Please confirm if I understand this correctly: if you only use roaming and Wi-Fi, then it is not necessary to register your phone in Azerbaijan.
But if you want to insert a local SIM card, then the SIM slot in your phone will only work for one month, and after that it will be blocked if the registration has not been completed.
Yes, that’s exactly how it works. Registration is required only for phones that will be using an Azerbaijani SIM card for more than 30 days from the moment that SIM first connects on that device. This system exists to block the grey import of phones into the country.
The process, briefly, looks like this: upon arrival, you go through the red corridor and fill out a customs declaration. The customs officers themselves determine the declared value. If the phone’s value is above $800, a state duty of 36% is charged on the difference between the phone’s price and $800.
The second step is IMEI registration at the post office, where you also pay a fee of around 100 manats, depending on the phone model.
If I didn’t declare the phone, what should I do? Can the registration be done later, or can I still declare it if I’m already inside the country?
It’s done only in the red corridor upon arrival. Now it’s too late — you’d have to leave the country and come back again.
Not exactly. You can still declare it later if you forgot upon arrival — but the process isn’t the simplest.
You’ll need to go out to the airport. Next to the main terminal there is a black building by the barrier where the customs office is located.
Working hours of Customs/Gömrük: Monday–Friday from 9:00 to 18:00, lunch from 13:00 to 14:00. For anyone looking for it, here are the exact coordinates of the customs building on the airport territory: 40.457430, 50.053869 — easily found via Google/Yandex Maps.
This is the actual entrance to the Gömrük İdarəsi (Airport Customs Office) through the checkpoint where you can declare your phone. They do it quite quickly, but only during working hours.
So to avoid mistakes, remember:
If you’re staying more than 30 days and plan to use a local SIM in your phone, declare your smartphone immediately upon arrival — through the red corridor.
Other options: use roaming without buying a local SIM, or buy a phone already in Baku.
Regular SIM cards with standard tariffs are not registered to foreigners. On a foreign passport they can only sell a tourist package valid for 30 days. If you ask what to do if you’re staying longer than 30 days — they just shrug.
Alternatively, ask someone local to register a SIM card for you so you can use a regular plan.
If you didn’t declare the phone upon arrival but still need it, go to the airport during working hours using the coordinates above. After declaring, go to the Post Office/Şəbəkə to ensure your phone’s slot with the local SIM doesn’t get blacklisted.
Remember: you won’t be able to use the usual ride-hailing apps (Uber, Yango, Bolt) at the airport. Local “London-style” taxis there are 5–6 times more expensive. The solution is the shuttle bus, which goes to Koroğlu metro or 28 May station for 1.3 manats.
⚠️ Rules change often; information is current as of December 2025.
Dear guests of Azerbaijan, if you do not plan to stay in the country for more than a month and will not return later, you do NOT need to declare or register your phone.
If you have a residence permit, then at the airport you declare your phone at customs (free of charge), and within a month you register it at the post office. There they also tell you the length of registration — it can vary. If it’s for work, your employer provides a document and it’s done for a year, etc. Standard is 3 months.
All this applies to foreigners registering under a foreign passport.
P.S. A foreigner can also register the phone to a friend or relative in Azerbaijan, and then it will also have no expiration.
Hello. Please tell me, do foreigners (tourists) absolutely have to register their phone? And what happens if they don’t? My guest is coming for the third time already, and she never registered anything.
The phone simply won’t work with an Azerbaijani SIM, that’s all — and for most people that’s not a problem, especially if she’s just a guest.
Thank you for the help. She is planning to come again for New Year. So how can she solve the communication issue?
If she uses regular Wi-Fi, there will be no problems. Or she can use her phone in roaming without an Azerbaijani SIM.
Or you can lend her your spare phone, if you have one.
With an Azerbaijani SIM, her phone will not work (if more than 30 days have passed since the first use of an Azerbaijani SIM in that device).
If the phone has two SIM slots, only the slot that was used the first time gets blocked. She can put the Azerbaijani SIM into the second slot — then she gets another 30 days before that slot also gets blocked if the phone wasn’t declared and the fee wasn’t paid.
