On April 18, 2025, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan signed a decree introducing a so-called “golden visa” program for foreign investors and stateless individuals. The new program simplifies the process of obtaining a residence permit in Uzbekistan, offering individuals residency in exchange for investing in the country’s economy. The decree took effect on June 1, 2025. (Decree, No. UP-67, on Measures to Stimulate Production, Export, and Entrepreneurial Activity, and to Enhance the Efficiency of Trade and Industrial Policy.)
Overview of the Decree
According to the decree’s preamble, the new program will support regional development, stimulate production, enhance e-commerce and logistics, promote exports, and encourage entrepreneurial activity by attracting foreign direct investments.
Under the new rules, foreign citizens and stateless individuals may obtain five-year residence permits through a simplified procedure requiring an investment of US$250,000. The program also offers residence permits to an investor’s family members, including spouses, children, and parents, through a streamlined process, requiring an investment of US$150,000 for each additional family member. (Sec. VII, art. 26.)
This new investment-based route to residency supplements Uzbekistan’s existing residence-by-investment frameworks for real estate and enterprise investments, adding a structured mechanism for foreign investors seeking long-term residency.
Background
A presidential decree signed on January 5, 2019, introduced a new Investment Visa program. (Presidential Decree UP-5611, on Additional Measures for the Accelerated Development of Tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as amended in 2019.)
Under this document, potential investors can choose between two investment options: 1) a three-year residence permit, with the possibility of extension, granted upon an investment of 8,500 times the basic estimated value (about US$280,500) in the form of authorized capital or capital investment in a company registered in Uzbekistan, or 2) a 10-year renewable residence permit, with the possibility of extension, granted upon an investment in an enterprise engaged in the production of goods or the provision of services. (Appx. 5 (amended Sept. 19, 2019), para. 6.) According to the presidential decree of June 3, 2025, the basic estimated value in Uzbekistan will be 412,000 som (about US$33), starting August 1, 2025. (Presidential Decree on Increasing the Wages, Pensions, Scholarships, and Allowances of Jun. 3, 2025, art. 3(b)(ii).)
Under amendments to Presidential Decree, No. UP-5611, individuals can obtain residence permits through investments in real estate. This mechanism requires investors to meet specific regional investment thresholds, which are US$300,000 in Tashkent and the Tashkent region; US$200,000 in the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan, Andijan, Fergana, and Khorezm; and US$100,000 in other regions, including the Republic of Karakalpakstan (an autonomous constituent republic of Uzbekistan). (Art.1, para. 5.)
The benefits of this investment-based residency program include a residence permit for the investor for an indefinite period (a permanent card) and the free inclusion of the investor’s family members in the program. Citizens from 111 countries of the world are eligible to apply. (Art. 1, para. 5; appx. 6.)
In June 2025, Mirziyoyev expressed his support for foreign investors, saying, “[T]he large-scale reforms we are implementing are aimed precisely at ensuring that every investor feels free and confident.”
Iana Fremer, Law Library of Congress
June 27, 2025
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