Uzbekistan operates a multi-tiered visa framework that has evolved significantly since 2018 when the government dismantled most visa requirements for tourism purposes. Citizens of 90 countries can enter without advance visa arrangements for periods ranging from 10 to 90 days, while another 76 nationalities access electronic visas through the evisa.gov.uz portal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains the definitive list updated quarterly, though implementation at border crossings occasionally lags published policy changes by 30 to 60 days. European Union passport holders receive 30-day visa-free entry, United States citizens receive 30 days, United Kingdom citizens receive 30 days, Canadian citizens receive 30 days, Australian citizens receive 30 days, Japan citizens receive 30 days, and South Korea citizens receive 30 days. Citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council states receive 30 days. The 90-day visa-free category applies primarily to CIS member states excluding Turkmenistan. Israeli citizens were added to the 30-day visa-free list in February 2019. Malaysian citizens receive 30 days. Singapore citizens receive 30 days. Notably absent from visa-free provisions are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, most African nations, and several Southeast Asian countries, all of which require e-visas or embassy-issued visas.
The e-visa system processes applications within three business days for tourism, business, and student categories. The government charges 20 USD for single-entry tourism e-visas valid 90 days from issue with 30-day stay authorization, 35 USD for double-entry variants, and 50 USD for multiple-entry business e-visas valid 90 days permitting cumulative 30-day presence. Applicants upload passport biographical page scans meeting 300 dpi minimum resolution, facial photographs against white backgrounds sized 3.5 by 4.5 centimeters in digital format, and accommodation confirmation from hotels registered with the State Committee for Tourism Development. The system rejects bookings from unregistered guesthouses and homestays at upload stage. Payment processes exclusively through Visa and Mastercard, with UnionPay added in September 2022. The portal provides no telephone support and email responses average 8 to 12 business days, creating practical difficulties when technical errors occur during application. Applicants receive PDF approval letters containing QR codes scanned at immigration checkpoints, though Tashkent International Airport maintains supplementary paper ledgers reconciled manually when scanning equipment malfunctions.
Embassy-issued visas remain necessary for categories outside e-visa scope, including diplomatic missions, journalism, religious activities, employment, and stays exceeding 90 days regardless of purpose. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires letter of invitation authenticated through uzbektourism.uz registration for business visas processed at embassies, a procedure consuming 15 to 25 business days after initial contact with inviting organization. Student visas require acceptance letters from institutions registered with the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, notarized birth certificates translated into Russian or Uzbek, and medical certificates documenting HIV-negative status issued within 90 days of application. Processing duration extends 30 to 45 business days. Journalist visas processed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press and Information Department necessitate assignment letters from employing media organizations, detailed itineraries naming interview subjects with contact information, and equipment lists specifying camera bodies and lens focal lengths. The government has denied journalist visa applications without stated cause in 14 documented cases between January 2020 and October 2023. Religious worker visas require sponsorship from organizations registered with the Committee on Religious Affairs, a registry that excludes most minority denominations and unregistered Islamic groups.
Land border entry points include the Tazhen crossing from Kazakhstan north of Shymkent, the Turkmenistan Gate at Farap connecting to Türkmenabat, Alat-Farap north of Bukhara, the Dautota-Saryasia crossing south of Termez entering from Afghanistan, the Oybek crossing from Kyrgyzstan's Kara-Suu near Fergana, Dustlik from Tajikistan near Khujand, and Saryosyo near Denov from Tajikistan's Tursunzoda. The Afghanistan border at Termez admits only nationals of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and diplomats with advance coordination through embassies in Tashkent. Dautota processes humanitarian and commercial traffic under armed escort to the bridge midpoint. The Tajikistan land borders closed entirely between July 2018 and March 2019 during a bilateral water rights dispute, reopened partially with restricted crossing hours, then returned to normal schedule by August 2019. Turkmenistan border crossings implement unpredictable temporary closures announced 24 to 48 hours in advance, with Alat-Farap experiencing 17 unscheduled closures in 2022. The Oybek crossing from Kyrgyzstan processes the highest foreign tourist volume, approximately 340,000 entries in 2023, creating queues of two to five hours during June through September weekends.
Tashkent International Airport processes approximately 80 percent of tourist arrivals. Terminal 2 handles international flights and contains visa-on-arrival counters theoretically available to eligible nationalities, though actual implementation applies only to citizens of countries lacking Uzbekistan diplomatic missions, primarily Pacific island states and several Caribbean nations. The airport maintains separate immigration queues for CIS passport holders, e-visa holders, and visa-free travelers, with e-visa processing averaging 12 to 18 minutes per passenger and visa-free averaging 5 to 8 minutes. Biometric enrollment commenced in November 2021 for all foreign arrivals requiring fingerprinting of both index fingers and facial photography, extending processing time by approximately three minutes per person. Secondary inspection occurs when passport data conflicts with reservation systems, typically affecting travelers whose ticket names contain middle names absent from passports or transliteration variations between Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The airport immigration directorate maintains detention rooms for refused entry cases, which numbered 847 individuals in 2023, predominantly visa-free travelers unable to demonstrate accommodation bookings or onward tickets.
Samarkand International Airport inaugurated international operations in May 2021 with direct flights from Istanbul, Dubai, Moscow, and Almaty. Immigration infrastructure mirrors Tashkent protocols though staffing limitations restrict operating hours to flight arrivals rather than continuous service. Travelers arriving on flights scheduled between 2300 and 0600 encounter immigration posts staffed by single officers, creating processing queues exceeding 90 minutes for wide-body aircraft arrivals. The airport lacks dedicated visa-on-arrival facilities and directs travelers requiring visas to Tashkent. Bukhara International Airport processes international flights from Moscow, Istanbul, and Dubai on weekly schedules, maintaining minimal immigration infrastructure that processes approximately 35,000 annual international arrivals. Urgench Airport serves Khiva-bound tourists primarily from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, operating immigration posts staffed during scheduled flight windows only.
Registration requirements mandate foreign visitors report presence to local authorities within three business days of arrival, though practical enforcement centers on hotel-collected migration cards rather than individual reporting. Hotels registered with the State Committee for Tourism Development submit guest rosters electronically through the my.mehmon.uz platform, generating registration confirmations returned to guests as printed slips containing unique registration numbers. Travelers staying at unregistered guesthouses or private residences must visit local branch offices of the Internal Affairs Ministry Registration Department called OVIR (Otdel viz i registratsii), presenting lease agreements or notarized invitation letters from hosting individuals, passport photographs, and completed Forma 3 migration forms available in Russian and Uzbek languages only. OVIR offices in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara maintain irregular hours often closing for lunch between 1300 and 1500 and terminating public service at 1600 regardless of posted hours. Registration violations incur fines ranging from 160 USD to 320 USD assessed at departure during exit immigration checks when officials compare migration card tear-off slips against hotel submission databases. The government amended enforcement in March 2023 to waive registration requirements for stays under 72 hours, though border officials demonstrated inconsistent awareness of the policy change through July 2023.