How to Hire a Foreign Employee in Uzbekistan: Work Authorization, Documents, Taxes and Onboarding

Your company has found a strong developer from Kazakhstan, an engineer from Turkey or a CFO from Germany. The candidate has said yes and the offer is signed. Then it turns out they can't start tomorrow. A foreign national can work in Uzbekistan under an employment contract only on the basis of a separate document, and getting it takes about three weeks.

Business owners who have made themselves director of their own LLC get this wrong even more often: being a founder does not give you the right to work. Below, we explain how to identify your situation, obtain the document, put the contract in place and get the taxes right.

Where hiring starts: identify the legal situation

The first question is not "which documents do we need?" but "in what capacity will this foreign national be connected to the company?" The answer determines whether a work authorization is needed at all.

Finding the right person and hiring them lawfully are two separate tasks. If you don't have a candidate yet, start with the role profile and candidate assessment. For senior executives and hard-to-find experts, including candidates from abroad, this is what SPECTRE's executive search service is for. Plan the legal paperwork in parallel so that the time it takes to get a work authorization doesn't push back the start date.

Five situations, five different procedures

Work authorization in Uzbekistan: what it is and when you need it

The work authorization is an electronic document with a QR code. It gives a foreign national the right to work for a specific employer in a specific position. English-language sources often call it a work permit, but its official name is the confirmation of the right to engage in labor activity. The procedure for issuing it is set out in Appendix No. 20 to the Unified Regulation on issuing permit-type documents, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 86 of 22 February 2022. Appendix No. 20 is the document's "passport": the official specification of how this particular permit-type document is issued.

You may have come across instructions describing two documents: a permit for the employer and a confirmation for the foreign employee. They are based on the 2019 Regulation attached to Resolution No. 244, which ceased to apply on 1 March 2022.

The work authorization is tied to the employer and the position. When you hire the employee, you cannot use a job title that differs from the one stated in the work authorization. As a general rule, the employee also cannot work under a work authorization issued to a different employer.

When a work authorization is not required

The exemptions are listed in the passport of the work authorization and in separate presidential decrees. These are the ones businesses encounter most often:

Founder, director or employee: what's the difference?

This is the most common source of mistakes, so let's take the three roles one at a time.

A founder (LLC member) owns an interest in the company, votes at the members' meeting and receives dividends. These are corporate rights, not employment. A founder does not need a work authorization unless they start performing employment functions: signing documents as the company's head, managing staff or working in the office on a set schedule. For how to register a company with a foreign member, see our article on how a foreign national can set up an LLC in Uzbekistan.

A director is appointed by a decision of the members but works under an employment contract. This means a foreign director needs a work authorization. The sequence is: members' decision (minutes) on the appointment → work authorization → employment contract effective no earlier than the date of the work authorization → registration in the UNLS.

A founder who is also the director holds both roles, so both sets of rules apply. If they set up a foreign enterprise or a joint venture, they may run it without a work authorization for the first three months. If they have invested at least 8,500 BCA, they do not need a work authorization at all. In every other case, the general procedure applies.

A separate case is an employee sent to Uzbekistan by a foreign company. If they remain an employee of the foreign company and provide services to an Uzbek client on its behalf, this is not hiring by a local company. Here you need to check separately whether their activity creates a permanent establishment (PE) of the foreign company in Uzbekistan, and who will act as tax agent. The standard hiring procedure cannot simply be applied to this arrangement.

Work authorization fees and processing times

All fees are set in basic calculation amounts (BCA). Since 1 September 2026, one BCA has been UZS 440,000.

Whether an employee counts as a "highly qualified" or "qualified" specialist depends on the criteria set by Presidential Resolution No. PP-4008. Check them before you apply: the category determines both the fee and the maximum term of the work authorization.

Documents required to hire a foreign employee

The documents for the work authorization, for the employment contract and for migration purposes are three separate sets. The first is filed with the government authority, the second stays in the personnel file, and the third concerns the lawfulness of the employee's stay.

Work visa for a foreign employee: visa support through Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

If your employee is a national of a country whose citizens need a visa for Uzbekistan, you have to arrange their entry in advance. If your employee can enter visa-free, you can skip this section.

The B-2 business visa is designed for business people: it lets them come for negotiations or a job interview. Details of this visa must be included when you apply for the work authorization, although the visa itself does not give the right to work.

A tourist visa does not work for a future employee. It is issued on the invitation of a tourism organization, it is not among the visas accepted for a work authorization application, and the law provides no procedure for "converting" a tourist into an employee.

If the employee is still abroad

1.      File a visa support request with the Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The company may send an invitation to the foreign national only after filing this request. Attach:

• a visa application on company letterhead;
• the online application form from evisa.mfa.uz;
• copies of the passports of the invitee, the company's head and the employee authorized to submit documents;
• copies of the company's documents, the orders appointing the head and the authorized employee, and a power of attorney.

2.      Wait for the decision. Reviewing the documents and processing the visa takes no more than 10 days, or 2 working days for enterprises with foreign investment. The Ministry then sends an instruction to issue the visa to the consulate you selected; in practice, this is known as a telex.

3.      The future employee applies to the Uzbek consulate no later than 7 days before the trip, with a passport valid for at least 3 months beyond the visa's expiry, an application form and two 35×45 mm photos. Visa support is valid for 3 months, and the visa must be obtained within that time.

4.      After entry, complete registration at the place of stay, prepare the draft employment contract and file the work authorization application, as described in "Step-by-step hiring process" below.

The next stage is switching from a temporary type "B" (business) visa to a type "E" (work) visa. It works the same way as for an employee who is already in Uzbekistan on a business visa (see the next subsection).

