipment-specific transit estimate from your mover rather than relying on general figures.

5. The Kazakhstan import side: the passenger customs declaration and duty-free limits

Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and its customs authority is the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance (kgd.gov.kz). Goods for personal use crossing into Kazakhstan above the duty-free thresholds below, or otherwise subject to restrictions, must be declared using the Passenger Customs Declaration. It can be filed electronically through the Keden information system or the e-Salyq Azamat mobile app — both are official, actively promoted channels, and the Committee reports the majority of declarations now go through e-Salyq Azamat — while a printable paper form also remains published on kgd.gov.kz, so confirm with your carrier or border post which channel applies to your crossing kgd.gov.kz kgd.gov.kz.

Duty-free thresholds for personal-use goods differ by how the goods travel, and it matters which one applies to your move:

• By air, accompanied baggage: up to €10,000 in value and 50 kg.
• By other transport or on foot (accompanied/unaccompanied baggage): up to €500 in value and 25 kg; the excess above either limit is taxed at 30% of value, minimum €4 per kilogram.
• Sent separately by carrier or international post — the category that covers most household-goods shipments moved by a freight forwarder rather than carried personally: up to €200 in value and 31 kg per shipment; the excess is taxed at 15% of value, minimum €2 per kilogram kgd.gov.kz yko.kgd.gov.kz.

Used household goods generally attract import customs duty, a processing fee, and VAT above these thresholds, unless you qualify for the relocation-specific provisions noted in Section 1 — carry your Temporary/Permanent Residence Permit documentation to support your claim.

Cash and monetary instruments: amounts up to the equivalent of US$10,000 can be carried without a mandatory written declaration on entry (declaring voluntarily is always allowed); above that, a full written declaration in duplicate on the Passenger Customs Declaration is mandatory, and amounts exceeding US$100,000 require documented proof of the funds’ origin. Confirm current penalties for non-declaration with kgd.gov.kz or your carrier, as these are set by decree and can change kgd.gov.kz.

6. Pets: rules on both ends

Leaving France: Requirements depend entirely on Kazakhstan’s own import conditions, so check with the Kazakh embassy or a veterinary authority before departure. A veterinarian holding an official sanitary mandate ("habilité sanitaire") prepares the export health documentation — for a non-EU destination, an international health certificate issued about one week before travel — and your department’s Direction départementale de la protection des populations (DDPP) can advise on any additional formalities required for your specific destination diplomatie.gouv.fr mesdemarches.agriculture.gouv.fr.

Entering Kazakhstan: As an EAEU member, Kazakhstan treats live animals moved by individuals for personal (non-commercial) purposes as goods for personal use, cleared alongside your other belongings under the customs rules in Section 5. Exact rabies-vaccination timing, required health certificates, and any species- or quantity-specific restrictions sit at the veterinary-authority level and can change, so confirm current requirements directly with the Kazakh consulate in France or Kazakhstan’s veterinary/quarantine authority before travel rather than relying on a fixed figure.

7. Vehicles, money and things people forget

Vehicles. Vehicle import duty is set under the EAEU’s Unified Customs Tariff, varying by age, engine size and type; preferential tariffs can apply under Kazakhstan’s WTO commitments, but generally only if the vehicle stays in Kazakhstan rather than later being re-exported duty-free to another EAEU country. Confirm current duty and VAT rates, and any per-year import limits, with a licensed Kazakh customs broker, as tariffs and quotas are revised periodically.

Money. Plan around all three thresholds above (€10,000/€50,000 leaving France, US$10,000/US$100,000 entering Kazakhstan) — staying just under a threshold to "avoid paperwork" isn’t a workaround, since related transactions can be aggregated by customs.

Commonly forgotten items:

• The signed, dated, duplicate inventory of goods — French customs may ask for it even though no formal declaration is filed.
• The new Kazakh ETA (from 24 August 2026) — required even for visa-free short stays, separately from any longer-stay visa you arrange for the move itself.
• Cancelling French vehicle registration via France Titres after the car leaves — needed to stop French registration/insurance liabilities.
• Confirming which duty-free threshold applies to your shipment (accompanied baggage vs. freight/post) before booking your mover, since the freight-route allowance is smaller and the duty rate different.
• Confirming your Temporary Residence Permit status before your container arrives, since it supports duty-free treatment of used household goods in Kazakhstan.
• Registering with the French consulate in Kazakhstan — useful for passport renewals and emergencies even though it isn’t a customs requirement.
• Weapons, gold, and precious-metal items — both France (special export formalities) and Kazakhstan (separate permitting) treat these outside the normal personal-effects regime.

How Flyto handles your France to Kazakhstan move

Flyto operates its own offices, warehouses, crews and vehicle fleets across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, so the French collection, packing, export documentation and onward transport toward the border are handled in-house wherever our own network reaches. For the Central Asian leg and Kazakh customs clearance, we work with a carefully vetted network of subcontracted freight and rail partners, plus trusted local partners on the ground in Kazakhstan who handle Passenger Customs Declaration filing, duty assessment and last-mile delivery. This combination — strong in-house European operations plus selected specialist partners where we don’t operate directly — lets us plan a realistic door-to-door route and give you an accurate, shipment-specific cost and timeline rather than a generic estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a French export customs declaration for my furniture and household goods?
No — for a genuine change of residence to a non-EU country, ordinary personal effects don’t require a formal declaration, but you must be able to show proof of the move and a signed inventory to Douane if asked douane.gouv.fr.

Do French citizens need a visa for Kazakhstan?
Not for stays under 30 days, but as of 24 August 2026 you also need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) via qazeta.kz/fr before you travel, even visa-free — and for an actual relocation you should arrange a longer-validity visa suited to your purpose before departure diplomatie.gouv.fr.

How long can I stay in Kazakhstan before I need a residence permit?
90 calendar days from your date of entry, once you’re in the country on an appropriate longer-stay visa; beyond that you need a Temporary Residence Permit from the migration authorities egov.kz.

What’s the duty-free allowance for my personal belongings entering Kazakhstan?
It depends how they travel: €500/25 kg if carried with you by non-air transport (€10,000/50 kg by air), or only €200/31 kg if shipped separately by freight forwarder or post — the category most house moves fall into, with excess taxed at 15% of value or a minimum of €2/kg kgd.gov.kz yko.kgd.gov.kz.

Can I file a paper customs declaration in Kazakhstan, or must it be electronic?
Both electronic channels (Keden, e-Salyq Azamat) and a printable paper form are published by kgd.gov.kz; electronic filing is strongly encouraged and now handles most declarations, but confirm the accepted method with your carrier or border post at the time of travel, as procedures continue to be digitized kgd.gov.kz.

Do I owe French tax after I move to Kazakhstan?
Generally only on French-source income (e.g., French rental income), once your tax residence is confirmed as transferred; update your address via impots.gouv.fr and file your departure-year return impots.gouv.fr.

Moving back from Kazakhstan to France — what changes?
The logic reverses: Kazakh export rules and any applicable EAEU customs formalities apply on departure, while French customs treats you as an "arrival" case, with its own document set for a transfer of residence into France — check the current form and procedure with Douane before you ship, as requirements are periodically updated douane.gouv.fr. You’ll also need to re-establish French tax residency and, if applicable, re-register your vehicle with a French carte grise.

Sources

• Douane — Transfert de résidence hors UE
• Douane — Exportation hors UE d’un véhicule acheté en France
• Douane — Voyager avec de l’argent liquide (hors UE)
• impots.gouv.fr — Je pars à l’étranger ou j’arrive en France
• impots.gouv.fr — L’exit tax
• France Diplomatie — Conseils aux voyageurs : Kazakhstan (ETA, visa)
• France Diplomatie — Inscription au registre des Français établis hors de France
• France Diplomatie — Animaux domestiques (préparer son expatriation)
• Mes Démarches (agriculture.gouv.fr) — Voyager hors de France avec un animal
• egov.kz — Temporary residence permit for foreigners
• kgd.gov.kz — Customs declaration of goods for personal use
• kgd.gov.kz — Passenger customs declaration (blank form)
• kgd.gov.kz — FAQ: duty-free norms for individuals crossing the EAEU border
• kgd.gov.kz — Rules for moving cash currency and monetary instruments
• kgd.gov.kz (Kostanay region) — Conditions for importing international postal items