Kazakhstan: Knowledge Base profile
Published 28 July 2025
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About: Kazakhstan
This document contains useful information about Kazakhstan which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.
Contacts
If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.
If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.
Publication
Below is information on when this version of the document was published:
- version 3.0
- published for Home Office staff on 18 July 2025
Changes from last version of this document
This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.
Kazakhstan: names
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Kazakhstan.
There are two types of naming convention in use in Kazakhstan both of which refer to the holder’s relationship to their father, for example, ‘son of’ or ‘daughter of’. There is a:
- Russia naming convention which adds a patronymic middle name (the father’s forename) followed by the suffix:
- ovich for males
- ovna for females
- Kazakhstan naming convention which adds the suffix after the surname:
- uly for a male
- kyzy for a female
Change of name
Name changes are allowed in Kazakhstan and must be done through the Registry Office.
After a marriage, a couple can choose to take the surname of either spouse.
Kazakhstan: nationality
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Kazakhstan.
Dual nationality is not recognised in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: adoption
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Kazakhstan.
Adoption is legal in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: surrogacy
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Kazakhstan.
Surrogacy is legal in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: gender recognition
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Kazakhstan.
Transgender citizens are recognised in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: civil partnerships and marriage
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnership and marriage in Kazakhstan.
Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are not legal in Kazakhstan.
Religious and civil marriages take place in Kazakhstan. Only civil marriages are legally recognised and recorded at the Marriage Registry Offices.
Kazakhstan: documents
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Kazakhstan.
Birth certificates
All births in Kazakhstan must be registered within 1 month. Late registrations are accepted in exceptional circumstances.
Birth certificates are issued when the birth is registered.
If a mistake is made on a birth certificate, a replacement certificate will be issued. There are no marginal notes or amendments on birth certificates.
Only the individual or a family member can obtain a copy of a Kazakhstan birth certificate. The birth records are held locally in the area where the birth was originally registered. There is no central register of births.
Hospital notifications exist and only show the name of the mother.
Marriage certificates
Marriage certificates are issued following the registration of all marriages in Kazakhstan. There is no time limit for a marriage to be registered.
Marriage records are held at the Local Marriage Registry Office in the district where the marriage was originally registered. There is no central register of marriages.
Death certificates
Death certificates are issued following the registration of all deaths in Kazakhstan. There is no time limit for a death to be registered.
Death records are held locally in the area where the death was originally registered. There is no central register of deaths.
Copies of a death certificate can be obtained by:
- the next of kin
- a funeral bureau or undertaker
Identity documents
Kazakhstan issues local identity cards to permanent residents, on a state level. These identity cards are not laminated when they are issued.