Photo: simplytr.com
Foreigners and stateless persons who provoke hostility and violate other laws of Uzbekistan may be deported from the country. Moreover, they will be added to a list of individuals whose presence in the republic is deemed unacceptable. The corresponding law, signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on November 15, has been published in the national database and has already come into effect.
According to the document, grounds for including a foreigner in the blacklist may include public calls or actions that contradict the state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the republic, as well as those that provoke interstate, social, national, racial, and religious enmity, or discredit the honor, dignity, and history of the people of Uzbekistan.
Such individuals will be prohibited from:
• Entering the country
• Opening bank accounts
• Purchasing real estate
• Participating in the privatization of state property
• Conducting financial transactions and signing contracts (except for the alienation of property belonging to the foreigner)
The inclusion of individuals in the list of undesirables is carried out by the councils of both chambers of the Oliy Majlis (parliament) of the republic and specially authorized bodies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will maintain the registry.
A foreigner who has violated the country's laws will not be able to enter Uzbekistan for five years. If they do not provide grounds for exclusion from the blacklist, the term will be extended for another five years. There is an option for early removal from the registry of undesirables, but this is done at the recommendation of the body that included the foreigner in the list of those undesirable in the republic.
After a foreign citizen is added to the list of those whose presence in Uzbekistan is deemed unacceptable, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify them within three days. The violator will be given ten days to voluntarily leave the country.
Otherwise, the foreigner faces deportation — forced expulsion from the republic, carried out by law enforcement officials. Moreover, if the citizen entered by invitation from a company or individual, the financial costs of expulsion are borne by the host party. In other cases, the costs of deportation are borne by the internal affairs bodies.
