Author: Louise Pieterse
Last update: October 4th, 2021.
In September, Azerbaijan became the first country in the caucuses to enforce the use of vaccine passports for entrance to most public establishments.
COVID certificate regulations in Azerbaijan have been steadily becoming stricter since the mandate began in May.
By September, the 4th wave of COVID-19 in Azerbaijan was coming to an end.
The new COVID vaccination certificate rules in Azerbaijan will hopefully delay the onset of a 5th wave.
COVID passport restrictions in Azerbaijan
Azeri people need to prove their vaccination status with Azerbaijan’s COVID passport from September 1st. This allows access to restaurants, shopping centers, hotels, sporting events, concerts, and weddings.
Most state employees are also mandated to receive both doses of any vaccine by October 1st. This includes those working in education, health care, transport, social care, tourism, pharmaceutical, and more.
Students over 18 must also display their COVID passports. These passports include vaccine certificates and proof of immunity once someone has recovered from COVID-19.
The government has also been issuing exemption certificates since August to those who are not able to get vaccinated due to medical reasons. The Certificate of Contraindications can be obtained by visiting a polyclinic and applying to a committee that will review each case.
Vaccine passport fraud in Azerbaijan
ASNR Radio, a state-run radio station, reported that there has been an increase in vaccine passport fraud in Azerbaijan. ASNR investigated claims that a small fee paid to a healthcare worker could secure a COVID passport.
“According to our information the citizen allegedly undergoes the ‘procedure,’ but the vaccine is not injected into the body. We have appealed to the relevant authorities to eliminate fraud,” they explained.
Former MP, Nazim Baydamirli, wrote on his Facebook page that he is inundated with requests to get false vaccine passports in Azerbaijan: “I am convinced that a large number of educated people, who should be educating the public, also ‘bought a passport.’ They are making our society ignorant!”
Travel regulations in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is allowing travelers with full records of vaccination, proof of recovery, and/or negative PCR test results.
Citizens and residents from the following countries are allowed to fly into Azerbaijan:
- Russia
- Turkey
- USA
- Bahrain
- UAE
- United Kingdom
- Israel
- Hungary
- Qatar
- Germany
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- Slovakia
- Greece
- China
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Hong-Kong
- Croatia
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Saudi Arabia
- Japan
It is advised that passengers present a QR code at the border gates as this will streamline the process. Those without QR codes will have longer wait times to enter the country.
COVID-19 cases and vaccines in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan had its first COVID infection in February 2020 and has since seen four waves of COVID pass, with the most recent peak at the end of August 2021.
On September 27th, 557 new cases were reported, roughly 15% of the peak, making the total number of infections 410,401.
The COVID-19 mortality rate in Azerbaijan has been around 1.3%, and close to 6,500 people have died.
The country has some of the highest vaccination numbers in the region with almost 37% of the population being fully vaccinated. Just over 8.35 million doses have been given.