Guide · Family

Bringing your spouse and children

Family members do not need their own ground. They take residency as dependants of a permit holder under Art. 45.1.5 of the Migration Code, once the sponsor's card has issued. The work is in the certificates, which have to be legalised in the country that issued them, and in the order of filings.

Updated 29 October 20266 min readSources: Migration Code Art. 45.1.5; State Migration Service document lists; Law on State Duty
Key takeaways
  • Family permits are filed after the sponsor's card issues, not alongside it.
  • Marriage and birth certificates are legalised in the country that issued them, with names matching the passports exactly.
  • Children under 15 give no fingerprints; permits are renewed in step with the sponsor's.
In this guide
  1. Who qualifies
  2. Before you fly: certificates
  3. The order of filings
  4. Documents and fees
  5. Housing, schools, healthcare

Who qualifies

The spouse, children under 18 and dependent parents of a foreigner holding a temporary or permanent residence permit in Azerbaijan. The sponsor's permit can be on any ground, including the branch-head ground. Adult children and other relatives need a ground of their own, usually study or employment.

Before you fly: certificates

The marriage certificate and each child's birth certificate must be legalised for Azerbaijan in the country that issued them: apostille if that country is a Hague party, consular legalisation if not. A certificate issued in Pakistan gets a MOFA Pakistan apostille; one issued in the UAE goes through MOFAIC and the embassy; one issued in the UK gets the FCDO apostille. Then each is translated into Azerbaijani by a notarised translator in Baku. Start this while the company documents are being legalised, because it runs in parallel and takes one to two weeks.

Names must match. The spelling of every name on the certificates, the passports and the translations has to be identical. A transliteration difference between a birth certificate and a passport is the most common reason a family file is sent back.

The order of filings

  1. The sponsor obtains the residence card (branch registered, medicals done, application filed, fingerprints, card collected: about six weeks from arrival).
  2. Family members apply for e-visas and arrive. On a 30-day e-visa, file the stay extension in the first days.
  3. Stay registration at the family's address within 15 days of arrival.
  4. Medical certificates for each family member at a designated centre.
  5. Residence applications for each family member filed online, with the sponsor's notarised consent or the sponsor attending the appointment.
  6. Fingerprints for the spouse and children aged 15 and over; children under 15 give none. Cards in 20 working days at the standard fee.

Family permits are issued for the same period as the sponsor's and are renewed in step with it.

Documents and fees

FeeStandardExpedited
Spouse or dependent parent120 AZN160 AZN
Child under 1860 AZN100 AZN
e-Visa per person≈ USD 29urgent fee higher
Medical certificate per person≈ 100 AZN—

Housing, schools, healthcare

Family flats in Baku's central districts rent for roughly 1,200 to 1,800 AZN a month for two to three bedrooms; the lease should name every family member and include the landlord's obligation to register the stay. International and bilingual schools charge from about 1,000 AZN a month per child upward, with English-medium curricula available; state schools are free and teach in Azerbaijani or Russian. Private clinics accept walk-in patients, and health insurance for residents is available from local insurers at modest premiums.

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Moving with family?

We legalise the certificates while the company file runs, and file the family permits the week the sponsor's card issues.

Ask about family permits