Working in Uzbekistan as a French National: Visa, Registration, Tax and Social Protection

France Diplomatie states that no visa is required for a stay of 30 days at most and that a visa is compulsory for a longer period, without detailing the categories: it refers to the Uzbek embassy in Paris. It also specifies that private and business visas are registered by the host, and that extensions must be requested 10 days before expiry, some visas not being extendable on the spot. The pages consulted cover neither residence permits nor work authorisations: the employer confirms with the Uzbek authorities the steps to take for a foreign employee, before arrival.

Any stay of more than 72 hours is declared to the OVIR, the visa and registration service. The proofs can be cross-checked against hotel invoices and train tickets during administrative procedures; failures expose you to heavy fines, expulsion to France at the traveller’s expense and an entry ban. See the guide to working abroad.

The legal minimum wage and pay levels do not appear on the official pages consulted: the national statistics agency does not publish, on its home page, an amount for the minimum wage or the average wage. No figure is therefore reproduced here; the amount in force is confirmed with the employer and the labour administrations. The inflation, exchange-rate and unemployment indicators, updated continuously, appear in the economic benchmarks block of this page.

Uzbekistan does not publish a pay scale for expatriates. For a local contract, negotiate the gross salary, the currency of payment (the soum is the only legal currency), benefits in kind (housing, schooling, health insurance), who bears the cost of evacuation and, for a family, housing in light of the capital’s pollution peaks. To compare a local contract with a secondment, see the guide to seconded or expatriate employee.

France and Uzbekistan signed on 22 April 1996 a convention to avoid double taxation on income and wealth taxes, with a protocol that forms an integral part of it. Approved by Law No. 2003-626 of 8 July 2003 and published by Decree No. 2004-136 of 6 February 2004, it entered into force on 1 October 2003 and applies, for withholding taxes, to taxable amounts from 1 January 2004, and for other income taxes to years beginning on or after that date. It replaces the 1985 Franco-Soviet convention for tax relations between the two countries.

The Uzbek income tax scale for employees and the tax residence rules do not appear on the official pages consulted: ask your employer for the withholding grid in force. The text of the convention determines which State taxes an employee’s employment income; have your situation validated by a professional. The page on retirement in Uzbekistan draws the consequences for pensions.

No social security agreement links France and Uzbekistan: the CLEISS does not list it. An employee sent by their French employer can remain affiliated to the French scheme, under domestic law, for three years renewable once; contributions are paid in France as if the employee worked there, and staying in the scheme does not exempt you from any contributions due in Uzbekistan. Care is reimbursed within the limit of what France reimburses, on paid invoices with form S 3125c; sick leave must be declared within 48 hours.

The contribution rates of the local scheme and the conditions of affiliation of a foreign employee are not described by the official pages consulted: the employer specifies them. See the page on healthcare reimbursement in Uzbekistan.

Business trips of less than 30 days are made without a visa. Plan for registration of accommodation, registration of phones bought abroad with UzIMEI if the stay exceeds 30 days (75,000 soums) and customs declaration of sums above 100,000,000 soums. Certain military and strategic sites, dams, power plants and nature reserves require authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior, which a travel agency requests at least 30 days in advance for a validity of 5 days, with an escort. Some border crossing points close between 10 pm and 7 am and can close without notice.

Self-employed workers and remote work for a foreign employer have no dedicated visa in the official pages consulted: a stay beyond 30 days requires a visa and registration. To compare countries, see the guide to digital nomad visas and the page on digital nomad insurance. For payments, Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards are spreading but ATMs can be scarce: fuel, alcohol and tobacco must be paid for electronically since 1 April 2026.

An employee or manager on assignment should know several rules of life. Consumption and possession of narcotics are severely punished, driving after drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited, and drones are banned, with criminal prosecution possible. Photography is free except for buildings designated by law and signposted, and it is prohibited for military personnel, their equipment and installations and diplomatic missions; ask permission before photographing people. Since 1 April 2026, e-cigarettes are banned and possessing one can lead to criminal prosecution. Do not try to avoid security checks, which are frequent on roads and in towns.

For travel, high-speed trains link Tashkent to Bukhara and to Karshi via Samarkand; night trains serve other cities, with security checks comparable to those at an airport, and you must arrive 30 minutes before departure. The national airline operates direct Paris-Tashkent flights, sometimes via Urgench depending on the season. An international licence is required to drive, civil liability insurance is compulsory and the green card is not valid; after an accident, the traffic police must be called to draw up the report. Main roads link the large cities but may be poorly maintained, petrol stations are irregular, and diesel is sometimes hard to find.

According to France Diplomatie, GDP is of the order of USD 110 billion, with sustained growth, which makes Uzbekistan the second-largest economy in Central Asia after Kazakhstan. The main exports are energy products (mostly gas), metals (gold, uranium, copper) and agricultural products. Remittances from migrant workers, mainly from Russia, are estimated at some USD 15 billion, about 13% of GDP. The currency is the soum, whose exchange rate against the euro varies.

The partnership and cooperation agreement with the European Union has been in force since 1999 and a 12 billion euro “Global Gateway” package was announced at the European Union-Central Asia summit in Samarkand. For a job or business-creation project, the French embassy in Tashkent is the first-level contact. Whatever your status, compare expat health insurance contracts with Expavy before signing.