The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) reproduces the DIFC and ADGM model on Kazakh soil: a separate jurisdiction with its own law built on common law principles, an independent court, the AFSA regulator, the AIX exchange and tax exemptions running to 2066. The centre sits physically in Astana; legally, most private-law questions are resolved inside its own legal order. Data as of August 2026.
The construct has been tested by volume: by the end of 2025 the centre held more than 4,900 registered companies from 90+ countries, with roughly $20 billion channelled into the economy through the platform. For financial and crypto business with a Central Asian nexus the centre supplies a ready regulatory perimeter; everyone else has to price the benefits line by line.
Concept: common law inside Kazakhstan
The centre was created by Constitutional Statute No. 438-V of 7 December 2015; the Constitution itself was amended in March 2017 to accommodate it. Its own law applies inside the perimeter: AIFC Acts are built on the principles, rules and precedents of the law of England and Wales and the standards of leading financial centres, and the working language is English. Kazakh civil legislation applies subsidiarily, while public law — criminal and administrative — applies in full.
Dispute resolution sits outside the national system. The AIFC Court is not part of Kazakhstan's judiciary: a first instance with a Small Claims division for claims up to $150,000, an appellate court, and common-law judges on the bench led by Lord Burnett of Maldon, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Judgments are enforced in Kazakhstan under the same procedure as acts of the national courts, with no recognition step; appellate rulings are final. The International Arbitration Centre (IAC) operates alongside, with awards enforced under the rules for Kazakh arbitral awards. The court and the IAC handled 1,282 cases in 2025.
The tax regime until 2066
Article 6 of the Constitutional Statute fixes the exemptions until 1 January 2066 — a horizon written into a constitutional-level norm. The perimeter of relief looks as follows:
| Who | What is exempt until 01.01.2066 |
|---|---|
| Financial participants | CIT and VAT on income from financial services on the approved list (~34 categories: banking, insurance, brokerage, asset and fund management, underwriting, custody) |
| Ancillary providers (legal, audit, consulting) | CIT on services to AIFC bodies and financial participants |
| Foreign employees of financial participants | personal income tax on employment income |
| Individual investors | PIT on dividends and gains on stakes in AIFC participants and on AIX-listed securities (subject to the statutory criteria) |
| AIFC bodies and participants supplying the services listed in art. 6(3) and 6(4) | property and land tax on facilities located inside the centre |
In practice the edges of the relief matter more than the list itself. Trading and service revenue is taxed on general terms. For digital asset exchanges the AIFC expressly carves out part of the exemptions — a DATF operator has to model its tax position separately. Salaries of Kazakh employees are taxed normally and social payments remain due.
Since 2022 the relief has been conditional on real presence: the Rules on the Substantial Presence require core income-generating activities (CIGA) to be carried out in the centre, with expenses and full-time headcount proportionate to the volume of business. The regime is deliberately assembled as a BEPS-compliant preferential one, against OECD/G20 standards.
The 2026 tax reform sharpened the arithmetic: under the new Tax Code the standard VAT rate is 16%, CIT is 20% and 25% for banks, and PIT turned progressive (10%, and 15% above 8,500 MCI of annual income). The AIFC exemptions are written into the constitutional statute and the reform did not repeal them, so the gap between the general regime and the centre has widened.
AFSA licensing
AFSA (the Astana Financial Services Authority) combines the roles of financial regulator and companies registrar. Licensable categories split into regulated activities — accepting deposits, providing credit, dealing in and managing investments, custody, trust services, fund management, insurance, Islamic finance, payment services — and market activities: exchange, clearing, crowdfunding and operating a Digital Asset Trading Facility (DATF). Ancillary services go through a lighter authorisation.
The cost of entry is set by the fees rules as amended with effect from 1 December 2025: an application for a banking licence (accepting deposits) costs $21,000, broker-dealer $14,000, managing investments $7,000, fund management $7,000–10,000 and a crypto exchange (DATF) $98,000. Annual supervision fees run from $1,400 for advisers to $20,000 for exchange infrastructure, plus a variable component tied to turnover.
The FinTech Lab is a regulatory sandbox for models that no existing licence fits. Entry is cheaper than the full regime: a $2,000 pre-application fee, an application fee of 30% of the standard fee for the corresponding activity, and approved individuals at $200 against $500 in the full regime.
The centre opened the region's crypto track first. Binance Kazakhstan was the first global platform to complete full AFSA authorisation — trading facility, broker-dealer and digital asset custody under one licence; other operators work inside the perimeter as well, including Bybit Kazakhstan. Over the first nine months of 2025 digital asset transaction volume on the centre's platforms reached $6.8 billion across 192,400 clients. The licence map, the rules for platforms and fiat off-ramps are covered in Kazakhstan crypto licences; the banking side of such projects is profiled in Alatau City Bank.
An AIFC company against an LLP
Registration runs online through portal.aifc.kz: a private company costs $500 ($1,500 on paper) and the register of participants is public at publicreg.myafsa.com. The menu of forms is wider than the Kazakh corporate default: private and public companies, LP, LLP, special purpose companies, investment companies, funds and foundations. There is no minimum capital for a private company; a registered office inside the perimeter is mandatory.
