Visa questions
Visa questions are probably the first that arise after you start planning a trip to Central Asia. Each country has it's own regulations. Below you will find some tips that will help in planning. But please bear in mind that the most up-to-date information should be always checked on official sites.
All travelers must have a passport that is valid not less than 6 months after the date of departure.
In general citizens of most countries entering Uzbekistan must have a valid Uzbek visa. There is a short list of countries which have visa-free regime with Uzbekistan and can visit Uzbekistan for 30 or 60 days (depending on particular country) without a visa: Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Indonesia, Israel, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore,Turkey. Citizens of all other countries require a tourist visa to visit Uzbekistan. Citizens of the following countries do not need to obtain an official invitation from an Uzbek company (verified in MFA of Uzbekistan) and may apply to the nearest Uzbek Consulate directly: Australia, Austria, Albania, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vatican. Please check the list of the countries with simplified visa procedures and most recent details on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan In case your country in not in any of the lists, to apply for the Uzbek visa you first need to receive official visa support (invitation) from an Uzbek company and verified in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.
Visa support and visa procedures
To receive your visa support documents it is necessary to provide personal data (we will send you the questionnaire), and the address of the Uzbek Consulate where you plan to obtain your Uzbek visa. This is essential as a copy of the visa support will be sent to this particular Consulate and you will be able to apply for the visa only there. The procedure of issuing the visa support usually takes about 7 working days (1.5 week). As soon as it is released from the MFA, we send you a scanned copy which you need to take to the Uzbek Consulate together with the set of documents and personal photo. Please check your particular Consulate for the exact list of the documents required. Issuing the visa by the Consulate may take as well a week or more (depends on the Consulate). Please plan your trip and take care of the visa well in advance to be sure you get it in time. For those who travel to Uzbekistan with our company we assist in visa procedures and issue visa support documents to obtain Uzbek tourist visa if they are required. Please fell free to contact us.
Getting to Uzbekstan and around
Do not mind looking into flight via Istanbul by Turkish Airlines as they have multiple connections and many travellers often chose this option.
Be sure that Uzbekistan Airways offer nice service and have direct flights from Tashkent to many places all over the world.
There are overland border crossings with all other Central Asian countries: Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, so it is possible to drive from one country to another.
It is possible to arrive in Uzbekistan by train from Russia via Kazakhstan.
There are high-speed daily trains connecting Tashkent with Samarkand and Bukhara - the main tourist attractions of the country. The trains will take you there in several hours, and they are modern and comfortable, ensuring you get a pleasant and safe trip.
For those who wish to travel to more distantly located places in Uzbekistan and neighboring countries there are various overnight trains. But as long as the cars in the train can be of different type, there is no clear and definite system of classes. So every time you get the ticket you need to check what exactly you are buying, how many people will be in your compartment, where there are seats or berths etc. Some information can be found on the official website of Uzbekistan railways.
Time
In Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan time is GMT (UTC) +5 hours. Time is the same for the whole country and there is no change for summer/winter time.
In Kyrgyzstan time is GMT (UTC) +6 hours. Time is the same for the whole country and there is no change for summer/winter time.
In Kazakhstan there are 2 time zones: GMT (UTC) +5 hours and GMT (UTC) +6 hours. Astana and Almaty are located in the GMT (UTC) +6 hours zone. There is no change for summer/winter time.
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