Work permits in Uzbekistan

A foreign citizen employed in Uzbekistan will usually need a confirmation of the right to work (Article 107 of the Employment Law). An application is reviewed within 15 working days. The application review fee is 440.000, while the issuance fee ranges from zero to 13.200.000 Uzbek soums, depending on the employee's category.

In brief:

• an employment contract with a temporarily resident foreign citizen is signed after the confirmation is obtained (Article 30 of the Labour Code);
• the application is submitted online and the overall processing period is 15 working days (Article 111 of the Employment Law);
• high-qualification and qualified specialists may receive the document for up to three years (Article 526 of the Labour Code); the usual limit for others is one year;
• a residence permit, employment by an IT Park resident and other expressly listed circumstances can remove the confirmation requirement;
• before the employee starts work, check the legal basis for employment, the employer and position stated in the document, the contract term, visa and registration.

Download our comprehensive guide to get work permits for foreign specialists in Uzbekistan (pdf).

Updated: 04 September 2026

What is a work permit?

The official name of the document is a confirmation of the right to carry out employment activities in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is commonly called a work permit. It relates to a particular foreign employee and is the basis for signing an employment contract unless a statutory exemption applies.

The current sources describe the responsible authority differently. The Employment Law says the confirmation is issued by the Migration Agency (Article 107). The current public service passport names the ministry as the authorised authority, meaning the Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment. These are not two separate application procedures for the applicant: documents are sent through the electronic system and exchanged between the authorities within that process.

A foreign citizen may enter into employment relations from the age of eighteen (Article 522 of the Labour Code). Lawful entry, visa-free entry or a business visa does not replace the confirmation unless the employee falls within an exemption.

Who needs a confirmation?

A temporarily resident foreign citizen hired by an employer in Uzbekistan needs a confirmation. Nationality alone does not create an exemption. A Russian citizen, for example, is subject to the same rule unless they hold an Uzbekistan residence permit or have another basis for an exemption.

The law distinguishes high-qualification and qualified specialists. The general document term and the general fee apply to other foreign citizens.

Categories of foreign specialists

The category determines the criteria, validity period and issuance fee.

The criteria for the first two categories are set by the Employment Law (Article 109). The terms and special rates for other groups are stated in the confirmation service passport.

Example. If a high-qualification specialist is paid in equal instalments, the USD 60,000 annual minimum means an average of USD 60,000 / 12 = USD 5,000 per month. The annual equivalent and engagement terms are assessed, not merely the amount of one payment.

Who may work without a confirmation?

The confirmation is unnecessary only in expressly listed circumstances. The principal list is in the Employment Law (Article 110), while the current public service passport contains additional and clarified categories:

• employees of permanent missions of foreign states, international intergovernmental organisations and foreign-government organisations accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other persons with diplomatic status;
• persons appointed to positions by decisions of the President or the Cabinet of Ministers;
• tourism specialists engaged for up to three months upon a request from the authorised authority;
• founders of foreign and joint ventures, including their chief executives, for up to three months from the date the employment contract for the relevant position is signed;
• science and culture professionals working for organisations established under intergovernmental treaties;
• students undertaking practical training during holidays under programmes of higher educational institutions in Uzbekistan;
• media representatives accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• employees of non-governmental non-commercial organisations and of representative offices and branches of international and foreign NGOs accredited by the Ministry of Justice;
• employees of representative offices of foreign commercial organisations accredited by the authorised authority;
• teachers and specialists invited to Presidential Schools and higher educational institutions;
• holders of an Uzbekistan residence permit;
• foreign specialists employed by IT Park residents;
• holders of a Vatandosh card;
• persons whose employment is governed differently by an international treaty;
• employees working remotely from abroad and not physically working in Uzbekistan.

A separate exemption applies to a foreign citizen who has invested at least 3.740.000.000 Uzbek soums by acquiring shares or an interest in a business entity or establishing a foreign enterprise. They may work in any position in that organisation without the permit procedure.

The three-month founder exemption must not automatically be applied to every LLC with a foreign member. To qualify as an enterprise with foreign investment, the general minimum charter capital is UZS 400 million; it is UZS 200 million for a newly established enterprise in Karakalpakstan or Khorezm Region. The minimum foreign investment share is 15 per cent. Check the enterprise's registered status and the foreign citizen's position before relying on the exemption.

An exemption removes only the duty to obtain the confirmation. Lawful entry, visa and place-of-stay registration requirements must be assessed separately.

How to obtain a work permit

The application and attachments are filed through the Licence information system or the Single Interactive Public Services Portal. Online submission is available around the clock, including weekends and public holidays. The applicant uses an electronic signature or Mobile-ID.

