Study in Azerbaijan as an International Student: Full Route

Studying in Azerbaijan as a foreigner follows the same order for almost everyone: you apply online, the university admits you, you come on the right visa, and then you turn that visa into a student residence permit inside the country. The permit is a plastic card, called a TRC (temporary residence permit), and it covers your whole stay while you study.

Each step has its own deadline. Missing one is the most common reason students pay fines or have to leave and come back. Here is the full route in order.

1. 1

   Apply on portal.edu.az

   Create an account on the national admissions portal and apply to up to 3 universities. It is free.

2. 2

   Get the admission letter

   The university checks your papers. It may ask for more documents, an interview or a payment, then gives its decision in your portal account.

3. 3

   Get your visa

   From an e visa country, an ASAN e visa with the purpose Education. Otherwise, an education visa at an Azerbaijani embassy after the university's invitation.

4. 4

   Arrive and enrol

   Go to the university soon after landing, pay the fee and ask for the letter for the migration service.

5. 5

   Register your address

   Within 15 days of arrival. Free.

6. 6

   Apply for the student TRC

   At an ASAN service centre, a migration office or online. On an e visa, within about the first 2 weeks.

7. 7

   Keep your permit valid

   Extend it at least 30 days before it ends, every year of your studies.

Foreign students apply through portal.edu.az, the central application service of the Ministry of Science and Education. Do not confuse it with edu.gov.az, which is the ministry's news and information site. You register, choose up to 3 institutions or programmes and upload your documents. You can do this alone, or with a consultant, but the application itself costs nothing. The ministry warns about brokers who charge for what the portal does for free.

Programmes are taught in Azerbaijani, Russian, English or Turkish, depending on the programme. If you cannot prove your language level, the university may place you in a preparatory year first. To compare institutions, see universities in Azerbaijan for foreigners.

There is no official time for the admission decision. Expect anything from a few days to a few weeks.

• Passport (universities often want at least 1 year of validity)
• School certificate or diploma and transcript
• Proof of language level, if you have it
• Personal statement or interview, if the university asks
• Health certificate (some universities ask at admission, and the permit needs one later)
• Apostille or legalisation and a notarised Azerbaijani translation of your diplomas (some universities accept these after admission, but you show originals on arrival)

The visa depends on your passport. The important rule: the purpose on your visa must match why you come. A tourist visa is the wrong start for a student permit. Use the free visa checker to see which route fits your passport, and read coming as a student: visa and arrival for the details.

Never choose the purpose Tourism if you plan to study. The government decides every visa and permit, and a purpose that does not match your stay can lead to a refusal and a fine.

Immigration at the airport may hold a new student until the university confirms them by phone. Land on a weekday in office hours if you can, and carry your admission letter and a university contact who answers. After the airport, the order is simple.

1. 1

   Go to the university

   Pay your tuition, enrol and ask the international office for the letter to the State Migration Service. This letter confirms your study ground.

2. 2

   Register your address within 15 days

   Your landlord, dorm or hotel files it, or you do. It is free. See address registration.

3. 3

   Get the health certificate

   A certificate that you do not carry HIV or hepatitis B or C, from a medical centre accepted for permits.

4. 4

   File the student TRC

   At any ASAN service centre except Ganja No. 1, at a migration office or online at eservice.migration.gov.az.

The student permit is issued on Migration Code ground 45.1.9 (full time study). The first card is valid up to 1 year and each extension up to 2 years. You pay the state fee when you collect the card. If you do not pay within 30 days after the processing deadline, the permit is cancelled.

• Application form (tick full time education)
• Passport and copy, valid at least 3 months after the permit end date
• Health certificate: not a carrier of HIV, hepatitis B or C
• Letter from the university (course, end date, student ID, signature and stamp)
• Copy of your visa and entry stamp
• 2 photos, 3.5 x 4.5 cm
• Housing document: rent contract or the owner's property extract (kupça)
• The owner's consent (notarised if the owner does not come) and a copy of the owner's ID
• Fingerprints are taken from age 15

With a valid card you can leave and come back without a new visa. But if you spend more than 90 days abroad in any 180 days, for example a long summer at home, the permit can be cancelled.

Students are not exempt from the work permit rule. To do paid work you need a separate work permit through an employer; see the work permit guide. Internships that are part of your programme are a different matter, so ask your university.

If you drop out or are expelled, your study ground ends and the permit is cancelled. Years on a student permit do not count toward permanent residence. Extend at least 30 days before the card ends. Sroky can keep your permit, passport and registration dates on your phone and remind you before each one.

Living without registration or with an expired permit can bring a fine of 300 to 400 AZN, with or without expulsion.

Tuition is set by each university, and public university fees for foreigners are set by the ministry. The figures below are examples from official pages; always check the current year with your university.