If the employee is already in Uzbekistan on a business visa

A foreign national who came on a B-2 visa for negotiations can stay on to work without leaving the country. The company obtains the work authorization, attaching a copy of their visa. It then applies for a work visa to the Ministry of Internal Affairs office at the company's registered address, enclosing a copy of the work authorization. You must apply no later than 10 days before the current visa expires, and the application is reviewed within up to 15 working days.

IT Park residents, foreign investors and certain other categories have access to special visas (the IT visa and the investor visa) and a simplified procedure. For nationals of countries that have bilateral agreements with Uzbekistan, the procedure may also differ, so check this before you file.

Step-by-step hiring process

Here is the whole process as a short sequence. Details of each stage are in the sections on documents, visas, the employment contract and the UNLS.

1. Determine the category. Check whether the foreign national holds a residence permit or qualifies for another exemption, and which specialist category they fall into.
2. Check their legal stay. Is the visa valid, and has registration at the place of stay been completed? If the employee is still abroad, arrange their entry first.
3. Prepare a draft employment contract stating the salary, position and term. The position must match the one that will appear in the work authorization.
4. File the application on behalf of the company, signed with the head's EDS, and pay the review fee.
5. Wait for the decision. If you receive a notice of deficiencies, correct them within the deadline given.
6. Pay the issuance fee within five working days of approval. The work authorization will appear in your online account.
7. Arrange the visa if the foreign national is from a visa-required country: once the work authorization is issued, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issues a work visa (see the visa section for details).
8. Sign the employment contract, effective no earlier than the date of the work authorization and for a term no longer than its validity, and issue a hiring order.
9. Register the contract in the UNLS, and only then let the employee start work.
10. Set reminder dates for the expiry of the work authorization, the visa and the registration, and for the extension filing deadline.

Employment contract and UNLS registration: what's different for a foreign employee

A foreign employee works under Uzbekistan's Labor Code on the same terms as Uzbek citizens: the same contract, the same protections, the same leave, sick leave and termination rules. In substance, there are three differences.

• Contract term. The term is tied to the validity of the work authorization. If the contract is open-ended but the work authorization is valid for one year, the right to work still ends when the work authorization does.
• Position. The position in the contract and in the hiring order must match the work authorization.
• Starting work. The employee may start only after the work authorization has been obtained. Letting them actually start without it may be grounds for refusing the work authorization and gives rise to liability.

The UNLS is the government's electronic system where employment contracts are registered. Registration works the same way as for Uzbek citizens: a paper contract must be registered within five working days of signing, and the same applies to amendments and termination. We covered the general procedure in detail in our article on how to hire an employee in Uzbekistan: employment contract, UNLS and probation period.

Payroll taxes for foreign employees in Uzbekistan

Tax status depends on time spent in the country, not on citizenship. A tax resident is an individual who stays in Uzbekistan for more than 183 days in any consecutive 12-month period.

The employer acts as tax agent: it calculates, withholds and remits PIT, and pays social tax itself. The standard payment and reporting deadlines apply: no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting month.

When the calculation will be different:

• IT Park resident. PIT is 7.5% under employment contracts until 1 January 2028, and the employer is exempt from social tax.
• Tax treaty. A double tax treaty with the employee's home country may change how their income is taxed. To apply it, you will usually need a certificate of tax residence from the other country.
• Work from abroad. If a non-resident foreign national works outside Uzbekistan, check separately whether their income counts as Uzbek-source income. Don't automatically treat it as a regular salary.
• A civil-law contract instead of an employment contract. Payments to a non-resident under a civil-law services agreement are taxed under their own rules. But if the person in fact works as an employee, the agreement may be reclassified as an employment contract.

Example calculation

Assumptions: a commercial company with no tax incentives, a foreign employee without a residence permit, a gross salary of UZS 20,000,000 per month, general specialist category.

For a qualified specialist, the one-time fees would come to UZS 1,276,000, and the work authorization could be issued for up to three years from the start. A difference of UZS 12.3 million is a good reason to check the category in advance.

Common employer mistakes

Liability for employing foreign nationals without a work authorization is currently under review. In July 2026, a bill adding a new article to the Code of Administrative Liability passed its first reading; it would fine foreign nationals themselves up to 10 BCA. When assessing the risks in a specific situation, check the current version of the Code.

Checklist before a foreign employee starts work

• The legal situation has been identified: employee, director, founder-director or remote work
  
• Any exemption has been checked and documented
  
• The specialist category and fee amount have been determined
  
• The visa is valid and registration at the place of stay is in place
  
• The work authorization has been obtained and the issuance fee paid
  
• For visa-required countries: the work visa has been issued
  
• The employment contract is effective no earlier than the date of the work authorization, and the position matches
  
• For a director: there is a members' decision on the appointment
  
• The contract is registered in the UNLS and the hiring order has been issued
  
• Accounting knows the employee's tax status: resident or not, residence permit or not, and whether a double tax treaty applies
  
• The expiry dates of the work authorization, visa and registration are in the calendar
  

Conclusion

Hiring a foreign employee in Uzbekistan starts with defining their role and status, not with collecting documents. If no exemption applies, the employer obtains a work authorization within 15 working days, then signs the contract and registers it in the UNLS. PIT of 12% is withheld from the salary regardless of tax residency, social tax is paid as usual, and INPS contributions apply only to residence permit holders.

CA Consulting helps companies obtain work authorizations, prepare employment contracts and HR documents, and handle payroll and tax calculations for foreign employees. For details, see our Right to Engage in Labor Activity service page. If you still need to find the right specialist, SPECTRE can help with candidate search and assessment.