In Azerbaijan there is mandatory registration of mobile phones brought from abroad (including from Russia). If you don’t register the phone, after a few weeks it will stop working with local SIM cards (Azercell, Nar, Bakcell, etc.). Let me explain step by step:
From the moment of the first connection to a local SIM card, you have 30 days to register.
If you fail to do that — the phone is blocked for all Azerbaijani SIMs.
Two options:
Passport.
The phone itself (IMEI code — dial *#06#).
Payment of the state fee.
Payment is made through ASAN ödəniş (on site or online).
You can register 1 phone every 2 years per person.
If you have several devices, register the others under relatives/friends.
⚠️ Important: if you use your foreign SIM card in roaming, you don’t need to register the phone. Registration applies only when using Azerbaijani SIM cards.
If my phone was already blocked because I used it without registration for more than a month, and I left Azerbaijan — can I declare it upon my next arrival and then register it? Will there be any problems (a fine)? I’m an Azerbaijani citizen.
Yes, you can
Hello Dears,
I have a slightly different issue. I have a business meeting and a demonstration for 1 week. I will carry 18 phones between 3 engineers from our company. Can anyone advise how we can handle this. I am thinking they can keep one phone each for personal use, proceed to customs red zone and each person can declare 5 phones each. Is that a good plan? If we say that these are temporary import and we wont register for local use more than 30 days, is there any different approach we can follow?
Appreciate all the help and valuable suggestions.
Regards
When entering Azerbaijan, you are entitled to bring in personal belongings worth up to 800 USD per month duty-free. Anything exceeding this threshold, as well as items from specific categories such as mobile devices or jewelry, must be declared, and customs duties must be paid on the amount that goes beyond the limit.
In reality, the valuation of imported items by customs officers has always been somewhat subjective. The main type of goods regularly attracting heightened attention has been the latest smartphone models. Passengers arriving from Dubai — a popular destination for electronics shopping — have often complained of particularly meticulous inspections at Baku airport. Customs officers frequently demanded payment of duties on new mobile devices (especially iPhones), even if they were already unboxed and activated, meaning they could reasonably be considered for personal use.
Starting from February 2023, the rules governing the import of mobile devices into the country became even stricter.
• Any device with a GSM module that has not previously been registered in Azerbaijan — even your old Nokia from 2005 — will have to be declared when crossing the border. An undeclared mobile device will not be eligible for IMEI registration.
• The duty-free limit of 800 USD per month for personal belongings is strictly applied to mobile phones intended for personal use. If the value of the smartphone you are bringing in (combined with other items declared at the border) exceeds the 800 USD monthly limit, you will be required to pay a customs duty of about 36% on the amount exceeding the threshold. At the same time, the fee for IMEI registration of newly imported phones will also remain in effect.
How will customs assess the value of goods?
How the customs service will determine the value of a smartphone that is already in personal use remains an open question. One may assume it will follow the same principles as before — based on an invoice (if available) or on the price of a comparable device in Azerbaijan, where the cost of most imported goods is already significantly inflated.
What happens if you do not declare it?
In theory, undeclared devices will continue to function while in roaming mode (as long as no local SIM card is ever inserted). However, violating customs regulations may result in confiscation of the device or a fine of up to 60% of its value.
How to declare smartphones?
The required declaration can be filled out via the customs service website or through the SmartCustoms mobile app. It must be completed by anyone entering the country and bringing in a previously unregistered mobile phone — whether an Azerbaijani citizen, a foreign resident with temporary or permanent status, a tourist, or a relocant returning from a visa run. The declaration can be submitted online or using special e-kiosks at the airport.
Incidentally, the declaration includes an option titled “temporarily imported/exported goods.” By ticking this box to indicate that the item (the mobile device) is being brought into the country only temporarily and by specifying the planned date of export, you are exempt from paying import duties. However, this deadline must be strictly observed: when leaving the country, the device must be presented to customs, and the fact of its export must be recorded in the system. Failure to do so may result in a fine.