Mongolia visa requirements
Mongolia visa requirements are thankfully quite straightforward compared to Russia and China. The following types of visas are available:
Tourist visas allow you to travel to Mongolia for 30 days. Once you are in Mongolia, you can extend your tourist visa by a further 30 days at the immigration office in Ulan Bator, but you need to register within 7 days of arrival. Double-entry tourist visas are available, but are more designed for a short side-trip from Mongolia, so you would want to re-enter Mongolia within 14 days of your first exit.
Transit visas are for travelers on the trans-siberian train only. On a transit visa, you cannot leave the train once you arrive in Ulan Bator.
Business visas require a letter of invitation from a Mongolian business or organization, but allow you to obtain a multiple-entry visa for 6 months or 12 months.
Mongolia visa requirements for different nationalities:
USA citizens and Kazakh citizens can stay for 90 days without a tourist visa (but will need to register at the Mongolian Immigration office within 7 days if they plan to stay more than 30 days).
Citizens of Hong Kong and Singapore can stay 2 weeks without a visa. Israelis and Malaysians are allowed one month.
Everybody else will need a visa.
Getting a visa
Click here to get the latest list of Mongolian embassies from the Mongolian Interior Ministry (opens in a new window, Press 'Control' and 'F' and type in your country's capital city).
Follow the link to your capital's website and download the visa application form (those who have come through Russia will be pleased to see it's only 1 or 2 pages!), complete it, and send it back with the required documentation (Passport, photos, itinerary).
It is possible to get a visa once you arrive at the airport or train station in Ulan Ulan Bator, but this is sometimes subject to painful bureaucratic delays and the safest option is to obtain a visa before you arrive.
Overland travelers from China should note that visas are available in Hoh-hot (Inner Mongolia), but as at May, 2011, they only issue tourist visas for a maximum of 15 days (not 30).
You must enter Mongolia within 90 days of your visa being issued.
Costs
Mongolian visa costs have increased a lot over the past 5 years. Depending on what country you're from, visas cost about $US100 for a single-entry visa these days, $150 for a double-entry, and $60US for a transit visa. 12 month multiple entry visas are $400US, or $300 for 6 months.
Extending, Registering, or changing a visa
The Mongolian Immigration Office (sometimes still referred to as the Office for Immigration, Naturalisation and Foreign Citizens (OINFC)) can assist with most Mongolia visa requirements, including visa registration and extensions.
Note the Immigration Office has moved location from what is possibly listed in your guidebook, and a visit there can be an ordeal. I had to go through the process, and wrote This Page covering the whole thing in detail. Make sure you read it if you're going to need to get there while you're in Mongolia! I hope you find it helpful.
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