Azerbaijan Address Registration for Foreigners: The 15 Day Rule

Address registration, in Azerbaijani "olduğu yer üzrə qeydiyyat", tells the State Migration Service where a foreigner is staying. It is required by Article 21 of the Migration Code for everyone who stays more than 15 days, whether you came visa free, on an e visa or on an embassy visa.

It is a separate step from a temporary residence permit. In fact, you usually need the registration first, because your TRC application asks where you live. Border posts hand out a notice about the rule in Azerbaijani, Russian and English.

Count from your arrival date. If you plan to stay longer than 15 days, register early, not on the last day.

The law calls the hotel, landlord or host the receiving party. A hotel registers its guests. In a rented flat or with friends, the owner normally files the registration. You can also file it yourself, which is a good idea if you are not sure your landlord did it.

If you file it yourself, you use the same papers as the host: the form and your passport copy with the visa and entry stamp. The rule applies to each foreigner who stays more than 15 days, so a family should check that every person is covered and keep each confirmation.

The host is responsible too: a host who does not register or deregister a foreigner on time can be fined AZN 300 to 500 (Administrative Offences Code, Article 577).

1. 1

   Prepare the papers

   The registration form and a copy of your passport: the photo page, your visa and your last entry stamp.

2. 2

   Choose how to file

   Online through the State Migration Service e services or e gov, by email to qeydiyyat@migration.gov.az, at a regional migration department, or at an ASAN Service centre.

3. 3

   Wait for the confirmation

   Registration is free and is confirmed within 1 working day. Keep the confirmation with your passport.

4. 4

   Register again after a move

   When you change address, register at the new one within 5 working days, unless the new flat belongs to the same owner.

Read more in permanent residence in Azerbaijan.

• TRC holders: the card also works as proof of registration. The exact day count for a TRC holder to report a new address is not clearly stated in an official source; the safe choice is the 5 working day rule for a new place of stay.
• If the owner asks for a TRC holder to be removed from the address, a document for a new home is due within 10 working days, or the permit is cancelled.
• Permanent residents: you are registered at your address automatically when the card is issued. After a move, apply for registration at the new address within 10 days.
• If the person who gave a permanent resident their housing asks to remove them, there are 10 working days to bring documents for another home.

If you are not sure whether you are registered, write to qeydiyyat@migration.gov.az or call the State Migration Service on 919. There are 9 regional migration departments and ASAN Service centres across the country; see embassies and ASAN centres in Baku.

• Thinking a short trip needs nothing, then staying longer. If your plans change and you pass 15 days, you need the registration, counted from your arrival.
• Trusting that the landlord filed it. Ask for the confirmation, or file it yourself so you are sure.
• Moving from a hotel to a flat without registering at the flat. The hotel registration covers only the hotel.
• Missing the 5 working day window after a move. Weekends and public holidays are not working days, so count carefully.
• Applying for a TRC with an address that does not match your registration and housing papers.

An unpaid migration fine can stop you from entering Azerbaijan again and is a reason to refuse your next permit. See overstay fines in Azerbaijan.

The 15 day and 5 working day windows are short and easy to miss during a busy move. In Sroky you tap "I arrived" or "I moved" with the date, and the app counts the days, asks whether the new flat has the same owner and reminds you until it is done. Working days in the app skip weekends; check public holidays yourself.

Sroky is a private app. The registration itself is always done with the State Migration Service, and the government decides.