Алматы is where India and Kazakhstan do business in person: tourism forums, pharma meets, tea festivals. For an Indian company, the city is two sets of contacts, the travellers it sends there and the patients and buyers it serves.
Trade 1
Travel from India
Indian visitors arrive visa-free for up to 14 days, on direct flights from Delhi.
Trade 2
Hospitals and patients
About 1,200 Kazakh medical tourists came to India in 2024, on visas India issues free.
For India-based tour operators, tea and food brands, hospitals and student counsellors with people in Almaty: how a trip, an order or a patient's visit runs on the official WhatsApp API, which numbers are billed at which rate, which languages to write in, and how the UTC+5 clock lines up with India.
The Embassy of India in Astana keeps a representative office in Almaty, and its bilateral brief puts much of the trade promotion here.
India opened its embassy in Almaty in May 1992 and moved it to Astana in November 2007, after the capital moved in 1997; a Representative Office of India remains at Iskenderov Street in Almaty's Medeu District.[1],[2]
About 146,000 Indian tourists visited Kazakhstan in 2024, and the Embassy expected arrivals from India to cross 200,000 in 2025. Direct flights link Delhi and Almaty every day.[1]
Since July 2022 Indian citizens with ordinary passports may stay in Kazakhstan visa-free for up to 14 days at a time and 42 days in any 180.[3]
Medicines led India's exports to Kazakhstan in May 2025, followed by antibiotics, black tea and vaccines. India's exports to Kazakhstan were worth US$510.7 million in 2024.[4]
Almaty hosted an India–Kazakhstan Tourism Business Forum in June 2025, a conference on Ayurveda and traditional medicine in September 2025 and an India–Kazakhstan Pharma Business Meet in March 2026.[1]
In 2024 about 1,200 medical tourists from Kazakhstan visited India, which offers Kazakh nationals a 30-day gratis visa in the tourism, medical and medical attendant categories.[1]
See it work
A Delhi tour operator sends a group of travellers to Almaty for five nights. Step through the messages between the operator, a traveller and the ground team.
Every message in the sequence is one the traveller expects. The operator's booking system sends the templates through InfiQ's API; the change of plan is typed by whoever is on shift in the shared team inbox.
Because Meta prices by the recipient's country code, a traveller who keeps an Indian number is billed at the India rate in Almaty, and one who switches to a Kazakh SIM is billed at the Kazakhstan rate.
Step 8 of 8Event
Tour operatorTraveller
Utility: check-in reminder for the flight home
Step 8 of 8: Tour operator to Traveller — Utility: check-in reminder for the flight home
Five groups, each grounded in the Embassy's records.
Indian arrivals in Kazakhstan reached about 146,000 in 2024, and Goa's government took part in the Kazakhstan International Tourism Festival 2026 in Almaty.[1]
Almaty hosted an India–Kazakhstan Tourism Business Forum in 2025 and a Pharma Business Meet in 2026. Medicine orders stay off WhatsApp, as Meta's policy bars drug sales; the meets' logistics do not.[1]
About 1,200 medical tourists came to India from Kazakhstan in 2024, on visas India issues free of charge.[1]
About 10,000 of the roughly 11,000 Indians in Kazakhstan are students, by the Embassy's count.[1]
The Embassy held an Indian Tea Festival in Almaty in January 2026 and an Indian Food Festival there in September 2025.[1]
Who reads which language decides how many versions of each template you submit. Each version is approved separately.
The Kazakhstan guide explains when promotions are safer in Kazakh. Service replies need no template and can follow the customer into whichever language they write in.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Russian | ru | Distributors, ground handlers and patients who chose it at opt-in |
| Kazakh | kk | The state language; offer it to every Kazakh contact |
| English | en | Travel trade and international buyers |
| Hindi | hi | Indian travellers, students and their parents |
Prices in ₹ and KZT
Meta prices by the recipient's country code, not by where the phone is. To a Kazakh +7 number: ₹1.58 for a utility update, ₹5.31 for marketing and ₹1.58 for a service reply, in rupees before GST; the table below lists authentication rates too.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ ₸4,760 KZT
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ ₸3,969 KZT
Everything a growing business needs to run WhatsApp properly.
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ ₸14,290 KZT
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ ₸11,907 KZT
Lite, plus the API, automation and team scale serious senders need.
