The permanent rule hardens last year’s pilot. Under the permanent version the $5,000 floor is gone, the ceiling rises from $15,000 to $20,000, and consular officers set the figure at interview, with most bonds expected at $15,000. The deposit returns if the traveller leaves on time; overstaying forfeits it.
The rule, as carried by The Times of Central Asia: “Applicants from covered countries who are otherwise eligible for a visa must generally post a bond of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000.”
The list runs to 50 countries, about 30 of them African. Turkmenistan entered the programme on 1 January, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on 21 January. The pilot began in August 2025 with Malawi and Zambia and grew from there.
The regional split is the story. Central Asia’s two largest economies stay exempt; the three smaller ones now travel with a deposit. The desk’s arithmetic: a family of three at the expected level parks $45,000 for one family trip, refundable on good behaviour, in economies where that sum is measured in years of wages.