Former Uzbek Citizen with a US Passport: Citizenship, the Vatandosh Card and Buying Property (2026)

Under the text of Law No. ZRU-610 of 13 March 2020 "On Citizenship", a former Uzbek citizen with a US passport remains a citizen of Uzbekistan until the President signs a decree on loss: a foreign citizenship held by a citizen is not recognised (Art. 12), and loss is formalised by a decree effective on signing (Art. 4); the law has no sentence saying "a citizen until the decree". As of November 2026, status decides the property regime: a citizen buys without the thresholds for foreigners; a foreigner buys under Presidential Decree No. UP-101 of 8 April 2022 (in Tashkent from the equivalent of USD 150,000 under construction and USD 180,000 completed; land on lease only); a Vatandosh card holder needs neither the price threshold nor a residence permit (para. 32-1, Resolution No. 726). The card cannot be obtained by an application alone: a commission must first issue a Vatandosh certificate on a ministry's recommendation or a listed official's initiative.

Key points

• Status is established before the deal. A US passport does not by itself make a person a foreigner in Uzbekistan: under Arts. 4 and 12 of Law No. ZRU-610, loss of citizenship is formalised by presidential decree.
• Law No. ZRU-610 contains no duty to "report" a US passport. Its Article 30 is about how the internal affairs bodies and consulates identify such citizens themselves.
• The Vatandosh card is not an application-based document. Under the Regulation (Annex 1 to Presidential Resolution No. PP-397 of 20 November 2024), a commission issues the certificate on the recommendation of a ministry or agency, or on the initiative of a listed official; the Ministry of Internal Affairs then issues the card for 5 years.
• Three purchase regimes. A citizen buys without the thresholds for foreigners; a foreigner buys under Decree No. UP-101 or No. UP-5611; a card holder buys without the price threshold and without a residence permit. A foreigner can only lease land.
• The US buyer's conditions are set out on the page buying property in Uzbekistan as a US citizen.

Who you are for Uzbekistan: citizen or foreigner

For a person born in Uzbekistan and naturalised in the United States, status is determined by Law No. ZRU-610 of 13 March 2020 "On Citizenship" (the "Citizenship Law").

What Articles 4, 12 and 25 say

The words "is lost" in Article 25 do not name the moment of loss, and the law has no direct rule that "the person remains a citizen until the decree". But Article 4 ties loss to a decree that takes effect on signing, Article 12 calls a person with a foreign citizenship a citizen of Uzbekistan "until the President's decision". So we read the law this way: until a decree exists, the person is a citizen for Uzbekistan. The law requires notice within 15 days only of decisions on admission, restoration and exit (Art. 50), not of loss; whether a decree was issued is checked from documents (Art. 43).

How loss of citizenship is formalised

The internal affairs bodies and consulates check information from agencies and appeals from individuals and legal entities (Art. 30, part 1). If a voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship is identified, the citizen is informed of Article 25, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares an opinion and sends it to the Citizenship Commission under the President (Art. 30, part 2). The Commission is an advisory and auxiliary body that submits proposals to the President (Arts. 46 and 47). The President decides by decree (Art. 4). The decision is carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for people living in Uzbekistan and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consulates for people living abroad (Art. 50).

What the Citizenship Law does not contain: a duty to report a foreign citizenship yourself, or a deadline for doing so (Article 30 is about identification). Article 54 only refers to liability "in the established procedure" and names no sanction; we do not discuss liability for using an Uzbek passport after naturalisation here.

Exit, restoration and checking status

Exit: the petition is addressed to the President and filed in person; from abroad it goes to the consulate (Art. 37). If a spouse, parents or dependants live in Uzbekistan, their notarised statements that they have no property claims are required (Art. 39). The overall review period may not exceed one year (Art. 41); if the decision is positive, a certificate of termination of citizenship is issued (Art. 51).

Restoration of citizenship is allowed once; loss under item 5 of Article 25 (letter «д») does not rule it out, unlike items 1 and 4 (Art. 22).

Checking status: an application to determine belonging to citizenship is filed with the internal affairs body at the place of residence, or with the consulate if the person lives abroad (Art. 43); a certificate of non-belonging is issued on a questionnaire in the same places within one month of the request being entered in the database (Art. 44).

The Vatandosh card: what it is and how it is obtained

Under the text of the resolution, the card cannot be obtained on one's own application. Presidential Resolution No. PP-397 of 20 November 2024 approved the Regulation on the procedure for issuing and cancelling the Vatandosh certificate and card (Annex 1). It was amended by Presidential Resolution No. PP-14 of 19 January 2026 and Decree No. UP-109 of 9 June 2026. There is no Russian text on lex.uz; the translation is ours.

Certificate and card: two documents

• The Vatandosh certificate is a form of recognition for compatriots living abroad, a token of gratitude for their contribution to the country, and the basis for issuing the card (para. 3 of the Regulation). It is valid indefinitely (para. 10).
• The Vatandosh card is an ID-card-format document issued on the basis of the certificate for 5 years, but not beyond the validity of the compatriot's national passport; it gives the benefits of the Regulation in Uzbekistan (para. 3).

