Uzbekistan’s Special Tax Regime for Foreigners: ,000 Fee and 30+ Days

Uzbekistan’s special tax regime for foreigners exempts a foreign citizen’s income from sources abroad from personal income tax (PIT) in return for a $50,000 fee. The conditions are an account at an authorized bank or a crypto wallet at an authorized exchange, more than 30 days in the country within 12 months, and a home owned or rented in Uzbekistan. The regime was introduced by Presidential Decree No. UP-180 of 4 October 2025 with effect from 1 January 2026, and the filing procedure was approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 270 of 21 May 2026. Status as of October 2026: the resolution takes effect only after amendments to the Tax Code. The Legislative Chamber passed the bill in July 2026, and there is no data on Senate approval or signature, so check whether applications are open on the date you apply.

Key points

• Status as of October 2026. The decree provides for the regime from 1 January 2026, but the Regulation takes effect only after amendments to the Tax Code (Resolution No. 270, para. 4). As of 12 October 2026 they are not in place, and there is no data on Senate approval or signature of the bill either.
• Entry price. A fee of $50,000 for the applicant and $10,000 for each adult close relative. The current texts do not cover minors, and the Regulation names no separate state duty.
• What is exempt. Only income from sources outside Uzbekistan. Income from Uzbekistan is taxed under the general rules of the Tax Code.
• Residency threshold. More than 30 days within 12 consecutive months plus a home owned or rented, whereas the general rule in Article 30 of the Tax Code requires more than 183 days.
• Timing. Once the procedure is operational, the commission decides within 5 working days. The regime is granted for the term stated in the application, up to 5 years.
• Where to hold the money. The Central Bank determines the banks and the National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) determines the crypto exchanges. Under NAPP Order No. 49 of 1 June 2026 these are COINPAY and ASTERIUM.

Who can use the regime: checklist

The regime is designed for foreigners with income from abroad: dividends, businesses in other countries, interest, an investment portfolio. The conditions must be met at the same time.

• Foreign citizenship. The regime is addressed to foreign citizens (Decree UP-180, para. 1). Unlike the law on the Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC), the Regulation does not restrict access for former citizens of Uzbekistan: this is not among the grounds for refusal (para. 12).
• Lawful stay. The application must include a document confirming the period of stay: a visa or another document (Regulation, para. 5).
• More than 30 calendar days of actual presence in aggregate within any consecutive 12-month period in which the tax period for which the status is requested begins or ends (Regulation, para. 2).
• Residential property in Uzbekistan, owned or leased.
• Identification. Your data is confirmed by electronic digital signature (EDS), fingerprinting, Mobile ID or another means of identification.

The Regulation (para. 12) lists four grounds for refusal: the required documents are missing; there is information about money laundering, terrorist financing or financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the applicant is a citizen of a state that restricts the rights of Uzbek citizens; the applicant’s stay has been deemed undesirable. Check the reciprocity ground in advance, because it does not depend on the quality of your documents.

How much the special tax regime costs

Under the annex to Resolution No. 270 (amendments to the Temporary Registration Regulations), close relatives are parents, full and half siblings, the spouse, children (including adopted children), grandparents, grandchildren, and the spouse’s parents.

The press has muddied the picture on children. Spot.uz of 7 July 2026 mistakenly retold the decree as a fee payable for every minor relative. Under UP-180 (para. 3) and the Regulation (paras. 14 and 18), the fee is paid and the regime is granted only for adult relatives, and the 5-year registration (decree, para. 6) is available to those for whom the fee has been paid. The bill, according to Spot.uz of 9 June 2026, may extend the benefits to minors, but the terms will be known only once the law is published.

Whether the fee is paid once for the whole term of the regime (up to 5 years, Regulation, para. 18) or repeatedly, neither the decree nor the Regulation says.

