Tajikistan requires that tourists with visa-free entry into the country to register with the Migration Police (OVIR) if they plan to stay in the country for longer than 10 days. Register within 10 days of entry.
Visa, eVisa or Visa on Arrival vs Visa-Free Entry
If you enter the country with a Visa, eVisa or Visa on Arrival, you are NOT required to do this registration. Note that there is a difference between a Visa on Arrival and a visa-free entry. If you entered Tajikistan without a visa, had your passport stamped, and paid no fee, you fall into the visa-free category and are required to register.
Our Advice: Get an eVisa ahead of time and avoid all the trouble associated with the OVIR registration.
There is a lot of confusion around this process. Here, we try to clarify it and share our experience.
Visitors with visa-free entry are required to register with OVIR. If you don’t, you risk a hefty fine or a bribe. Don’t bribe anyone ever! Remember, it is your responsibility to do it as of October 2025.
A Hotel vs Airbnb Stay for Registration
If you are staying in a hotel, most of them offer a service to register you for a small fee. If you are taking a tour, the tour operator may offer this service as well. It is worth the extra cost, just let them handle it.
For Airbnb or private guest house stays, you will need the host’s cooperation as the registration requires their identification. If they refuse, there is nothing you can do about it. Our 2 out of 2 Airbnb hosts were apprehensive about their involvement in the OVIR process. This was a major hassle for us. Make sure to ask your host(s) beforehand.
First, there is no official source of OVIR registration process information available online. All information available is anecdotal.
To accomplish the registration yourself, you will need:
- Printed photocopy of your passport, first two pages
- Printed copy of the Tajikistan entry stamp from your passport
- Printed copy from your hotel stay
For Airbnb or a guesthouse, you will need proof of your stay and a copy of the host’s national ID. Our host had to go to the office with us - Registration fee. The official fee is 170 Tajikistani Somoni (TJS). Don’t expect to pay this amount. We paid 200 TJS per person in Khujand. The man in Dushanbe office asked 300 TJS
- Their offices are in Dushanbe, Khorog, Khujand, Panjakent and Murghab. Search for OVIR for the city on Google map
Our Experience:
Dushanbe: Our Airbnb host was apprehensive of the process and refused to assist or provide us with the required paperwork. So we went to the OVIR office in Dushanbe with copies of all the paperwork needed and the Airbnb reservation printout, hoping that we might get lucky.
The officer wanted the apartment owner’s identification. He was nice enough to talk to the Airbnb owner, who refused. He told us there is nothing he can do and that maybe we should have stayed at a hotel.
Khujand: Our Khujand Airbnb host, after much convincing and us providing our background information, agreed to help us with the process. His mother went with us.
When we entered the office front door, there were two small windows with doors closed. There is a doorbell switch above the windows. Ring the bell and wait. After about 10 minutes, a nice man appeared. He talked to the Airbnb owner, asked us about the length of our stay, took our passports, and closed the window door. He reappeared in about fifteen minutes with filled-out forms in Russian. They had us sign the forms, took 200 TJS each, and told us to return by 3 pm the next day.
The next day, we went to the office and rang the bell. The same nice man appeared after ten minutes, said something in Russian, and waved us to the chairs outside the office. We took it that he wanted us to wait. About 30 minutes later, he reappeared and gave us our registration certificates.
Based on our experience, we recommend getting an eVisa to skip this whole process. Tajikistan is a lovely country, and Tajiks are lovely people; we loved it every minute of our time there. Don’t let this change your plans!