People usually send documents, clothes, gifts, small electronics and medicines to Kazakhstan with a traveler. Kazakhstan is in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), so the import allowances are common to the Union: by air you can bring goods for personal use worth up to 10,000 euros and weighing up to 50 kg duty-free, by other transport up to 500 euros and 25 kg. What sets Kazakhstan apart: duty-free alcohol and tobacco are only for people aged 21 and over.
What you can usually send
You can send goods for personal, family and household needs that are not related to business. Customs decides whether these are personal goods based on their nature and quantity and on how often the person crosses the border.
- Documents: certificates, powers of attorney, original papers.
- Clothes, shoes, gifts, small electronics: within the common value and weight allowance.
- Medicines without narcotic or psychotropic substances: no permits needed, in amounts for personal treatment.
- Food: in reasonable amounts for personal needs. Under common EAEU rules, ready-made animal products in factory packaging: up to 5 kg without a veterinary certificate.
- Fruit and vegetables: under EAEU rules, without a phytosanitary certificate, up to 5 kg, one pumpkin, melon and watermelon each, up to 3 bouquets of flowers.
What you cannot send or should avoid
The list of import bans for Kazakhstan is common to the EAEU. Medicines deserve special attention.
- Narcotics, weapons, endangered animals and plants, extremist materials: banned.
- Medicines with narcotic or psychotropic substances: only in limited amounts for personal treatment, with medical documents stating the name and quantity. The documents must be in the state language or have a notarized translation.
- Seeds, planting material and potatoes: only with a phytosanitary certificate.
- Sturgeon caviar over 250 g, fish over 5 kg: no longer count as goods for personal use.
- Alcohol over 5 liters: banned.
- Special technical devices for covert information gathering: individuals cannot bring them in.
- Power banks and spare batteries: on a plane, carry-on only, never in checked baggage. Under the IATA 2026 guidance, you can take no more than two power banks, each up to 100 Wh; larger ones are forbidden, and you can't charge them from the aircraft power supply. Spare batteries for devices: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with the airline's approval and no more than two per device, over 160 Wh not allowed. Airlines may set stricter rules.
- Someone else's cash: under our rules, you cannot send any cash that belongs to another person.
Duty-free allowances
The allowances apply to each person. Used items needed on the trip do not count toward them.
- By air: goods worth up to 10,000 euros and weighing up to 50 kg.
- By other transport and on foot: up to 500 euros and 25 kg.
- Above the allowance: 30% of the value, but at least 4 euros per kilogram above the allowance.
- Alcohol: 3 liters duty-free. From 3 to 5 liters, 10 euros for each liter above 3. Age 21 and over only.
- Tobacco: 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars and cigarillos, or 200 heated tobacco sticks, or 250 g of tobacco. Age 21 and over only.
- Cash: up to and including 10,000 US dollars needs no declaration. More must be declared in writing. Above 100,000 US dollars per crossing, you need documents showing where the money came from.
How to pack and what to check at handover
The traveler should see everything they carry. So the parcel is packed in front of them, not handed over as a closed box.
- Show every item at the meeting. The traveler does not take anything sealed.
- Add a receipt if the item is new and expensive: it helps confirm the value.
- For medicines: original packaging and a prescription or a doctor's statement.
- Food: ready-made and factory-packed only.
- Take photos of the contents and of the packed parcel, and share the recipient's contacts.
Who is responsible at the border
The person carrying the parcel is responsible. Under EAEU rules, goods are declared by the person who owns, uses or controls them at the moment of crossing the border. So at customs the traveler answers for someone else's parcel: if an allowance is exceeded or an item is banned, the traveler pays and does the explaining.
A traveler can refuse an item if they are not sure it can be brought in.
Find a traveler to Kazakhstan
Trips to and from Kazakhstan are collected on the routes page: you can see who is going and when.
If there is no suitable trip, post a request: travelers on your route will see it and respond. The price calculator suggests how much to offer for delivery.
Sources
- Kazakhstan State Revenue Committee: importing goods for personal use (in Russian)
- Kazakhstan State Revenue Committee: rules for goods, alcohol, tobacco and cash (in Russian)
- Kazakhstan State Revenue Committee: declaring cash (in Russian)
- Eurasian Economic Commission: allowances for goods for personal use (Annex 1 to Decision No. 107)
- Eurasian Economic Commission: goods that are not for personal use (Annex 6 to Decision No. 107)
- Eurasian Economic Commission: moving goods for personal use and cash
- Eurasian Economic Commission: importing narcotic and psychotropic medicines for personal use
- Rosselkhoznadzor: EAEU rules for food and plants in hand luggage (in Russian)
- IATA: passengers travelling with lithium batteries
- Parcelane: prohibited and restricted items
Checked: November 2026. Rules change, so check the Kazakhstan State Revenue Committee website before the trip.