Is a transit visa required for a 12-hour layover in Kazakhstan? [duplicate]

For your return journey though it looks like you will need a visa as you will be getting on a domestic flight within Kazakstan!

The following information is from Air Astana website.

You will not need a transit visa for your outbound trip if you are transferring in the same terminal or a to a different terminal if there is a transfer zone

Transit visas are not required for those transiting through the same terminal, but necessary for those transferring to another terminal if no transfer zone is provided. Transit visas are issued upon provision of a visa valid to enter the country of destination and relevant tickets with confirmation of departure date from the transfer point on the territory of Kazakhstan, no later than 5 days from the moment of arrival to the port or station in Kazakhstan.

However if you do change terminals and there is no transfer zone you will need a transit visa as you do not fall into a category below it seems. In bold I have highlight that citizens not of the countries listed need a visa.

The attention of visitors to Kazakhstan is drawn to the following visa requirements:

Citizens of Georgia**, Ukraine**, Argentina*, Brazil*, Serbia*, Turkey*, Mongolia**, Ecuador* and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), namely Azerbaijan*, Armenia**, Belarus**, Kyrgyzstan**, Moldovia**, Russia**, Tajikistan*, and Uzbekistan* do not need an entry visa to Kazakhstan.

*Entry without a visa is restricted to 30 days.

**Entry without a visa is restricted to 90 days.

Starting from 1 January 2017 the visa free regime was expanded for the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and the USA. The citizens of the above mentioned countries may enter the territory of the country with all types of valid passports for a stay for up to 30 days. The citizens of Hong Kong SAR can enter Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 14 days.

All other foreign citizens will need to obtain an entry visa to Kazakhstan.

I would advise you to contact Air Astana or check your booking and see if you will need to change terminal, and if you do check if there is a transfer zone between the terminals.

For the return trip, you will need a visa, because to get to the domestic flight you must clear immigration and enter Kazakhstan at Astana, and then exit at Almaty.

For the outbound, however, no visa is needed if the trip is in a single booking or you only have hand luggage.

So if it's in a single booking or you only have hand luggage, get a single-entry transit visa, otherwise get a double-entry transit visa