Individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan in 2026: how to register

One day and free to register, tax from 2%, but only with a residence permit. The route for Russian citizens from residence permit to business account, taxes under the new code and legal options without a permit.

In detail

Registering as an individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan takes one working day and costs nothing. There is one catch: a Kazakh residence permit has to be in hand first. Without it, a Russian citizen will not get into the register of entrepreneurs online, at a service centre or through a friend.

Once the permit is there, the taxes are pleasant. The simplified declaration costs 4% of income, and in 2026 many regions cut the rate to 2-3%. Contributions for yourself come to about $50 a month. The income cap on the simplified regime is so high that most small businesses will never reach it.

Below: who exactly can register, how to get from the residence permit to the first business account, which taxes apply under the new 2026 Tax Code, and what to do while there is no permit yet.

Can a Russian citizen register as an individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan

Yes, with one condition: a residence permit in Kazakhstan. Among foreigners, only citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan) and Tajikistan may register as individual entrepreneurs. All other foreigners cannot, even with a residence permit.

A temporary residence permit, a work visa or migration registration is not enough. The 90 visa-free days do not help either: a tourist cannot become an entrepreneur.

This right is what sets Russians apart from other foreigners. A Turkish or German citizen with a Kazakh residence permit cannot register as an entrepreneur and can only open a partnership. A Russian citizen just has to wait for the residence card. We cover how to get it on the Kazakhstan residence permit page.

How to register as an individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan: step by step

The registration itself is the shortest stage of the whole route. Most of the time goes into the residence permit: the review alone takes 45 calendar days, and before that you need documents and enough points.

Residence permit. Since 13 February 2026, applicants for permanent residence are assessed on points. The pass mark is 400 points, awarded for age, education, language and work experience. A Kazakh bank account must hold about $13,000 per family member. This is a reserve rather than a fee, but it is checked when you apply.

Tax number. Since 1 January 2026, Kazakh embassies and consulates no longer issue it to foreigners. There are now two ways: in person at a public service centre, or through the e-residency programme described below.

Registration. Kazakhstan does not register entrepreneurs in the usual sense: the tax office accepts a notice that you are starting business. It is free and takes one working day.

Migration registration. Since 1 July 2026, Russians who stay in Kazakhstan longer than 30 days must register their address no later than the 30th day after entry. This also applies while you are still preparing residence permit documents. More in our guide to moving to Kazakhstan in 2026.

What taxes an individual entrepreneur pays in Kazakhstan in 2026

A new Tax Code, adopted on 18 July 2025, has applied since 1 January 2026. For entrepreneurs it raised the simplified regime cap many times over and removed the limit on staff. At the same time it closed the simplified regime to a list of professions, and these are exactly the ones many relocated Russians work in.

Many thresholds in the code are set in monthly calculation indices (MCI). This is a reference unit for taxes, fines and fees: in 2026 one index is worth about $10.

Simplified declaration. The base rate of 4% applies to all income, with no deduction for expenses. Local representative councils may move it by half in either direction. In 2026 many regions approved 2% or 3%, so the city where you register affects your tax more than it seems.

Who cannot use it. The government has approved a list of activities barred from this regime. It includes consulting, legal, accounting and marketing services, insurance, construction, and trade in fuel and metals. A consultant who moved to Almaty counting on 3% will find themselves on the general regime at 10%.

Contributions for yourself. Each month an entrepreneur pays a 10% pension contribution, 5% social contributions and a 3.5% employer pension contribution on the minimum wage, about $190. On top comes 5% for health insurance on 1.4 times the minimum wage. Together that is about $50 a month and about $580 a year, due by the 25th of the following month.

Sample calculation. An online shop on the simplified regime with income of $100,000 a year in a region with a 3% rate pays $3,000 in tax and about $580 in contributions. That is about $3,600 a year in total, under 4% of income. Rates for employees and companies are on the taxes in Kazakhstan page.

How much it costs to register as an individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan

The registration itself is free. Government fees for the whole route, from the residence permit to the first tax period, come to about $45. The bigger items are the residence permit reserve and preparing documents in Russia.

The reserve is checked more than once: when you apply and then every year for 5 years. For a family of three that is about $39,000, so it belongs in the relocation plan from the start.

Can you register remotely or without a residence permit

No. Neither the portal nor a service centre will register an entrepreneur without a residence permit, and the permit itself is only issued in Kazakhstan. Offers to register you from Moscow in a week mean either a registration in someone else's name or a promise that ends in refusal.

