Before you start

Tulpar card or LRT payment method
Valid foreign licence
IIN for any licence or vehicle process

Step-by-step

1
Use the new LRT — it opened in May 2026 after years of delay
The light rail entered revenue service on 16-17 May 2026: 22.4 km on an elevated alignment, 18 stations, fully automated driverless trains under CBTC control, running roughly 6am to 11pm and connecting the international airport with the administrative, business and residential districts. The fare is KZT 200, payable by LRT card, bank card, NFC, QR or the FacePay system inside the Halyk Bank app. A second line toward Kosshy is under construction. Any guidance written before mid-2026 says Astana has no rail transit.
In personWho: AllImmediateKZT 200 per ride
2
Get a Tulpar card for the buses
Buses remain the backbone of the network and run on the Tulpar card, at roughly KZT 180 in the first zone. Buy and top up at Tulpar offices and sales points, then tap at the terminal or with the conductor. Bus coverage is far wider than the single LRT line, and in winter the wait rather than the ride is the problem — heated shelters exist but are not everywhere.
In personWho: AllImmediateAround KZT 180 per ride in zone 1
3
Use Yandex Go and inDrive, especially in winter
Both apps operate here and fares are low. In deep winter this stops being a convenience and becomes the default: at -30°C with wind, a fifteen-minute walk is a genuine hazard, and residents ride-hail distances they would walk in any other city. Budget for that — a winter transport bill in Astana looks nothing like a summer one.
Mobile appWho: AllImmediateTypical city trip KZT 900-2,500
4
Exchange your licence once resident — with a theory exam
A foreign licence is fine as a visitor, ideally with an International Driving Permit. Once you hold a residence permit you must exchange within roughly 60 days, and since August 2023 that requires passing the Kazakh theoretical examination — around 40 questions in 40 minutes on traffic rules, safety and vehicle operation, taken in Kazakh or Russian. You will also need a medical certificate, a notarised translation and your IIN. The licence is issued for the term of your residence permit.
In personWho: Residence permit holdersDays to weeks, gated on booking the examState duty plus medical certificate and translation

Documents you’ll need

Tulpar card or LRT payment method
Foreign driving licence plus notarised translation
International Driving Permit
Medical certificate (for the exchange)
IIN and residence permit

Things most newcomers don’t know

Astana got rail transit in May 2026, and almost nothing written about the city before then reflects it.

The LRT was under construction and repeatedly stalled for more than a decade and became a national byword for delay. It now runs driverless from the airport into the city on 18 stations at KZT 200. If you are reading a relocation guide that says Astana has buses and taxis only, it predates May 2026 and everything else in it may be similarly stale.

Source: Astana LRT opening, May 2026

Winter here changes the transport calculus rather than just making it unpleasant.

At -30°C or below with wind on open ground, walking distances that are trivial elsewhere become genuinely dangerous, and the city is built with that in mind — connected malls, heated atriums, covered walkways. Residents ride-hail routinely in winter and walk in summer. Anyone budgeting a monthly transport cost from a summer visit will be wrong by a wide margin.

Cars here need winter preparation that is unfamiliar to most arrivals, including engine block heaters.

Diesel gels, batteries fail and unheated engines do not start at -35°C. Locals use block heaters, keep vehicles in heated parking, and run winter tyres as a matter of course rather than as a legal minimum. If you buy or rent a car, ask specifically about block heating and where you will park it overnight — outdoor parking in January is a different proposition here.

The licence exchange requires a theory exam in Kazakh or Russian, which is the same trap as in Almaty and unlike Armenia.

Kazakhstan reinstated the theoretical examination for licence exchanges in August 2023. Arrivals from countries with reciprocal-exchange agreements elsewhere in the region assume a document swap and find a 40-question road-rules test. It is passable with a fortnight of app practice, but it needs planning — and given the winter driving conditions here, it is not a bad thing to have studied.

Source: egov.kz

Common mistakes to avoid

Reading a pre-2026 guide that says Astana has no rail transit — the LRT opened in May 2026
Continuing on a foreign licence after obtaining a residence permit — the roughly 60-day window starts then
Not budgeting for the Kazakh theory exam, required for exchanges since August 2023
Budgeting winter transport costs from a summer visit — the two are not comparable here
Buying or renting a car without arranging block heating and heated parking for winter

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.