Both documents are valid together with the compatriot's national passport (for a stateless person, the travel document) and are not a ground for obtaining Uzbek citizenship (para. 2).

Who receives the certificate

"Vatandosh" is defined broadly in the Regulation: persons originating from the territory of Uzbekistan who left abroad and acquired a foreign citizenship or stateless status, or who identify as Uzbeks or Karakalpaks, and their descendants (para. 3). But the certificate goes only to those who meet one of the three grounds of para. 4:

• they bought shares and stakes in business companies, and also invested in the form of creating a foreign or joint enterprise in Uzbekistan;
• they achieved high results in the economy, science, culture, sport, education, healthcare or the social sphere, promoted a positive image of Uzbekistan, or carried out charity in Uzbekistan;
• they made a major contribution to strengthening relations between Uzbekistan and other states.

The text sets no minimum amount of investment: the commission decides.

Who decides, and how

The procedure (paras. 6–12, 16, 17, schemes 1 and 2):

Among others, the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber, regional hokims and the chairman of the board of the Vatandoshlar foundation may initiate the certificate (para. 6). A decision may be taken without notifying the person (para. 12). The card, and registration at the place of stay during its validity, are provided without a fee and without a state duty (para. 18, as amended by Decree No. UP-109).

The conclusion is direct: if you do not fall under para. 4 and none of the listed bodies or officials has put forward a recommendation or initiative, you cannot obtain the card, because the Regulation contains no application route. It does not forbid approaching a ministry with a proposal, but it sets no procedure for doing so. We do not promise a result.

Rights the card gives, and when it is revoked

Holder's rights (para. 19): entry and exit without a visa; when buying real estate, the value amounts set for foreign citizens do not apply and no residence permit is required; work without the documents confirming a foreigner's right to work; state services (medical, education and others) on the terms for citizens. For family members (parents, spouse, minor children) para. 20 gives a multiple-entry visa and state services on the terms for citizens; it does not name a right for them to buy real estate without the threshold. We found no length-of-stay limit for entry without a visa and no mention of land plots in the Regulation.

Cancellation (paras. 21–23): at the compatriot's own request; on a court's submission after a conviction for a grave or especially grave crime, or if the investments came from laundering criminal proceeds; on death; on a submission by the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speaker, the chairman of the Vatandoshlar foundation, or the body that initiated the certificate. The commission decides within 15 working days.

Three purchase regimes

A foreigner without the card

Clause 3 of Decree No. UP-101 gives citizens of foreign states the right to invest in new properties under construction, other than land plots, without a residence permit. The thresholds are in the table above; such a purchase is not a ground for registration at a place of residence or for a residence permit. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the list of countries by Resolution No. 384 of 13 July 2022; the United States of America is on it. A property is new if it is under construction or was commissioned no more than three years ago (para. 3 of Resolution No. 384).

The right to a residence permit comes from a separate regime: clause 5 of Decree No. UP-5611 of 5 January 2019 and its Annex 6 (the United States is listed). It requires a purchase of at least the equivalent of USD 300,000 in Tashkent and Tashkent region, USD 200,000 in Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan, Andijan, Fergana and Khorezm regions, and USD 100,000 in Karakalpakstan and other regions. The clause does not name the permit's term or the status of the family. In both regimes payment goes through a bank, proof of payment is shown to the notary, and each co-owner's share must be at least the threshold (para. 32-1 of the notaries' regulation, Resolution No. 726 of 18 November 2020).

The card holder: what is said and what is not

Resolution No. 538 added a paragraph to para. 32-1 of the notaries' regulation: when foreign citizens and stateless persons holding a Vatandosh card buy real estate, the property value stated in that paragraph does not apply to them and no residence permit is required. This matches para. 19 of the Regulation. It does not say whether a card holder must buy only a new property or be a citizen of a country on the Resolution No. 384 list; it says nothing about land or family members either. Para. 32 of the regulation requires a foreign buyer to present a residence permit or an ID card issued by the internal affairs bodies; how that requirement applies to the Vatandosh card is not stated directly.

The Regulation treats the card as a document of foreign citizens (issued on the foreign citizen's national passport), while the Citizenship Law does not recognise a foreign citizenship held by an Uzbek citizen and defines a foreign citizen as a person who does not hold Uzbek citizenship (Art. 3). How these texts fit together for a person whose loss of citizenship has not been formalised by decree is not stated in the acts.

Property bought or inherited earlier

If an apartment was bought or inherited earlier, we found no direct norm in the acts we opened requiring it to be sold after loss of citizenship: the Citizenship Law speaks only of the citizenship of the spouse and children (Art. 25). Land is stricter: a foreigner may hold a plot on lease only (Art. 17, Land Code), and a plot that comes into a foreigner's ownership must be disposed of within six months, otherwise it passes to the state (Art. 33 of Law No. ZRU-728 of 15 November 2021). Whether this covers a plot owned before loss of citizenship the law does not say directly, so a house with land is checked separately. More in the articles inheritance in Uzbekistan for a US citizen, buying property in Uzbekistan under a US power of attorney and non-resident property taxes for US citizens.