For a non-licensable company the procedure comes down to four steps:
- Beforehand: settle the activity and check whether it requires an AFSA licence; prepare the ownership structure, passports and proof of address for beneficial owners, and a business plan.
- File through the centre's portal — articles on the AIFC template, details of directors and shareholders, and a registered-office agreement with an accredited provider.
- Clear the Registrar of Companies review: beneficial-owner compliance, source of funds and, where needed, follow-up requests.
- Receive the certificate of incorporation and the public register entry; then Kazakh tax registration and account opening.
A Registrar refusal usually traces back to an opaque ownership chain or to an activity that in fact requires a licence. The decision is appealable to AFSA and then to the AIFC Court. Licensable activities add AFSA authorisation on top: business plan, prudential capital, approval of individuals for key functions and interviews — in practice several months.
The comparison with a conventional Kazakh LLP turns on the type of income. For non-licensable trade and services an AIFC company delivers English contract law and access to the AIFC Court, with zero tax relief: income outside the list is taxed on general terms while substance requirements and fees add cost. For regulated financial business the comparison inverts — an AFSA licence replaces the national one, and the regime to 2066 saves 20% CIT and 16% VAT.
Accounts open both inside the centre and with ordinary Kazakh banks — Halyk, Forte, Jusan, BCC — while brokerage and investment banking sit with Freedom. Compliance tests the business model and source of funds as strictly as for any Kazakh company; inbound international payments are easier to collect along the ready collect/pay route for Kazakhstan.
Who the centre works for
Managers and funds. At the end of 2025 the centre counted 159 investment funds and 68 licensed managers, with AUM above $3 billion. The fund framework covers exempt and non-exempt funds, and an AIX listing opens local retail — 2.3 million brokerage accounts.
Family offices. The Family Offices Framework has applied since 1 July 2024: a single family office is set up in the centre and launches SFO Funds, with a lighter regime for the SFO Fund Manager reflecting the closed investor base. For Central Asian families this is the nearest way to hold assets under common law.
Holdings. An AIFC company sits above Kazakh operating assets with a listing in view: AIX has raised $473 million in equity and $10.5 billion in debt, and individual shareholders take the PIT exemption on listed securities.
For individuals the centre offers the Investment Tax Residency Programme: an investment from $60,000 into AIX securities or the capital of AIFC companies (from $150,000 into digital assets through AFSA-licensed platforms) buys a five-year investor visa for the family and Kazakh tax residency on 90 days of presence per 12 months instead of the standard 183. The economics need pricing up front: a $7,750 processing fee and an annual tax-residency charge of 7,000 MCI (about KZT 30 million in 2026), so the programme pays off on substantial foreign income. The ordinary route through Kazakh residence is an order of magnitude cheaper; the jurisdiction as a whole is assembled in the Kazakhstan guide, and routes for digital professions in creator relocation.
Practice in 2025–2026
The trajectory is steady: 1,000 companies in September 2021, 4,000 in June 2025 and 4,900+ by year end, with China, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Türkiye and Singapore among the top ten countries of origin. The centre attracted $6 billion in 2025, $4 billion of it portfolio investment, while participants' tax payments over nine months rose 76% to KZT 72.8 billion. AIX turnover climbed from $1.3 to $2 billion across 200 new listings.
The enforcement mechanics have been tested in practice: AIFC Court judgments go straight into the national enforcement system, and appeals stay inside the centre — a participants' dispute never reaches the Kazakh courts. The region's sanctions load has not gone anywhere, though: the presence of Russian participants and dealings with sanctioned counterparties are covered in the sanctions risk map.
Risks
The points where the AIFC regime diverges from newcomers' expectations sit in one block.
Q/A
Is the AIFC an offshore?
No. Participants remain Kazakh tax residents, the regime is assembled as BEPS/FATF-compliant, the relief attaches to a closed list of income types, and substance requirements have applied since 2022. Classic offshore anonymity is absent: the register of participants is public.
How does the AIFC Court differ from Kazakh courts?
It is independent of the national judiciary, works in English on the principles and precedents of the law of England and Wales, and is presided over by Lord Burnett of Maldon. Judgments are enforced like acts of Kazakh courts with no recognition step, and appellate rulings are final.
What does an ordinary trading company get in the AIFC?
English contract law, the court and a convenient set of corporate forms. No tax relief: trading revenue sits outside the list of financial services. For operating business a regular LLP is cheaper, and an AIFC company makes sense one level up — as a holding or ahead of a listing.
What does a crypto licence in the AIFC cost?
The application fee for Operating a Digital Asset Trading Facility is $98,000 under the fees rules in force from 1 December 2025, plus the annual supervision fee and capital for prudential requirements. FinTech Lab entry is cheaper at 30% of the standard fee, but carries sandbox limits on volumes and duration.
Did the AIFC exemptions survive the 2026 tax reform?
Yes. The exemptions are written into Article 6 of the Constitutional Statute and run to 1 January 2066; the new Tax Code did not repeal them. With general rates up (VAT 16%, CIT 20%) the gap between the centre and the general regime has become more visible.