Entry, exit-entry or transit
Anyone travelling under 90 days is a temporary visitor and gets an entry visa. Exit-entry visas are for residents leaving temporarily and coming back; transit visas for passing through.
Paperwork,
plugs, tugrug.
Everything administrative in one place: who needs a visa, which class to apply for, and the practical facts about money, power, phones and holidays once you land.
We can help with the application
We'll send the travel programme your form asks for.
Once your trip is confirmed we provide the itinerary and booking documents in writing.
Start here
Do you need one at all?
Foreign nationals entering or staying in Mongolia need a visa of the class matching their purpose. Nationals of countries with a visa-exemption agreement are exempt to the extent that agreement allows — check the list of visa-free countries first.
Your passport needs 6 months
Valid at least six months from your date of entry.
Apply before you fly
Fill in the form, then apply at the Mongolian diplomatic or consular mission nearest you. Thirty-day tourist visas are issued there.
Staying over 30 days?
You must register with Mongolian Immigration in Ulaanbaatar or a local branch within 7 business days of arriving.
Visa classes
Validity, length of stay and number of entries all differ by class. If you're travelling with us, you want J.
J
Tourist
For anyone visiting as a tourist, whatever passport they hold. This is the one for our trips.
B
Business
For a foreign national visiting for business purposes.
S
Student
For study, higher education, vocational training, scientific research.
T
Investor
For an investor or a senior manager of a foreign-invested entity, branch or representative office.
HG
Employment
For work under an employment contract, whatever passport is held.
D / A
Diplomatic & official
Diplomatic passports and UN laissez-passer holders (D); official business, government invitations and foreign media (A).
O
NGO & humanitarian
For visits under the auspices of non-governmental or international humanitarian organisations.
SH / TS / H
Religious, migrant, private
Religious organisations (SH), emigrants holding migrant permission (TS), and private visits or family already resident (H).
How long it's good for
Validity runs from 90 days to a year depending on entries. Single or double entry allows up to 90 days' stay; multiple entry for temporary visitors is 30 days; transit is 10. A typical tourist visa is valid 90 days with a 30-day stay.
Visa on arrival
Only if you're coming from a country with no Mongolian diplomatic mission. You need an inviter to apply for approval 14 days before arrival — for tourism, at the Immigration Agency of Mongolia. You pay the fee on arrival.
What an inviter has to file
For an on-arrival visa, your inviter submits the paperwork 14 days ahead. If we're your operator, most of this comes from us.
01
An official letter or request from the inviter, covering the intended itinerary and the purpose of travel.
02
A copy of the inviting entity's certificate.
03
A copy of the traveller's passport, valid for at least six months.
04
The travel programme and a copy of the round-trip flight booking.
05
A fee of 1,000 tugrug per traveller — and the traveller pays the visa fee itself on arrival.
Once you're here
Currency
Tugrug (MNT)
Notes come in 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000. Check today's rate before you change money.
Cards & ATMs
Visa, Mastercard, Amex
Accepted in Ulaanbaatar at hotels, airline offices, shops, supermarkets and most travel agencies. ATMs are in many hotels, supermarkets and on the main streets. Carry cash for the countryside.
Time
GMT +8 in Ulaanbaatar
The three western provinces — Uvs, Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii — are an hour behind the capital. Mongolia observes daylight saving in summer.
Electricity
220V / 50Hz
Sockets take European-style two round pin plugs. Bring a converter for 110V appliances; your guide or hotel can usually find an adapter.
Phones
Four networks, 4G almost everywhere
Mobicom, SkyTel, Unitel and G-Mobile all run 4G across most of the country. Buying a local SIM on arrival is easy.
Internet
Wi-Fi in the city, patchy outside
Restaurants, pubs and big stores in Ulaanbaatar have Wi-Fi, and there are internet cafés. On tour you'll get a connection in some villages and towns. Email remains the most reliable way to reach home.
Getting in
Three main entry points
Chinggis Khaan International airport in Ulaanbaatar, Altanbulag on the Russian border in the north, and Zamiin Uud on the Chinese border in the south.
Shops
10am to 8pm
Most shops and department stores keep those hours.
What to buy
Cashmere, leather, silver
Cashmere and wool, leather goods, gold and silver jewellery, traditional clothes and vodka.
Public holidays
New Year1 January
Lunar New Year (Tsagaan Sar)3 days, Jan or Feb
International Women's Day8 March
Mother and Child's Day1 June
Naadam Festival11–13 July
Chinggis Khan's birthday14 November
Numbers to keep
Fire101
Police102
Ambulance103
Sunpath, 24/79914 3722
Customs
Duty free: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco, one bottle of vodka, two of wine, three cans of beer, personal effects and goods up to US$1,000.
Prohibited without permission: palaeontological and archaeological finds, plant and seed collections, birds and animals, wool, raw skins, hides and furs.
Visa rules and exchange rates change. For anything consular — visas, documents, exemptions — contact the nearest Mongolian diplomatic or consular mission directly, or the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on +976 51 261684. We'll help with everything on our side of the trip.
Not sure which visa you need?
Tell us your nationality and dates. We'll tell you what applies and send the trip documents your application needs.