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REGULATION ON FOREIGN MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Approved by the Governmental
Regulation of the No. 903
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
REGULATIONS
on Accreditation and Opening of Press Offices of Foreign Media
in the Republic of Kazakhstan
I. General provisions
1. In accordance with the system of international cooperation in the field of information spreading and in an effort to inform the world community about domestic and international life of the Republic of Kazakhstan, correspondents of foreign media, long-term or short-term accredited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including those invited by other authorities and organizations of the republic can work in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. Legal status and professional activity of foreign media correspondents accredited in the Republic of Kazakhstan (including those from the Commonwealth of Independent States) are regulated by the Constitution, legislative and normative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, international agreements ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan as well as these Regulations.
3. Accreditation of the foreign media representatives is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan .
II.Opening of a Press Office
4. Media organizations wishing to open correspondent office in Kazakhstan and be accredited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, should submit to the Press Office of the Ministry the documents and information listed according to the following requirements, by post and in original where requested (documents via fax/email scanning are temporarily accepted as advance copies).
1.Letter of application on letterhead from the organization, addressed to the Chairman of International Information Committee, stating the motivation of the organization to apply as an accredited entity, or diplomatic note from the embassy of the relevant country to the Republic of Kazakhstan specifying the term of accreditation. The request should be signed by the President or main representative;
2.Completed “Accreditation form” with contact information of the organization and of a designated contact point for official communication with the Press Office (NB: No other forms or summary documents will be considered valid. Names must appear exactly as they appear on the person’s ID);
3.Good quality copy of a passport;
4.2 high quality passport photos;
5.Information on the journalistic activity undertaken by the correspondent earlier;
6.Basic information on the foreign media.
5.The decision on opening (expansion) of a press office of a foreign public information production entity in the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan within one month from the submission of all documents. Long-term accreditation is provided for one year with subsequent prolongation for the same period. Short-term accreditation is provided for up to six months.
6.In the capacity of correspondents of foreign media in the Republic of Kazakhstan journalists shall be accredited irrespective of their permanent address and citizenship.
7.Upon arrival to the Republic of Kazakhstan, an accredited foreign media representative shall receive a standard accreditation card for long-term or short-term accreditation, members of his (her) family shall be issued cards of correspondent’s family member.
Operating personnel of the office shall be issued a standard card. The specimens of ID cards and other cards shall be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In case of loss of an accreditation card, correspondent’s family member card or a card of operating personnel of the office, the person who lost the document shall notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A duplicate will be issued within two week period.
8.Short-term accreditation of a media representative of a foreign public information production entity shall be carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Correspondents of foreign media arriving to the Republic of Kazakhstan on a single task as well as journalists substituting main correspondent in case of holidays, illness, etc. shall be accredited for a short term.
9.In case of various international and domestic events (congresses, conventions, forums, seminars, etc.) held in Kazakhstan correspondents of foreign media shall process their documents for a short-term trip through a diplomatic or consular office of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the relevant country, in case of absence of the mentioned offices – through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and shall be short-term accredited to organizations that convene events mentioned above. These organizations shall acquaint correspondents with the contents of these regulations in relation to their rights and duties.
III. Rights and duties of foreign correspondents
10.Correspondents of foreign media accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan shall exercise the rights and freedoms provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and international agreements to which the Republic of Kazakhstan is a party.
11.Correspondents and other media representatives accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan shall observe the Constitution, laws and other normative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
12.In case of violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan correspondents of a foreign media shall be subject to legal accountability provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Bringing a correspondent of foreign public information production entity to legal account shall entail termination of accreditation.
13.In case of violation by correspondents of foreign media the rules in the field of information spreading established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and these regulations, propaganda and agitation of violent change of the constitutional structure, violation of the territorial integrity of the republic, undermining national security, war, social, race, national, religious, class and ancestral superiority, cruelty and violence cult, they may be deprived of accreditation by a corresponding decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on deprivation of correspondent’s accreditation means the fact of impossibility of his further stay in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the capacity of correspondent.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the corresponding state authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, diplomatic representatives of the relevant country, the administration of the foreign public information production entity and the correspondent deprived of accreditation about this decision.
IV. Access to information sources
14. Access for correspondents accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan and other media representatives to information sources are regulated by corresponding legislative and normative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with international agreements ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan.
15.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan mediates in obtaining admittance to official press-conferences and other official events for accredited correspondents.
V. Movement of foreign correspondents and other foreign media representatives
in the Republic of Kazakhstan
16.Foreign correspondents and other foreign media representatives accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan have the right for movement through the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the legally established procedure.