The sources do not define the applicant consistently. Article 111 of the Employment Law identifies the employer and provides for an application through a public service centre, the portal or an online platform. The 2026 service passport permits an employer that is a legal entity and an individual who is either the employer or the foreign citizen to be an applicant. For an online filing, use the roles available in the current electronic form.

The review process and deadlines are set out in the Employment Law (Article 111) and the current public service passport. After payment, the electronic document is generated with a QR code.

Required documents

The public service passport contains a closed list of the principal information and documents. The application states the foreign citizen's details, contact information and address in Uzbekistan, education and specialism, employer's details, type of activity, taxpayer or personal identification number, proposed salary, payment frequency, position and place-of-stay registration information, if available.

Attach the following:

• an electronic copy of the foreign citizen's passport;
• a draft employment contract recording the preliminary agreement with the employer and the salary or remuneration;
• a 3 × 4 cm electronic photograph;
• records confirming the foreign citizen's qualifications;
• for nationals of visa-regime countries, a copy of the entry visa: E employment, A-2 teaching, B-1 or B-2 work, S-3 service, or another visa available to compatriots;
• for specified industrial specialists, a record confirming engagement by an employer in the prescribed category;
• for a technologist, designer or marketer from a prestigious international brand, proof of employment by an organisation operating such a brand.

The list and special supporting evidence are stated in the public service passport. The authority may not replace the special procedure by arbitrarily requesting documents that the rules do not require.

Work permit fees

The cost consists of an application review fee and an issuance fee. The applicant pays 440.000 Uzbek soums for the review, except in the passport's specified case of engaging a technologist, designer or marketer from a prestigious international brand.

The rates are set by the public service passport. If the application is refused or withdrawn, the review fee is not refunded (Article 35 of the Permit Procedures Law).

Cost example. The initial fees for an ordinary foreign specialist are 440.000 + 13.200.000 = 13.640.000 Uzbek soums. They are 440.000 + 880.000 = 1.320.000 Uzbek soums for a qualified specialist. An extension of an ordinary confirmation costs half of both fees: 220.000 + 6.600.000 = 6.820.000 Uzbek soums.

The current rules give inconsistent payment deadlines. Article 111 of the Employment Law requires the issuance fee to be paid within five working days after notice. The general electronic regulation allows up to thirty days. Payment within five working days meets both deadlines. Missing the applicable deadline cancels the issuance decision and requires a new application.

A reissue costs half of the review fee, or 220.000 Uzbek soums, with no new issuance fee. An extension costs half of both fees.

Validity and extension

High-qualification and qualified specialists receive a confirmation for the contract term but no longer than three years. The number of extensions is unlimited, and each extension is limited to three years. Other foreign citizens receive it for the contract term but no longer than one year, with unlimited extensions of no more than one year each. These limits are confirmed by the Employment Law (Article 113).

The service passport also permits a term of up to three years for specified teachers, narrow-profile specialists for new projects and listed industrial specialists. For an extension, the employer must apply twenty working days before expiry (Article 112 of the Employment Law). The general regulation requires filing before expiry and allows the activity to continue until a decision if the term expires during the review.

Following a legal entity's transformation or a change of its name or address, a reissue application must be filed within five working days after re-registration. Reissue takes five working days. If only the name of the administrative area, street or building number changes, the system updates the document automatically and without a fee.

Reasons for refusal

The authority may refuse an incomplete application, failure to meet permit conditions, a current court prohibition, false or distorted information, or a mandatory adverse opinion obtained during review. The complete general list is in the Permit Procedures Law (Article 29).

Article 111 of the Employment Law also ties refusal to an adverse opinion from the territorial authority on hiring the foreign citizen, a mismatch between the proposed number or specialisms and the employer's actual need, or premature employment without a confirmation. The vacancy, position and qualifications in the application should therefore match the draft contract.

If the defect can be cured, the authority allows up to 30 working days for correction. Following refusal, the correction period may not be shorter than 10 working days. Reconsideration takes no more than 5 working days and carries no new fee. The authority may not introduce a new refusal ground that was absent from its notice, and its decision or an official's action may be appealed. These safeguards also appear in the permit procedure rules (Article 29).

Employing a foreign citizen

The employer signs the contract after the confirmation is issued. The contract term cannot exceed the confirmation term (Article 524 of the Labour Code), and the employer records its conclusion, amendment and termination in the Unified National Labour System.

An ordinary foreign employee needs a separate confirmation for secondary employment. High-qualification and qualified specialists may hold a secondary job without a separate confirmation (Article 523 of the Labour Code).

If a contract ends early, a high-qualification or qualified specialist has thirty working days (Article 526 of the Labour Code) to find a new employer; their confirmation, visa and residence permit remain valid during that time. The rule gives no equivalent transition period to other foreign citizens.

A confirmation terminates upon the foreign citizen's application, early contract termination, the employer's liquidation, a prescribed reorganisation, termination of an individual employer's status, death or incapacity, failure to cure a breach, unlawfulness of the original issue or expiry. The Employment Law (Article 112) contains the list. The employment contract ends on the confirmation's expiry date or on the notice date (Article 525 of the Labour Code) if the confirmation is cancelled.

This article does not cover the general personnel-file documents or payroll calculation. The order and employment-contract process is explained under Hiring employees, while calculation and payment rules appear under Payroll. Those steps follow once the foreign citizen's legal basis for work has been checked.

Employer duties

The employer must comply with the confirmation conditions, labour and occupational-safety law, employment rules and mandatory civil-liability insurance. Changes in the submitted information, the foreign citizen's dismissal or the organisation's liquidation must be reported to the authorised authority within one week.

An application may not be filed for a foreign citizen currently in Uzbekistan if their visa has expired or if they have been unregistered with the migration and citizenship authorities for more than three days. A temporarily resident foreign citizen must complete place-of-stay registration (Article 6 of the Foreign Citizens' Legal Status Law). The confirmation does not replace a visa or registration.

The State Labour Inspectorate checks compliance with the confirmation conditions and the employee's qualifications. If the employer or employee does not cure a breach by the deadline in the instruction, the document terminates (Article 108 of the Employment Law).

A breach of stay and registration deadlines carries a fine of 2.200.000, 6.600.000 or 11.000.000 Uzbek soums depending on its duration. Failure to pay the fine or a repeated violation may result in expulsion and an entry restriction; these consequences are in the Code of Administrative Liability (Article 225).

Liability for working without a confirmation

A separate administrative fine applies to breaches of the procedure for engaging and using foreign labour.

The Code of Administrative Liability sets these amounts (Article 49-4). Besides the fine, work without a confirmation prevents lawful employment formalities, while expiry or cancellation of the document requires the contract to end within the periods set by the Labour Code.

Changes in 2025–2027

• Law No. ZRU-1095 of 11 November 2025 amended Article 107 of the Employment Law so that the Migration Agency is now named as the issuing authority.
• Cabinet Resolution No. 821 of 24 December 2025 introduced automatic, free updates of permit documents when an administrative area or address name changes.
• Cabinet Resolution No. 176 of 16 April 2026 restated the confirmation service passport with effect from 1 July 2026, updating the applicants, documents, rates, deadlines and exemptions.
• Cabinet Resolution No. 393 of 20 July 2026 allowed applicants in the United States to file through us-uz.gov.uz. Cabinet Resolution No. 456 of 24 August 2026 provides for public service centres to conduct permit procedures through the Licence system from 1 January 2027.

Checks before a foreign citizen starts work

Before the first working day, the employer should assemble one auditable file:

1. determine whether a confirmation is required or identify the employee's specific exemption;
2. check lawful entry, the current visa and place-of-stay registration;
3. match the employer, position, qualifications, salary and term against the application and draft contract;
4. obtain the QR document and verify its validity before signing the final contract;
5. record the contract in the Unified National Labour System and monitor the extension filing date;
6. report changes and termination within the applicable deadlines.

This process separates three independent issues: immigration status, confirmation of the right to work and employment formalities. One document does not replace the other two.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Russian citizen need a work permit?

Yes. As a general rule, Russian nationality alone does not remove the confirmation requirement. It is not required if the person holds an Uzbekistan residence permit or falls within another expressly listed category, such as a foreign specialist employed by an IT Park resident or a Vatandosh card holder. Record the basis of the exemption in the personnel file before work starts.

May the foreign citizen submit the application?

The 2026 service passport includes an individual applicant who is either the employer or the foreign citizen. Article 111 of the Employment Law, however, continues to identify the employer as the applicant. In practice, the electronic form determines the role available in the system. A draft contract and employer details remain part of the application in either case. If the foreign citizen files, the employer must still ensure that the vacancy and contract terms match the application.

Is a confirmation required for a residence-permit holder?

No. Foreign citizens permanently resident in Uzbekistan with a residence permit are governed by the general employment rules (Article 521 of the Labour Code), and the service passport lists them as exempt. The residence permit must be current. The employer still signs and records the employment contract under the general rules.

May work begin before the confirmation is issued?

No, unless the employee is exempt. Employment relations with a temporarily resident foreign citizen arise after the confirmation is obtained, and employing the person before issue is an express special ground for refusal. Obtain the electronic QR document first, then sign the final employment contract and register it in the Unified National Labour System.

May the employee move to another employer?

Following early termination, a high-qualification or qualified specialist may look for a new employer for 30 working days. Their confirmation, visa and residence permit remain valid during that period. Other foreign employees have no such transition period. Early contract termination ends the confirmation, so the new employer must arrange a new legal basis before work begins.