Azerbaijan records 1.09 mln foreign arrivals in first half

Azerbaijan registered 1.09 million entries by foreign nationals from 192 countries in the first half of 2026, the State Migration Service said on Wednesday.

The largest numbers of arrivals were citizens of Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Iran and Kazakhstan.

During January-June, the service received 38,884 applications for the issuance and extension of temporary and permanent residence permits, including 36,213 for temporary residence and 2,671 for permanent residence.

It also received 5,087 applications for the issuance and extension of work permits.

The agency said it issued 9,757 decisions related to violations of migration legislation, while 850 foreign nationals were administratively expelled from the country.

In addition, four cases involving the organisation of illegal migration and other unlawful activities were identified during the first six months of the year.

Gulnar Nazimgizi