Entering Uzbekistan

Decree No. UP-203 of 3 November 2025 introduced, from 1 January 2026, entry without a visa for up to 30 days from the date of entry for citizens of the United States of America. Which document a person whom Uzbekistan regards as its citizen should show at the border is something we do not address and do not advise on. Related topics are in the articles residence permit in Uzbekistan, registration of a foreigner at the place of stay and residence permit for an investor.

Order of steps and common mistakes

First establish status from documents (Arts. 43 and 44 of the Citizenship Law): date of US naturalisation, an Uzbek passport or ID card, any contact with a consulate. Then choose the regime, check the property (whether it counts as new, region, price with a margin above the threshold, land) and ask the notary how they will apply paras. 32 and 32-1 of the regulation. Only then pay a deposit.

Common mistakes: assuming a US passport settles the question of Uzbek citizenship; looking for "Vatandosh registration" as a service; reading para. 32-1 more widely than its words.

How Pactum helps

• We check the right to buy: from your documents we work out the status and regime, and we check the property before any deposit.
• We prepare the text of a power of attorney and review it before it is signed in the United States.
• We support the deal: the contract, payment through a bank, notarisation and title registration.
• We prepare the bank file for a transfer of money to the United States and the documents for your tax adviser in the United States: your adviser handles the US side, not us.

Pactum is a legal platform, not a real estate agency: we have no properties for sale and work on the buyer's side. The contract with a foreign client is bilingual, in Russian and English; the invoice is issued in US dollars and paid by SWIFT transfer; the contracting party is PACTUM-AI CA LLC (ООО «PACTUM-AI CA»). The price is named once we have reviewed the task. You can start with a lawyer consultation: 60 minutes, UZS 300,000, credited toward the cost of the service. The decision is made by the notary, the bank, and the cadastral or migration authority; we do not promise a result. More on the page buying property in Uzbekistan as a US citizen.

Phone +998 78 113 81 01, Telegram, info@pactum.uz, office: 21 Afrosiyob Street, Tashkent.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a Vatandosh card by applying myself?

No. You go for the card to the Migration and Personalisation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but only with the Vatandosh certificate (para. 16 of the Regulation, Annex 1 to PP-397 of 20 November 2024), and the certificate is issued by a commission on the recommendation of a ministry or agency, or on the initiative of an official (paras. 4 and 6).

I obtained a US passport. Am I still a citizen of Uzbekistan?

Yes, on the text of the law, until a decree on loss is signed, although the law has no direct sentence saying so. Article 12 of the Citizenship Law does not recognise a foreign citizenship held by an Uzbek citizen and speaks of the period "until the President's decision on loss", and Article 4 requires loss to be formalised by a decree that takes effect on signing. The final answer for your case comes from a check of documents.

Does the Vatandosh card let me buy land?

No, the text gives no such right. Para. 19 of the Regulation and para. 32-1 of the notaries' regulation speak of value thresholds and the residence permit, not of land, and Article 17 of the Land Code lets foreign citizens hold land on lease only.

Can I enter Uzbekistan without a visa on a US passport?

Yes, US citizens for up to 30 days from the date of entry (clause 1 of Decree No. UP-203 of 3 November 2025, from 1 January 2026).

Must I sell my apartment if I lose Uzbek citizenship?

For an apartment, we found no direct norm: the Citizenship Law does not name consequences of loss for property. For a land plot held in ownership there is Art. 33 of Law No. ZRU-728: a foreigner disposes of it within six months; whether it applies to a plot obtained before loss of citizenship the law does not say directly.

Sources

• Law No. ZRU-610 of 13 March 2020 "On Citizenship" (in Russian)
• Presidential Resolution No. PP-397 of 20 November 2024 and the Vatandosh Regulation (in Uzbek)
• Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 538 of 26 August 2025, para. 15 of the annex (in Uzbek)
• Notaries' regulation, Resolution No. 726 of 18 November 2020, paras. 32 and 32-1 (in Uzbek)
• Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 384 of 13 July 2022 (in Uzbek)
• Presidential Decree No. UP-101 of 8 April 2022, clause 3 (in Russian)
• Presidential Decree No. UP-5611 of 5 January 2019, clause 5 and Annex 6 (in Russian)
• Presidential Decree No. UP-203 of 3 November 2025 (in Russian)
• Land Code, Art. 17 (in Russian)
• Law No. ZRU-728 of 15 November 2021 on privatisation of non-agricultural land plots, Art. 33 (in Russian)

Uzbek acts are cited from lex.uz; quotations from Uzbek texts are our translations. The information is current as of November 2026 and is not individual legal or tax advice.