Uzbekistan employers must renew foreign work confirmations before they expire

Establish the worker’s actual permission before employment

Uzbekistan’s Labour Code requires foreign workers covered by its special employment provisions to hold confirmation of their right to work, unless a statutory exception applies. The employer must check that permission before concluding the employment contract. This current guide explains the existing framework, rather than announcing a new November restriction.

The code distinguishes permanent residents holding a residence permit from other foreign nationals lawfully entering for employment. It also says foreign employment under the relevant provisions begins at age 18. Visa-free entry or a business invitation should not be treated as proof that the required employment confirmation exists.

Use Articles 521–526 of the official Labour Code to establish the legal category. A second job can require separate confirmation, while the code provides particular treatment for highly qualified and qualified specialists. Confirm the applicable category before extending an offer into an actual start date.

Prepare the dossier and distinguish two government charges

The Justice Ministry’s legal-advice resource directs applications through the Licence system or the public-services portal. Its checklist includes a passport copy, proposed contract showing salary and employment conditions, a photograph, qualification evidence and the relevant entry visa where the nationality requires one. The application records the employer, role, pay and Uzbekistan address.

The resource separates the application-review charge of one base calculation amount from the charge for issuing approval. Issuance rates depend on the category; the general foreign-worker rate is thirty base calculation amounts, while qualified specialists are listed at two. Confirm the classification and current monetary equivalent rather than pay a guessed sum-denominated amount.

The published assessment period is fifteen working days. After a positive notification, the issuance charge must be paid within five working days; the confirmation is electronic with a QR code. Use the official notification for payment instructions and do not assume the initial review payment completes the process.

Renew twenty working days before the document expires

Article 112 of the Employment Law says the employer applies to extend the confirmation twenty working days before its validity ends. Work backwards from the actual expiry date and allow for working days, rather than assume a calendar-month reminder is sufficient. The official legal text helps the employer identify the responsible action; the worker should check that the renewal has actually been initiated.

The law also preserves previously issued work confirmations, visas and residence permits for thirty working days after early contract termination for highly qualified and qualified specialists seeking another employer. This is a defined protection, not a universal grace period for every dismissed foreign employee. Establish the qualifying classification before relying on it.

Article 113 ties validity to the employment contract, with a maximum of three years for the specified specialist categories and one year for other foreign workers. Permission can also end on statutory grounds, including expiry. A document’s original issue is not evidence that it remains valid indefinitely.

Check which authority will process the specific request

Presidential Resolution PP-14, dated 19 January 2026 and effective 20 January, also gives the Interior Ministry’s Migration and Personalisation Department and its territorial offices authority to issue foreign-work confirmations. It forms part of a wider reorganisation and digitisation programme. This existing allocation of authority should not be misread as a newly announced November visa waiver.

Use the published resolution when clarifying the appropriate receiving office. It separately authorises a limited electronic-visa extension from 1 May 2026; that provision concerns the specified e-visa holders and does not itself confer employment permission. Keep the entry document, employment confirmation and any residence permission distinct.

The resolution does not establish that every local service desk handles every application without an appointment. Ask the receiving authority which current submission channel and case records it requires before travelling to an office or treating a general reform announcement as individual approval.

Use the named online service for the application

The public-services portal lists a dedicated service for obtaining confirmation of the right to work and provides a Submit application entry point. Use that named service, rather than a general visa application, for the employment request. The portal also provides application checking and support numbers 1242 for general enquiries and 1148 for complaints. Its displayed online task duration is not a guaranteed immigration decision time; follow the substantive assessment and payment instructions instead.