Turkmenistan/Azerbaijan: Documents that would indicate country of citizenship

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Author Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada
Publication Date 10 November 1999
Citation / Document Symbol ZZZ33211.E
Reference 5
Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Turkmenistan/Azerbaijan: Documents that would indicate country of citizenship, 10 November 1999, ZZZ33211.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad7234.html [accessed 17 September 2023]
DisclaimerThis is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The following information on Internal Residence Documents in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan was obtained from the electronic version of the Foreign Affairs Manual available at the Website of the United States Department of State, Freedom of Information Act, Electronic Reading Room.

Turkmen Internal Residence Document

(TL: VISA-91; 8-1-94)

There are three types of Turkmen documents with which a person may reside in Turkmenistan: (1) Internal Passport (pasport); (2) Foreigner's Residence Permit (Vid Na Zhitel'stvo Dlya inostranstsa); and (3) Residence Permit for Stateless Persons (Vid Na Zhitel'stvo Dlya Lits Bez Grazhdanstva)

Azerbaijani Internal Residence Document

(TL: VISA-176; 02-06-1998)

Soviet passports are still in use in Azerbaijan.  Passports held by Azerbaijani citizens must be stamped "Citizen of the Azerbaijan Republic".  There are three types of Azerbaijani documents with which a person may reside in Azerbaijan: 

Internal passport (passport);

Temporary certification in lieu of passport (spravka); and

Foreigner's residence permit (vid na zhitel'stvo dlya lits bez grazhdanstva).

Each document is confiscated when a person is allowed to emigrate from the Azerbaijani Republic, and an appropriate travel document is issued.

The old-style Soviet passports used for foreign travel will continue to be valid until their stated expiration dates (normally the year 2001.)  Diplomatic and official passports in the old Soviet style expired on December 31, 1997.

For additional information on documents and records from either country, please consult the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Foreign Affairs Manual. July 1998 Release. United States Department of State. Freedom of Information Act. Electronic Reading Room. "9 FAM PART IVAppendix C, Azerbaijani Republic.

_____. July 1998 Release. United States Department of State. Freedom of Information Act. Electronic Reading Room. "9 FAM PART IV  Appendix C, Turkmenistan."

Foreign Affairs Manual. July 1998 Release. United States Department of State. Freedom of Information Act. Electronic Reading Room. "9 FAM PART IVAppendix C, Azerbaijani Republic." (5 pages)

_____. July 1998 Release. United States Department of State. Freedom of Information Act. Electronic Reading Room. "9 FAM PART IV  Appendix C, Turkmenistan." (4 pages)

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.

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