A criminal-record certificate for “permanent residence” is prepared when applying for permission to reside permanently, not merely when the residence card is produced. The rules call it a “document on convictions (absence of convictions)”: it may contain information that needs assessment, rather than simply stating “no convictions”.
Short answer: the general checklist requires a document from the competent authority of the country of citizenship and/or permanent residence. Its validity is limited to 180 calendar days. Authentication requirements and translation into Kazakh or Russian are separate checks. A Kazakhstan criminal-record certificate does not replace the required foreign document merely because the applicant is already in Kazakhstan. The basis is Appendix 7, row 10, item 4 of Ministry of Internal Affairs Rules No. 992.
This guide was checked on 12 September 2026. It primarily addresses adult Russian citizens preparing documents for permanent residence. It checks one part of the application, not the complete residence-permit checklist; special rules for children and certain other applicants appear below.
First establish which country must issue the certificate
The rule refers to the “country of citizenship and/or permanent residence”. Citizenship is therefore not the only fact to disclose when preparing the application. If you have resided permanently in another country, tell the receiving migration-service office and clarify which documents your particular situation requires.
KLC recommendation: before ordering certificates, make a short note of your citizenship, country of permanent residence, intended issuing authority and expected filing date. Do not substitute a list of every tourist trip for permanent residence, or assume that “and/or” automatically requires a certificate from every country you have visited.
The document must be issued by the competent authority of the relevant country. An intermediary, translator or notary does not become that authority simply by helping obtain or prepare the certificate. Before choosing an ordering route, establish which official document you will receive and how its authenticity will be established.
Four checks for one document
| What to check | What must be clear | The mistake this prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Country and issuing authority | The document concerns the relevant country and comes from its competent authority | Ordering only a Kazakhstan certificate instead of the required foreign one |
| Validity | The issue date and validity allow use at filing; the rule sets a limit of 180 calendar days | Building the whole application around an outdated certificate |
| Authentication | Whether legalisation is required, an apostille applies, or an international treaty removes the need for special certification | Paying for an unnecessary apostille or submitting a document without required authentication |
| Language | The document is readable in Kazakh or Russian; a foreign-language document has a translation whose accuracy is notarised | Treating an apostille as a translation or leaving relevant information untranslated |
These checks are independent. A proper seal does not fix an expired document, and a notarised translation neither establishes the absence of convictions nor replaces any required authentication of the foreign document.
Planning around the 180-day limit
In the Ministry's document checklist, the criminal-record document is item 4, for which validity is limited to 180 calendar days. This is not the processing time for a permanent-residence application, nor a promise that every certificate will be accepted regardless of any shorter validity stated on it.
In practice, plan to submit the certificate while it remains valid and within the prescribed limit. Do not order it too early if the rest of the application is not ready. Translation, notarisation or later authentication should not be treated as a new issue date for the certificate itself.
The time needed to issue a foreign certificate, deliver it and translate it depends on the chosen official channel and providers. This guide does not set a universal price or total preparation time. Check these before ordering and allow time to correct discrepancies in names or passport details.
Translation, apostille and legalisation are different matters
Rules No. 992 require foreign-language documents to be translated into Kazakh or Russian, with the accuracy of the translation certified by a notary. If the certificate is already in Russian, this rule does not require a Kazakh translation solely for filing. If relevant information appears in another language, clarify the scope of translation in advance.
For documents issued by foreign authorities, the rules require legalisation unless Kazakhstan legislation or a ratified international treaty provides otherwise. It is therefore wrong to state either that everyone needs an apostille or that foreign certificates never require authentication.
Article 12 of the Chisinau Convention provides for acceptance without special certification when its conditions are met: a competent authority or authorised person, the prescribed form, an official seal, and application of the Convention between the countries concerned. The question for a particular certificate depends on the issuing country and applicable treaty, not on the applicant's citizenship considered separately from the document. The verified text of Article 12 sets out a general rule; it does not establish the current treaty arrangements for every pair of countries. This guide therefore makes no unconditional apostille claim covering all Russian documents or all “CIS documents”.
Before paying for an apostille or legalisation, ask the receiving migration-service office which regime applies to your certificate's country and form. Separately identify whether it is an original paper document or an electronic document: do not assume that a printed PDF is equivalent to an original without checking. Exemption from special certification does not remove the validity and language checks.
When a special checklist applies
Do not apply the general adult checklist to every family member. Row 10 of Appendix 7 also provides exceptions:
- Item 4 expressly names people holding refugee status in Kazakhstan and ethnic Kazakhs who are citizens of the People's Republic of China; the wording includes a qualification concerning international treaties.
- There is a separate list for an applicant under 18 arriving with both parents or one parent, and for the specified case where the legal representative is a Kazakhstan citizen or a foreign or stateless permanent resident of Kazakhstan. Item 4 is not in that list. The birth certificate and required parental consents are not thereby removed.
- A separate list applies to an applicant who acquired another country's citizenship through its diplomatic mission or consular institution in Kazakhstan and has permanent registration in Kazakhstan. That list also omits item 4; this is a narrow situation, not an exemption for anyone who newly acquires another citizenship.
Russian citizenship by itself does not remove the criminal-record document from the general checklist. Exemption from a document requirement and exemption from legalisation are not the same thing.
Example: Russian citizenship and permanent residence in another country
Suppose an adult Russian citizen resides permanently in another country and plans to apply in Kazakhstan. Starting by ordering “any criminal-record certificate” is unhelpful: it may not address the required issue.
- Tell the migration service about both countries and the basis for permanent residence; clarify which certificates are required under the “and/or” wording.
- For each certificate confirmed as necessary, check the competent authority, document format and means of obtaining it.
- Establish authentication requirements and language separately. Conditions for a Russian document cannot automatically be extended to one issued by a third country.
- Coordinate issuance and translation with the filing date for the complete application, then recheck the name, date of birth and document details.
This is an example of a verification process, not a claim that everyone in this situation always needs exactly two certificates.
If the certificate contains information or an error
Article 49 of the Law on Migration provides for refusal or cancellation of permanent-residence permission for people with an unremoved or unexpunged criminal conviction. The current wording checked for this guide is not limited to serious and especially serious crimes. Do not rely on older checklists containing that limitation.
Where an entry exists, its content and the legal status of the conviction need assessment. Article 49 contains other independent grounds for refusal: expungement alone does not guarantee permission. Do not conceal information or edit the file yourself: the rules also identify false documents and failure to meet requirements as grounds for refusal. Raise errors with the issuing authority; have the legal implications of an entry assessed individually before filing.
Obtaining a certificate does not extend your lawful stay. If your permitted stay is ending or has already been exceeded, address that separately with the migration service; waiting for a certificate does not remedy the breach. For planning, see the 90/180-day rule explained.
What to do before filing
- Match the issuing country and authority to your situation rather than a generic online checklist.
- Check the certificate's validity against the expected filing date.
- Establish the applicable authentication regime; do not confuse it with translation.
- Compare the details with your passport and arrange any necessary translation.
- Check the other parts of the application separately, including proof of solvency.
For help assessing document preparation, open the Visas and residence permits service or the questionnaire for an initial document checklist and select “Permanent residence in Kazakhstan”. The questionnaire provides an initial checklist; the need for particular foreign certificates and the final document set are clarified through individual review.
Official sources
- Ministry of Internal Affairs Rules No. 992: Appendix 7, row 10 — criminal-record document, validity, translation, legalisation and special lists; row 11 — refusal grounds.
- Chisinau Convention: Article 12 — conditions for accepting documents without special certification.
- Law on Migration: Article 49 — grounds for refusal and cancellation of permission.