Poland to Turkmenistan visa requirements

Polish ordinary passport holders need a visa to enter Turkmenistan, and they must first secure a Letter of Invitation (LOI) arranged by a licensed Turkmen travel agency before the visa can be issued. Turkmenistan has one of the most restrictive visa regimes in the world, and Poland is not on any visa-exemption or visa-on-arrival-without-LOI list. As a Polish citizen, you cannot simply turn up: you must engage a licensed Turkmen tour operator who applies for a Letter of Invitation (LOI) from the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan (SMST). Once the LOI is approved (valid 3 months from certification), you either apply for a visa sticker at a Turkmen embassy/consulate, or you can collect a visa on arrival at Ashgabat International Airport using the certified LOI. The standard tourist visa is single-entry and typically valid for a short guided stay (commonly issued for up to ~10 days, extendable for another 10 days). Although a Presidential decree of April 2025 enacted a future e-visa system that would eliminate the LOI, the e-visa platform was still NOT operational as of mid-2026, so the LOI-based process remains the only route. Note: tourism in Turkmenistan is effectively guided/itinerary-based, and special permits are required for restricted border regions. Turkmenistan is not in the Schengen area, so the 90/180 rule and ETIAS do not apply.