Mongolia rolls out e-Visa option despite quarantine hurdles

Even with a mandatory 14-day quarantine complicating travel, Mongolia’s government has launched its official e-Visa application website, a major shift in the country’s tourism policy. 36 countries, including EU members, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and South Korea, can now apply for this 100% online document.

The fee is $51 for stays of less than 30 days or $25 for transit. Traditional visas in passports remain available for slightly lower costs and longer validity, but the e-Visa is likely to become the preferred route. On 15 October, Mongolia plans further entry-process improvements—unless the current surge in cases pushes that timeline back once more.

This e-Visa rollout underscores how digitized visa systems are redefining 21st‑century travel. Visamundi will soon offer Mongolia within its services to ease the application process; the official site is English-only with limited guidance from authorities. Once approved, visitors can explore Mongolia’s vast steppes and stay in legendary yurt camps in the country’s remote reaches between China and Russia, a nation actively distinguishing itself from its neighbors. Known as the “land of the blue sky,” Mongolia is a democracy banking on eco-responsibility to fuel its economic growth.

To propel its tourism sector—and thus its economy—Mongolia is forging strategic partnerships, with South Korea among its newest collaborators. Echoing ecological priorities amid the Covid-19 context, President U.Khurelsukh has committed 1% of GDP to planting one billion trees within a decade under the “Vision 2050” initiative.