COVID Requirements for Turkmenistan

Eilidh Crowley

March 12, 2023

Now that Turkmenistan has finally started accepting applications for Letters of Invitation, meaning tourists can finally return to this amazing Central Asian country, the big question is what COVID related requirements are there for tourists wishing to travel there.

As part of the LOI application process, a vaccine certificate is required, showing a minimum of two doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Any type of vaccine is accepted, whether it's Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovax or Sputnik. The vaccine certificate from your home country is acceptable and it can be in your own language without the need to translate it to Turkmen or another language.

If you’re not sure about what an LOI is, you can read about it here .

On arrival at Ashgabat Airport, you will need to undergo a PCR test which costs US$45, and is payable there in cash. Once you’ve received your negative result, you’ll be able to enter the country.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TEST POSITIVE?

Good question! And one that we're hoping we won't need to know the answer to, but of course, it could happen.

Theoretically you would need to either fly straight back out again or quarantine for 2 weeks in a hotel at your own expense, however it seems that this is mainly a formality and they don't really want to have to enforce either of those things.

It has not been declared how long these rules will be in place for, but for the time being, this is the situation.

There still is also no word on when land borders will be opened, although it is now a lot more likely that it will be delayed, as Turkmenistan’s remote border crossings would not have the facilities to conduct mass PCR testing.