Anyone successfully acquire an Azerbaijan e-visa or even a regular one? I need advice as we are supposed to arrive March 31 and, at the same time, also get an Iranian visa for an arrival April 4. Had no idea AZ would be so difficult.

I would never rely on a public forum like this or any other one for such important advice. I can just imagine your interaction with immigration agents: "But my 100 closest anonymous friends on Flyer Talk told me...."

The govt has allowed 32 of their travel agencies to process e-visas and I can find no one who has successfully gotten one from these people. An e-visa would be awesome because you just have to copy your passport and photos, not give up your passport, as you have to for Iran. Of the 32 agents only 6 actually have a website that functions, of those, only 3 responded. One person on Trip Advisor reports that she sent money (big money - like over $100 each) to one of the companies and never got a thing. So, I am trying to find someone at flyertalk, a nice bunch of anonymous people that I pretty much trust, who knows of a company that has actually come through.

The embassy itself appears to facilitate e-visas also but, at the end, the line is dead. We might just drive ourselves to LA to stand over them at the consulate and pay the $160 each it costs for a visa. One of the pitiful jokes about the agencies is that supposedly the e-visas are $20. But, hey, that does not include the huge fees each one wants whether you purchase travel from them or not.

I don't know if this will be much help. I'm interested in the answer, too, because I'd like to visit Azerbaijan myself.

There's a trip report from late last year on Turkmenistan that mentions STANTOURS. If you read the thread, it appears that this outfit has a good reputation, perhaps not the cheapest.

They don't mention the e-visa option on their website, but they do handle Azerbaijani LOIs. If I understand it correctly, you can't get an e-visa without the LOI anyway (and yes, you get stuck paying for it. Not the only country that does this). You might consider emailing STANTOURS to see if they have any more information.

In the past I've read that the e-visas were never intended for independent travellers, only for groups, but that may or may not be true.

There was a travel fair in LA that just ended. A few Azerbaijani travel companies were represented there. You might also try contacting one of them if you keep hitting a dead end with the embassy itself. Presumably if they had it together enough to show up for an LA travel industry show, they're more likely to be able to handle international inquiries.

Good luck! I'm going to be facing the same process (whatever it is) myself eventually.

My info is out of date but I once got a visitor visa from the embassy in London without much trouble from what I can remember. Probably best to go to the embassy or consulate...

Chollie: I am not sure Stantours can help. It is not on the acceptable list of Azerbaijani travel agencies. They would do like my tour operator in SF and send you off to a visa company which would charge you the full $160 (required by the embassy) plus an $79 fee for handling. IF the Billur Tur agency works out, the total will be around $100 and will work with the e-visa. It always makes me nervous sending my passport off to anyone. One flyertalker keeps two passports for that reason. We almost missed a trip to Kenya because their consulate in Los Angeles lost our passports and visa applications!

This is a complicated affair because of the many rules. We have photos we used for our passports and visas in many countries, like India, Australia, Brazil, etc. These are not acceptable to AZ because you are not allowed to smile and we are smiling. They call it the neutral expression.

Even the AZ embassy has evidently stopped issuing visas and sends you off to an agency that tacks on an additional $20.

Our only consolation is that we plan to stay at the JW Marriott on the Megabonus free nights. A great use for them. Very expensive hotels in that part of the world, including in the Stans.

My info is absolutely useless to you (and probably to the OP) The reason OP why people are suggesting making official contact with a visa service is that this site has a wide variety of travellers from many different countries.

I have had zero issue obtaining a visa for Azerbaijan in past, and it was completed more quickly than most. You know where to find me though chollie if you want to chat about travel there. (And do I need to call you the 'S' word again??! )

Did you use a visa service or go directly through the embassy? If I read it correctly, an LOI is required - how did you go about getting that?

Please keep us updated here on how it all works out.

I mentioned Stantours because they have a good reputation. Although they're not on the list, I assume from their website that they work through one of those agents who are on the list - at a price, of course, but I don't see how, unless you can find someone to give you an LOI for free, anyone can get an e-visa for total out-of-pocket of $20.

You don't need a LOI anymore. That is part of the tricky stuff about AZ. The rules change constantly and some websites are old with dated info, like any that say you can get the visa at the airport. No more.

What you need instead of the LOI is a stamped, certified letter from your hotel with all the details of your reservation on it. If you deal with an agency or the embassy, you have to paper copy it (JW Marriot sends it as an email attachment, not thru snail mail) and attach it to your application. We now have that. It is not satisfactory just to use your Marriott reservation info. We had to get the email address of the Baku Marriott to request this doc. We called Marriott to get the email address. If you are using the e-visa program with an approved vendor IN AZ, you just email the attachment to them. That part we got right so far!

About getting the e-visa for $20, some agencies claim they charge no fee IF you buy your air and hotel from them. Honestly, that was not going to happen, esp the air.

Stantours says its website is under construction for AZ. However, they have visa info on the site. They are pretty expensive and just serve as an agency to get you the voucher for air and hotel you need (if they provide that service) for $60. Then they send you off to the consulate which hits you for another $160 for a tourist visa. When they talk $25, that would be a transit visa which is a whole other confusing mess. The embassy website says 3 days max for a transit visa BUT the employee at the Los Angeles consulate said it was only for staying over IN THE AIRPORT. Also, forgot to mention that anyone staying more than 3 days in AZ must register with the govt after arriving. We are hoping that we can do it at the hotel and I have a message into the reservations clerk that sent my hotel docs to find out what Marriott does for its customers. This is a country that wants tourism, according to their ambassador to the US, stating it in front of us in San Fran at a talk!

Thanks for the updates.

Just keep reminding yourself that it's going to be worth it!

Absolutely. Despite some of the negative comments from some FT'ers (including those who have apparently never been ) it's an interesting place to visit.

+1 I really enjoyed Baku and would like to explore the country further.

Getting a visa was a snap. I made a reservation at the Four Seasons, they sent me a confirmation/invitation letter in PDF form, which I took to the embassy along with the visa form, and got it with no issues.