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Almaty · Kazakhstan
| Category | ₹ INR | KZT |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹5.3098 | ₸25.3 |
| Utility | ₹1.5824 | ₸7.5 |
| Authentication | ₹1.5824 | ₸7.5 |
| Service | ₹1.5824 | ₸7.5 |
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | ₸25.9₹5.4352 | ₸10.9₹2.2874 | ₸10.9₹2.2874 | ₸10.9₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | ₸30.7₹6.4397 | ₸1.6₹0.3254 | ₸1.6₹0.3254 | ₸1.6₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | ₸26.2₹5.4970 | ₸2.8₹0.5981 | ₸2.8₹0.5981 | ₸2.8₹0.5981 |
| Chile | ₸37.2₹7.8162 | ₸8.4₹1.7585 | ₸8.4₹1.7585 | ₸8.4₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | ₸5.2₹1.0993 | ₸0.336₹0.0706 | ₸0.336₹0.0706 | ₸0.336₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | ₸27.0₹5.6629 | ₸1.5₹0.3167 | ₸1.5₹0.3167 | ₸1.5₹0.3167 |
| France | ₸36.0₹7.5588 | ₸12.6₹2.6393 | ₸12.6₹2.6393 | ₸12.6₹2.6393 |
| Germany | ₸57.2₹12.0088 | ₸23.1₹4.8386 | ₸23.1₹4.8386 | ₸23.1₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | ₸30.7₹6.4397 | ₸10.9₹2.2867 | ₸10.9₹2.2867 | ₸10.9₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | ₸36.0₹7.5596 | ₸14.6₹3.0700 | ₸14.6₹3.0700 | ₸14.6₹3.0700 |
| India | ₸4.5₹0.9435 | ₸0.925₹0.1941 | ₸0.668₹0.1402 | ₸0.691₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | ₸17.2₹3.6133 | ₸10.5₹2.1979 | ₸10.5₹2.1979 | ₸10.5₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | ₸14.3₹2.9992 | ₸3.3₹0.6943 | ₸3.3₹0.6943 | ₸3.3₹0.6943 |
| Israel | ₸14.8₹3.1045 | ₸2.2₹0.4662 | ₸2.2₹0.4662 | ₸2.2₹0.4662 |
| Italy | ₸33.3₹6.9847 | ₸12.6₹2.6369 | ₸12.6₹2.6369 | ₸12.6₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | ₸25.3₹5.3098 | ₸7.5₹1.5824 | ₸7.5₹1.5824 | ₸7.5₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | ₸33.2₹6.9671 | ₸18.4₹3.8671 | ₸18.4₹3.8671 | ₸18.4₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | ₸36.0₹7.5644 | ₸5.9₹1.2314 | ₸5.9₹1.2314 | ₸5.9₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | ₸16.6₹3.4877 | ₸3.6₹0.7471 | ₸3.6₹0.7471 | ₸3.6₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | ₸17.4₹3.6425 | ₸9.6₹2.0218 | ₸9.6₹2.0218 | ₸9.6₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | ₸66.9₹14.0494 | ₸21.0₹4.3987 | ₸21.0₹4.3987 | ₸21.0₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | ₸30.7₹6.4397 | ₸1.4₹0.2990 | ₸1.4₹0.2990 | ₸1.4₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | ₸21.6₹4.5421 | ₸2.8₹0.5898 | ₸2.8₹0.5898 | ₸2.8₹0.5898 |
| Oman | ₸14.3₹2.9992 | ₸10.3₹2.1709 | ₸10.3₹2.1709 | ₸10.3₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | ₸19.8₹4.1620 | ₸6.3₹1.3200 | ₸6.3₹1.3200 | ₸6.3₹1.3200 |
| Peru | ₸29.5₹6.1843 | ₸12.6₹2.6392 | ₸12.6₹2.6392 | ₸12.6₹2.6392 |
| Poland | ₸15.3₹3.2105 | ₸5.1₹1.0702 | ₸5.1₹1.0702 | ₸5.1₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | ₸14.3₹2.9992 | ₸5.0₹1.0547 | ₸5.0₹1.0547 | ₸5.0₹1.0547 |
| Romania | ₸36.0₹7.5596 | ₸12.1₹2.5436 | ₸12.1₹2.5436 | ₸12.1₹2.5436 |
| Russia | ₸33.6₹7.0520 | ₸16.8₹3.5173 | ₸16.8₹3.5173 | ₸16.8₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | ₸24.1₹5.0537 | ₸4.5₹0.9401 | ₸4.5₹0.9401 | ₸4.5₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | ₸30.7₹6.4397 | ₸6.7₹1.4072 | ₸6.7₹1.4072 | ₸6.7₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | ₸15.9₹3.3385 | ₸4.0₹0.8369 | ₸4.0₹0.8369 | ₸4.0₹0.8369 |
| Spain | ₸29.6₹6.2161 | ₸8.4₹1.7578 | ₸8.4₹1.7578 | ₸8.4₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | ₸30.7₹6.4397 | ₸0.838₹0.1759 | ₸0.838₹0.1759 | ₸0.838₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | ₸4.6₹0.9587 | ₸0.377₹0.0792 | ₸0.377₹0.0792 | ₸0.377₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | ₸36.0₹7.5596 | ₸12.5₹2.6138 | ₸12.5₹2.6138 | ₸12.5₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | ₸24.1₹5.0537 | ₸6.6₹1.3811 | ₸6.6₹1.3811 | ₸6.6₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | ₸26.6₹5.5795 | ₸9.2₹1.9346 | ₸9.2₹1.9346 | ₸9.2₹1.9346 |
| North America | ₸10.5₹2.1976 | ₸1.4₹0.2989 | ₸1.4₹0.2989 | ₸1.4₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | ₸9.4₹1.9796 | ₸1.7₹0.3516 | ₸1.7₹0.3516 | ₸1.7₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | ₸35.3₹7.4057 | ₸4.7₹0.9938 | ₸4.7₹0.9938 | ₸4.7₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | ₸36.0₹7.5596 | ₸8.9₹1.8595 | ₸8.9₹1.8595 | ₸8.9₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | ₸31.0₹6.5048 | ₸4.7₹0.9934 | ₸4.7₹0.9934 | ₸4.7₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | ₸16.4₹3.4490 | ₸3.8₹0.7998 | ₸3.8₹0.7998 | ₸3.8₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | ₸24.8₹5.2054 | ₸7.2₹1.5019 | ₸7.2₹1.5019 | ₸7.2₹1.5019 |
| Other | ₸25.3₹5.3098 | ₸3.2₹0.6769 | ₸3.2₹0.6769 | ₸3.2₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. Most of your tour group will keep Indian numbers: their messages are billed at the India rate, ₹0.19 for a utility template, even while they are in Almaty. Tenge amounts in the converter are indicative; invoices are in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costSince 1 March 2024 all of Kazakhstan has kept UTC+5, and Almaty is thirty minutes behind India. A Delhi operations desk and an Almaty ground team share almost the same working day, which makes WhatsApp the natural place for the many small changes a trip involves.
