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Opening an account abroad Opening a bank account in Kazakhstan

Mykola Sirenko

Lawyer

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sirenko@prikhodko.com.ua

Phone numbers

Expert in corporate and international corporate law. Has extensive experience in supporting the acquisition of financial licenses in Ukraine, as well as business incorporation in the EU, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the UAE, and key Asian jurisdictions.

Opening a bank account in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan once became a simple workaround for many people: arrive, show a passport, receive a card. That era is over. Under pressure from international compliance standards, local banks have significantly tightened their procedures, and opening an account today is a sequence of steps with tax and foreign exchange consequences. Let us examine what this process looks like for a foreigner.

Consultation on opening an account

How can a non-resident open an account in Kazakhstan?

The starting point is not the bank, but the tax authorities. A foreigner must first obtain an individual identification number, which also means being placed on the registration records in Kazakhstan. No institution will open an account without this number; legal entities similarly require a business identification number.

The sequence is strict and does not allow the steps to be rearranged: first the individual’s number, then, if a company is involved, the legal entity’s number, and only after that — the account itself.

Obtaining an individual number at a public service centre, through a consulate or under a notarised power of attorney;
international passport translated into Kazakh or Russian;
a document confirming lawful stay in the country;
a Kazakh telephone number for access to mobile banking;
an explanation of the purpose of opening the account: employment, business, studies or investment.

Can an account be opened online in Kazakhstan?

For a foreigner — generally not. Remote identification in Kazakh banks is linked to national services, access to which becomes available to a non-resident only after an identification number has been assigned and, as a rule, after a personal visit to a branch. An application may be submitted in advance, but the documents are signed offline.

An alternative is a notarised power of attorney issued to a representative in Kazakhstan. The representative can obtain the identification number and submit the documents, but not all banks accept this arrangement, and some require the client to be present specifically at the signing stage. Documents issued in Ukraine generally do not require an apostille — a notarised translation is sufficient, but this condition should be confirmed with the particular institution.

Which bank is best for opening an account in Kazakhstan?

Of the more than twenty second-tier banks, only some work consistently with non-residents.

Bank	What it offers a non-resident	Restrictions
Halyk Bank, Bank CenterCredit	Extensive branch network, international transfers via SWIFT	Personal visit required, often an employment certificate
ForteBank, Freedom Bank, Alatau City Bank	Multi-currency cards, convenient mobile banking	Proof of employment or business activity in the country
Kaspi Bank	The most convenient retail service within the country	Limited range of cards for non-residents
Financial institutions of the Astana International Financial Centre	English law, work with foreign structures	Primarily focused on corporate clients rather than retail customers

The sanctions status of the institution should also be checked separately: subsidiaries of Russian banks operate in Kazakhstan with a limited range of services, and holding an account with them creates risks for international settlements.

It will also be useful: Opening of a company in Turkey

Account in Kazakhstan for an individual

A personal account is opened for access to payment infrastructure: international payment cards, multi-currency functionality and convenient transfers. The following should be taken into account:

an identification number is mandatory, and obtaining it takes additional time;
some banks require proof of employment or business activity in the country;
having an account does not create a right of residence and does not replace visa or immigration grounds;
Kazakhstan participates in the automatic exchange of tax information;
closing an account remotely can be difficult — this should be considered in advance.

Select a bank in Kazakhstan

Account in Kazakhstan for a business or company

A foreign company may open an account without establishing a branch or subsidiary. However, opening the account itself is an independent basis for registration with the tax authorities — a consequence that often becomes apparent only when the first reporting obligations arise.

The procedure for a legal entity follows a strict sequence:

individual identification number of the director or authorised signatory;
business identification number of the company itself;
electronic digital signature for the company and director;
constitutional documents and an extract from the register of the country of incorporation, with translation;
disclosure of the ownership structure down to the ultimate beneficial owner.

Foreign currency account in Kazakhstan

Multi-currency accounts are standard here: accounts can be opened in tenge, US dollars, euros and sometimes yuan. For a foreigner, this is one of the main advantages, as conversion within the bank is generally cheaper than cross-border transfers involving double currency conversion.

At the same time, Kazakhstan maintains full foreign exchange regulation. Foreign currency contracts exceeding established threshold amounts are subject to registration, while residents are subject to requirements regarding the repatriation of proceeds. These rules affect non-residents to a lesser extent, but the bank carefully reviews payment purposes and may suspend a transaction until supporting documents are provided.

Experience of Prikhodko & Partners in supporting account opening in Kazakhstan

The most common mistake in Kazakhstan-related cases is treating account opening as an ordinary everyday action. In reality, it means entering the country’s tax system, and the consequences emerge later: reporting requirements, bank questions regarding the source of funds and the need to substantiate each cross-border payment.

The Prikhodko & Partners practice in international corporate law covers the entire process: obtaining identification numbers, preparing and legalising documents, supporting the client with the bank and aligning the structure of future transactions with foreign exchange requirements. Our lawyers assess in advance what questions the compliance team is likely to raise and prepare the answers before the bank asks them.

Where necessary, the team also assists in preparing a POF, SOW and AML package for the bank to document the source of funds, capital and the economic purpose of future transactions.

For corporate clients, we separately analyse the tax consequences of registration with the tax authorities so that an account opened for settlement purposes does not become a source of unexpected obligations.

Do you need to open a personal or corporate account in Kazakhstan? The lawyers at Prikhodko & Partners will help obtain the required identification numbers, prepare and legalise documents, select a bank, pass compliance checks and assess the tax and foreign exchange consequences of opening the account in advance.

Calculate the cost of services

1 question

Have you already obtained an individual identification number?

Yes

2 question

Do you need a multi-currency account?

Yes

3 question

Would you like to assess the tax consequences of opening an account in advance?

Yes

Frequently asked questions for the topic:

How can I obtain a Kazakh identification number without being in the country?

There are two available routes: applying to a Kazakh consular office abroad or issuing a notarised power of attorney to a representative who will submit the documents locally. The assignment procedure itself takes several business days, while most of the time is spent on preparing and translating the documents.

Is a residence permit required to have an account with a Kazakh bank?

No, resident status is not mandatory. However, some banks separately require proof of a connection with the country — an employment agreement, business presence or studies. Today, a passport and identification number alone are not sufficient everywhere.

Does Kazakhstan share account information with other countries?

Yes. The country has joined the automatic exchange of financial information, so data on the accounts of tax residents of participating jurisdictions is transferred to the relevant tax authorities. Such an account should not be expected to remain confidential.

Successful cases on the topic: