How to hire a foreign citizen in Uzbekistan

Publication date: 25.11.2024

A business company, registered in Uzbekistan, which intends to hire a foreign citizen (i.e. conclude an employment contract with him/her) (hereinafter - the Employer or Company), shall obtain a work permit for each such foreigner. Obtaining a work permit is also required for employees of a foreign company that carries out its business activity through a permanent establishment (PE) in Uzbekistan and plans to hire foreign citizens to work in this permanent establishment under an employment contract. A work permit is issued by the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter - the Ministry).

It should be noted that there is no need to obtain a work permit:

for a foreigner who has a permanent residence permit for living in Uzbekistan;
if a foreigner performs works (provides services) to a legal entity of Uzbekistan under a service agreement;
if a foreigner performs works (provides services) to a legal entity of Uzbekistan on behalf of a foreign company (while this foreigner should not be hired under an employment contract in a permanent establishment of a foreign company in Uzbekistan);
for foreign specialists - residents of the IT Park;
for a foreigner hired for working remotely (online) outside of Uzbekistan;
for employees of representative offices of foreign commercial companies accredited by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan;
for a foreigner who has invested in Uzbekistan at least 8,500 times the basic calculation value (BCV), i.e. approximately 250,000 US dollars, at the time of making the investment in the form of purchasing shares of a business company, or has founded a new company. In this case, this foreigner is entitled to work without obtaining a work permit in any position only in this company;
for employees of permanent missions of foreign countries accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, missions of international intergovernmental organizations and government organizations, as well as other persons with diplomatic status;
for specialists who will be involved in working in the field of tourism for a period of up to three months, at the request of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan;
for founders (shareholders) of foreign enterprises and joint ventures operating or created in Uzbekistan, including top managers (from the date of concluding employment contracts with them for the relevant positions), for a period of up to three months;
for foreigners in science and culture fields, working in organizations founded in Uzbekistan in accordance with interstate agreements;
for students undergoing industrial practice during vacations under the programs of higher educational institutions of Uzbekistan;
for representatives of mass media accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan;
for employees of non-governmental non-profit organizations (NGOs) accredited by the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan, as well as employees of representative offices and branches of international and foreign NGOs;
for teachers and other specialists involved in working in Presidential schools and in higher educational institutions (institutes, universities) in Uzbekistan.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan "On measures to create favorable conditions for the implementation of labor activities in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan by qualified specialists of foreign countries" No.PP-4008 dated November 7, 2018, foreign employees are divided into following categories:

1. Highly qualified specialist - a foreign citizen who graduated from one of the 1000 internationally recognized university (institute), with at least 5 years of work experience in declared specialty or specialty according to the diploma, with a salary of at least 60,000 US dollars per year;

2. Qualified specialist - a foreign citizen with higher education (university, institute degree), with at least 5 years of work experience in the declared specialty or specialty according to the diploma, with a salary of at least 30,000 US dollars per year;

3. Regular (ordinary) employee – Uzbek legislation does not provide special requirements for regular employees, and their wages may amount to the minimum wage established by the Uzbek legislation.

A state fee amount for issuing a work permit will vary depending on above category to which a foreign employee falls.

Uzbek legislation provides following special conditions (benefits) for employment of foreigners - highly qualified and qualified specialists:

highly qualified and qualified specialists are entitled to work part-time in Uzbekistan without obtaining another (additional) work permit;
a multiple-entry employment visa is issued to highly qualified and qualified specialists for the duration of employment contract, but not more than 3 years;
extension of employment visas issued to highly qualified and qualified specialists is carried out without requirement of leaving Uzbekistan territory for the duration of employment contract, but not more than 3 years in each case;
for the duration of employment contract, highly qualified specialists and their family members may be issued a permanent residence permit (upon their request);
in case of early termination of the employment contract, highly qualified and qualified specialists are entitled to search for a new employer within 30 working days, during which the validity of previous work permit, visa and residence permit shall remain in force.

The Employer shall provide following documents and information to the Ministry to get a work permit for a foreigner:

1) a standard application form;

2) a standard questionnaire (information) on foreign citizen;

3) a passport copy of the foreigner (without translation into Uzbek or Russian languages);

4) a copy of Uzbek entry visa of the foreigner (work visa "E", work visa "B-1" and "B-2", service visa "C-3" or other types of visas). However, an Uzbek visa is not required for citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine by virtue of international agreements.

5) a draft employment contract confirming initial agreement with the employer on terms and conditions of employment, indicating salary amount;

6) a digital photo of the foreigner (3x4 cm);

7) a copy of diploma, certificate(s) confirming qualifications of the foreigner;

8) a power of attorney for the representative of the Employer, who is filing documents to the Ministry (if required).

Filing documents is carried out in one of the following ways:

in person at the State Services Center, regardless of the location (legal address) of the Employer;
online via my.gov.uz portal.

A state fee of 1 Base Calculation Value (BCV, approximately 30 US dollars) is paid for reviewing work permit application. The Ministry shall review the documents and, if the decision is positive, provide work permit within 15 working days.

If the Ministry’s decision is positive, the Employer shall also pay the following state fee for issuing a work permit:

1 BCV (approximately 30 US dollars) - for highly qualified specialists, as well as teachers and other specialists hired for working in Presidential schools and other universities (institutions);
2 BCV (approximately 60 US dollars) - for qualified specialists;
2 BCV (approximately 60 US dollars) - for compatriots (i.e. former citizens of Uzbekistan);
5 BCV (approximately 150 US dollars) - for doctors;
30 BCV (approximately 900 US dollars) - for other foreign citizens.

Work permits are issued for the following terms (duration):

For ordinary foreigners - for the duration of employment contract, but not more than one year (with possibility of extension for up to one year, unlimited number of times);
For highly qualified and qualified specialists, as well as for teachers and other specialists recruited to work in Presidential schools and other universities (institutes) - for the duration of employment contract, but not more than three years (with possibility of extension for up to one year, unlimited number of times).