Messages to people in Kazakhstan also bring Kazakhstan's personal data law into the picture, including its rule on storing personal data inside the country. The Kazakhstan guide sets out what that rule says; settle it with counsel before you message Kazakh residents at scale.
On InfiQ
One WhatsApp number answered by a team: 10 users on Lite and 25 on Growth, agent and manager roles, transfers, private notes, labels and canned replies.
The Delhi desk and the night shift answer one number, so a traveller's question at Medeu gets the same answer whoever replies.
A REST API with scoped keys, idempotency keys and per-key rate limits, plus HMAC-SHA256-signed webhooks retried for 24 hours. Included on Growth, an add-on on Lite.
The booking system sends the flight reminder and the driver's details the moment they are confirmed.
Each contact's opt-in source and time are recorded, STOP replies are enforced at platform level (even against later imports), and the audit trail exports.
Each traveller's, patient's or distributor's opt-in is stored with its source and time, as Kazakhstan's consent rules expect.
InfiQ publishes its per-message rate for every Meta market in rupees, ex-GST, so the cost of messaging customers abroad is known before you send.
The +7 rate is published in rupees, so a tour's messaging cost can go into the package price.
Nearby
Nearest city pages first, in Kazakhstan and the neighbouring countries.
Astana, the capital since 1997, has its own page: government, finance and the Astana International Financial Centre.
Question: Our groups fly Delhi to Almaty on Indian SIMs. Are their trip updates billed at the Kazakhstan rate while they are there?
Answer: No. Meta prices each message by the recipient's country code, so a traveller using a +91 number is billed at the India rate, ₹0.19 for a utility template, even in Almaty. Only travellers who switch to a Kazakh +7 number are billed at the Kazakhstan rate.
Question: A traveller asks to swap the Shymbulak day for Big Almaty Lake halfway through the trip. Can our desk handle it on WhatsApp?
Answer: Yes. The traveller's message opens a 24-hour window in which your team can reply freely from the shared inbox, confirm the new pick-up time and send the driver's details. Each reply is charged as a service message at the rate for the traveller's country code.
Question: We sell Indian tea to distributors in Almaty after the Embassy's tea festival. Can order confirmations go out in Russian?
Answer: Yes. Russian (ru) and Kazakh (kk) are both on Meta's template list. Submit a version of each order template in the language each distributor chose, and keep the order number, blend and quantity in the same position in every version. Medicines are different: Meta's policy does not allow drug orders on WhatsApp.
Question: Patients from Almaty come to our Delhi hospital on India's free medical visa. Can we send their pre-arrival checklist on WhatsApp?
Answer: Yes, once the patient has opted in. Appointment confirmations and checklists are utility templates. Health details are sensitive, so keep them out of templates and use the conversation only for what the patient expects. Kazakhstan's data law applies to their data; the Kazakhstan guide explains its storage rule.
Question: We counsel Indian students heading to medical universities in Almaty. Can parents in India get the fee and arrival updates too?
Answer: Yes, if each parent opts in separately. A parent's +91 number is billed at the India rate and the student's Kazakh number at the Kazakhstan rate. Hindi (hi) templates suit many parents, and English or Russian suit the student once they are settled in Almaty.
Question: A traveller switched to a Kazakh SIM in Almaty. What does the driver-details message to that number cost?
Answer: Once the number is Kazakh, Meta bills the Kazakhstan line: ₹1.58 for the driver-details template, before GST, and ₹1.58 for each reply your desk sends during the trip. Messages to the traveller's Indian number earlier in the booking were billed at ₹0.19.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed; your number can be live about two hours after Meta business verification is complete. If your business is based in Almaty, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Route
Almaty
Official WhatsApp Business Platform