There are three legal alternatives.

E-residency. Since 1 January 2026, Kazakhstan has run a programme that lets foreigners get a tax number and a digital signature remotely. The status costs $120 a year. It gives access to banks and public services, but not the right to register as an entrepreneur.

Limited liability partnership. A foreigner without a residence permit can open one, but since 28 May 2024 the founder needs a visa or a temporary residence permit as a business immigrant. Online registration on the portal does not check these documents, so a partnership opened without them risks losing its registration later. How company registration works is on the company registration in Kazakhstan page.

Astana International Financial Centre company. A separate jurisdiction with English law and its own court. Registering a private company online costs $500. It suits finance, investment and holding projects, not a freelancer who needs a simple 3% regime.

If Kazakhstan is only about taxes and you do not plan to move, compare it with its neighbours. In Georgia an individual entrepreneur pays 1% of turnover, and Armenia also registers Russian entrepreneurs: see sole trader in Georgia and sole trader in Armenia. More options are in where to open a company remotely.

A bank account for an individual entrepreneur in Kazakhstan

The account is opened after registration: the bank needs the tax number, the digital signature and entrepreneur status. Many banks let you register as an entrepreneur in their app and open an account straight away.

The longest part is the check. The bank asks what the business does, where the money will come from and who the clients are. Russians usually get more questions: contracts with clients, statements, explanations for large transfers. The check takes from a few days to a few weeks.

If income comes from abroad, a second, personal account in Kazakhstan is useful from day one. It makes it easier to hold the residence permit reserve and receive money unrelated to the business. More on the business account in Kazakhstan and personal account in Kazakhstan pages.

What changed for entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan in 2025-2026

In a year and a half Kazakhstan rewrote almost every rule that affects foreign entrepreneurs. Guides from 2023-2024 are out of date in half their points.

Keep an eye on entry rules too. Since 25 August 2026, a law on electronic travel authorisation for visa-free foreigners has been in force. For now the system runs in test mode and is free; details are in our article on the new entry authorisation.

Risks and pitfalls

• Registration in someone else's name. Registering through a Kazakh acquaintance leaves the business, the account and the money in another person's hands. The law does not protect such an arrangement.
• A barred activity. A consultant on the simplified regime risks additional tax under the general regime, plus interest and a fine.
• A partnership without a visa or permit. Online registration will go through, but it can be cancelled later.
• The rate depends on the region. The difference between 2% and 4% on $100,000 of income is $2,000 a year.
• The residence permit reserve. The money is checked every year for 5 years and cannot be spent on the business.
• Taxes in Russia. As long as a Russian citizen spends 183 days or more a year in Russia, they remain a Russian tax resident and must declare the Kazakh business income there. Kazakh tax is credited under the 1996 double tax treaty.
• Foreign account notice. Russian tax residents must notify the tax office that they opened an account in Kazakhstan. How to do it is in our article on the foreign bank account notification.

Once a Russian citizen lives in Kazakhstan for more than 183 days a year, they become a Russian tax non-resident, and Russia taxes only Russian-source income. How to count the days is explained in the 183-day rule and Russian tax non-residents.

Who an individual entrepreneur status in Kazakhstan suits, and who it does not

Kazakhstan beats most of its neighbours when the move is real. Then the residence permit covers everything at once: housing, a bank account, school for the children, a business taxed at 2-4% and a path to citizenship after 5 years.

It suits:

• Russians who already live in Kazakhstan or are moving there with family for years.
• Online retail, production, crafts, services and other activities outside the barred list.
• Those who want a simple regime with one return per half-year and no VAT.
• Those with a reserve of about $13,000 per family member.

It does not suit:

• Those who want to register from Russia without moving: without a residence permit the door is closed.
• Consultants, lawyers, accountants and marketers counting on the simplified regime: they are left with the general one.
• Those who need a result within a month: the residence permit alone takes more than six weeks after filing.
• Those who plan to spend more than half the year in Russia: the income will still have to be declared there.

For a consultant with foreign income, Kazakhstan's general regime at 10% may still pay off. But that takes a calculation for the specific case, not a ready recipe from a group chat.

How Murblz helps

The route to a Kazakh business rarely breaks at registration. It breaks earlier: on residence permit points, on a reserve that was not accepted, on an activity barred from the simplified regime. Murblz specialists handle the whole route, from counting points and documents from Russia to choosing the region, regime and bank.

If a Kazakh passport is on the horizon, read about dual citizenship of Kazakhstan and Russia first: the country does not recognise it.

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