Kazakhstan may require citizens to surrender passports during replacement process

Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Internal Affairs has proposed changes to the rules for issuing and replacing identification documents in Kazakhstan.
Current rules
Under current procedures, citizens are not required to surrender their old passports or ID cards when applying for replacements at public service centers. They may retain the old documents until the new ones are issued, except in cases where the documents are damaged or the personal data is unreadable.
What could change?
The proposed changes would require citizens to surrender their passports immediately when applying for a new one. The ministry cited an increase in incidents involving the reuse of invalid documents.

“Citizens will still have the option to keep their old passports temporarily—until the new one is ready—by submitting a written request stating the reason,” the draft order says.

The document has been published on the “Open NLA” portal for public discussion and will remain available for comments until May 26.
Kazakhstan issued record number of passports in 2024