Work Permits in Uzbekistan

Work permit requirement

Foreign nationals entering Uzbekistan to work require a work permit, which the law calls a confirmation of the right to work, issued by the Migration Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers (Law on Employment, Art. 107; Labour Code, Art. 523). The employer must apply for the permit on behalf of the employee, and may sign the employment contract only once it is in place. The permit runs for the term of the employment contract, up to one year, or up to three years for highly qualified and qualified specialists, with unlimited renewals; the employer applies to renew 20 working days before expiry (Arts. 112 and 113). Those outside the procedure include residence permit holders, staff of accredited representative offices of foreign commercial organisations, and founders of foreign and joint enterprises arriving for up to three months (Art. 110). Employing a foreign national without a valid work permit exposes the employer to administrative liability and the employee to deportation, and is itself a ground for refusing further permits (Art. 111).

Employer application and labour market test

The Law on Employment and the Labour Code set no annual quota. Each application is tested instead. The employer files through a Public Services Centre or online, with a fee of 1 BCU. The local labour body has five working days to assess whether foreign hiring is justified given the domestic workforce, and the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction has 15 working days from the application to check the number and specialities against the employer's actual need. After a positive decision the employer has five working days to pay the issue fee: 1 BCU for highly qualified specialists, 2 BCU for qualified specialists and compatriots, 30 BCU for others (UZS 440,000 per BCU from 1 September 2026). Refusal is allowed only on the grounds listed in Art. 111. Qualified specialists need higher education, five years' experience and pay of at least USD 30,000 a year; highly qualified specialists need a degree from a top-1,000 university, five years' experience and at least USD 60,000 (Art. 109). Bond Stone manages these applications on behalf of international employers — advising on workforce planning, application preparation, and ongoing compliance.

SEZ employment arrangements

Labour relations in Uzbekistan's Special Economic Zones are governed by the Labour Code, collective agreements and individual contracts, which may not leave employees worse off than the general law (Law No. ZRU-604 of 17 February 2020, Art. 40). That Law sets no separate work permit procedure, so check the act establishing the particular zone. Bond Stone advises on employment compliance for SEZ resident entities, including the interaction between SEZ operating conditions and general labour law requirements.

CIS nationals

The Law on Employment has no general exemption for citizens of CIS states: the ordinary procedure applies unless an international treaty sets a different one (Art. 110). Bond Stone advises on whether a treaty applies to the employee's home state and on the registration and social insurance obligations that apply regardless of the permit category.