Kazakhstan will change the procedure for granting the Kandas status. As noted by the Kazakh Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, applications from ethnic Kazakhs residing abroad will be accepted on a single window principle through the country’s embassies. The new mechanism is being piloted in a number of visa states, like Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China, Iran, and Afghanistan. To date, over 770 applications have been accepted. Applications will also be accepted in countries with a visa-free regime. The new procedure will allow ethnic Kazakhs to resolve issues of visiting the country, applying for jobs, and obtaining housing and the Kandas status without entering their historical homeland via the Enbek.kz digital platform. A number of initiatives for the development and support of ethnic migration were introduced under the Social Code and the new Concept of Migration Policy, including the Ata Zholy special card which enables ethnic Kazakhs from other countries, who are high-level professionals or successful entrepreneurs, to enter the country under a simplified regime.
