Place-of-stay registration in Azerbaijan: who, when and how

If you will be in Azerbaijan for more than a couple of weeks, as a visitor, a student or a family member, the practical questions are whether you must be registered at the address where you are staying, who does it, and by when. The short answer: any foreigner staying temporarily in Azerbaijan for more than 15 days must be registered at their place of stay¹, and the application is due within 15 days of arriving in Azerbaijan¹. For citizens of Kazakhstan, the State Migration Service gives 30 days for both the threshold and the deadline². The duty lies first with your hotel or the owner of the home you are staying in, but you may also apply yourself¹, and no state duty is charged¹.

What the rule says

Article 21 of Azerbaijan’s Migration Code (Miqrasiya Məcəlləsi) requires foreigners and stateless persons staying temporarily in the country for more than 15 days to be registered at their place of stay¹. The consolidated text of the Code published on e-qanun.az and the State Migration Service’s registration page, last updated 29 December 2025, both give 15 days for the threshold and for the deadline, as we read them on 30 September 2026^1,2. For citizens of Kazakhstan, the State Migration Service gives 30 days for both². Registration is handled by the State Migration Service (Dövlət Miqrasiya Xidməti), under the procedure described below.

Two points often cause confusion:

• The threshold and the deadline are different things. The threshold is how long you stay (more than 15 days). The deadline is the time limit for filing the application: within 15 days of arriving in Azerbaijan¹. If you know on arrival that you are staying three weeks, do not leave the application until the last day.
• The number has changed before. A 2018 press release from ASAN service referred to a 10-day threshold³; the Migration Code in force today says 15 days¹. Older guides online may still quote 10 days.

Who registers you

The Code calls whoever hosts you the “receiving party”: the management of a hotel, sanatorium, rest house, guest house, campsite, tourist base, hospital or similar place, or the owner of the home where you are staying¹. The receiving party submits the application and a copy of your passport; the deadline is within 15 days of arriving in Azerbaijan¹. For citizens of Kazakhstan, the State Migration Service gives 30 days for both the threshold and the deadline². The Code also allows foreigners to apply themselves under the same procedure¹.

In practice:

• Hotel guests: the legal duty lies with the hotel, but ask reception directly whether your registration has been filed.
• Renting or staying with relatives: the owner is the receiving party. Agree at the outset who will file, or file yourself. If you are an owner letting to foreign tenants, see our guide to letting your Baku apartment from abroad.
• New students: the same rule applies to your first accommodation; see also our guide How to apply to a university in Azerbaijan.

How to register, step by step

1. Prepare the documents: the application form and a copy of your passport or other border-crossing document, including the visa page and the pages showing your last entry into the country⁴. Before sending, check that the copy includes these pages.
2. Choose a channel: the online services on the State Migration Service website (migration.gov.az), email to qeydiyyat@migration.gov.az, a regional migration department, or an ASAN service centre. These are the channels listed on the Service’s registration page, last updated 29 December 2025².
3. File within the deadline: within 15 days of arriving in Azerbaijan¹, or within 30 days for citizens of Kazakhstan².
4. Get confirmation: the authority registers you immediately and informs the applicant within 1 working day¹. Keep the confirmation for your records.

How long the registration lasts: people who entered on a visa are registered for the length of stay shown on the visa; people who entered visa-free are registered for 90 days¹. The registration period does not by itself give you the right to stay that long: your right to stay depends on your visa or on the entry regime for your nationality. See our guide to the Azerbaijan e-visa.

Moving address or leaving

• New address: you must be registered at the new place of stay within 5 working days of arriving there, according to both the Migration Code and the State Migration Service’s registration page^1,2.
• Exception: if you stay temporarily in another home belonging to the owner you are registered with, you do not need to re-register, according to State Migration Service guidance updated on 10 October 2023⁴.
• Leaving the place of stay: either the receiving party or you inform the authority¹. Registration also ends automatically when the registration period expires¹.

If you do not register in time

The State Migration Service states that failing to register at the place of stay within the required period is grounds for administrative liability². One of its guidance pages, last updated on 20 January 2023, refers to Article 575 of the Code of Administrative Offences⁵; we could not confirm that this reference is still current. Nor could we check penalty amounts against a current, complete official text, so we do not quote any. Ask the State Migration Service or an ASAN service centre what applies today.

When this may not suit you

• Residence permit holders. Article 7 of the 1996 Law on Registration at Place of Residence and Place of Stay (consolidated text published on e-qanun.az, as read on 30 September 2026) states that foreigners granted a temporary or permanent residence permit are registered at their place of residence by the relevant authority at the same time, and that this registration is recorded on the permit card⁶. Whether you still need a separate place-of-stay filing is a question for the State Migration Service; for how the rule applies to your own case, consult a licensed lawyer in Azerbaijan.
• Citizens of Kazakhstan. According to the State Migration Service, registration is required for a stay of more than 30 days, and the application is due within 30 days of arriving in Azerbaijan².
• Short stays. If you stay 15 days or less, registration is not required¹.
• Complex cases. Frequent changes of address, extensions of stay, or family members of different nationalities: do not rely on this guide alone. Ask the State Migration Service directly, or a licensed lawyer in Azerbaijan if a legal question arises.

Frequently asked questions