A rough payback benchmark (illustrative calculation): over one year at a 12% rate, a $50,000 fee equals the PIT on income of about $417,000; at a 5% rate, the PIT on $1,000,000. If the fee turns out to be one-off for the whole term of up to 5 years, the annualized threshold is about $83,000 of income at 12% and $200,000 at 5%. If it is annual, the one-year calculation applies. The calculation does not take into account credit for tax paid abroad: if 5% or more has already been withheld on foreign dividends or interest, the saving from the regime may be close to zero. Whether the 5% rate applies to foreign dividends, and how the credit works, is assessed case by case.

The regime pays off for someone who would otherwise become a resident under the 183-day rule and pay tax on worldwide income. A non-resident already pays PIT only on Uzbek-source income, so without a need for Uzbek residency the regime saves no tax.

What is exempt and what is not

The exemption covers only income from sources outside Uzbekistan. A regime participant’s Uzbek income is taxed under the general rules. For orientation, according to the PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (checked on 27 August 2026), the PIT rate for residents is 12%, and 5% on dividends and interest. Uzbek-source income of non-residents is subject to withholding of 10% on dividends and interest and 12% on other income. Check the rates on the filing date against the current version of the Tax Code.

A common mistake is to treat any income that arrives in a foreign account as “foreign”. What matters for tax is the source: where the work was performed, where the payer is located, where the property is. A consultant who works from Tashkent for a client in Dubai typically earns income from Uzbek sources, because the work is performed here, and the exemption does not extend to that income.

Bank account or crypto wallet

The second condition of the regime is an account at an authorized commercial bank or a crypto wallet at an authorized crypto exchange in Uzbekistan. The Central Bank determines the banks and NAPP determines the exchanges, and the lists are published on their websites (UP-180, para. 9).

There is no publicly available list of banks as of the publication date (October 2026). Before opening an account, ask the bank for written confirmation that it is on the list for the special regime: an account at a bank outside the list does not satisfy the condition.

The exchanges are clear. Under the NAPP list, approved by Order No. 49 of 1 June 2026, foreigners with a commission decision may open crypto wallets on two platforms.

Funds are credited to the account or wallet only after checks under the anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and WMD-proliferation procedures and after a risk assessment (UP-180, para. 5; Regulation, para. 15). In practice you need a source-of-funds file: dividend resolutions, contracts for the sale of a business or stakes, tax returns, bank statements, and for crypto assets the wallet and transaction history.

We covered NAPP’s role in the crypto market in the article on crypto assets and mining in Uzbekistan. For provider licences, see the page on crypto licensing in Uzbekistan.

How to apply: step by step

The procedure below follows the Regulation approved by Resolution No. 270. It will start working once the amendments to the Tax Code enter into force (para. 4 of the resolution). As of October 2026 they have not been made, so check whether filing is possible on the date you apply.

The decision is made by a commission headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. Its members include the Director of NAPP (deputy chair), the First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank and the Chairman of the Tax Committee, and the working body is the Tax Committee.

• Preparation. The Regulation (para. 5) requires a copy of your passport and a document confirming the period of stay. A lease or title document and the source-of-funds file are not named directly, but you will need them to confirm the conditions of the regime and for the bank or exchange.
• Filing. Through the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services, the Tax Services Electronic Portal or in person at a Public Services Center. Your data is confirmed by EDS, fingerprinting or Mobile ID (Regulation, paras. 4–5).
• Transfer to the commission — 1 working day (para. 7).
• Review — 3 working days (para. 9). If the commission requests additional information, the period is suspended (para. 10).
• Notification of the decision — 1 working day (para. 11). In total this is the same 5 working days stated in the decree.
• Account or wallet and fee. After a positive decision, the account or wallet is opened, the fee is paid, and confirmation is submitted through an electronic service (paras. 13–16). The Regulation sets no payment deadline after the decision.
• Certificate — within 1 working day, to your personal account or by e-mail (para. 17). The form of the certificate with a QR code is Annex 4 to the Regulation.
• Temporary registration at the place of stay — within 1 working day on application and presentation of the regime certificate (Resolution No. 270, Annex 2; UP-180, para. 6 refers to a document confirming payment of the fee). Registration runs up to 5 years but not beyond the validity of the visa; for CIS citizens who enter without a visa, up to 5 years but no more than 6 months without leaving.

Three paths side by side: ordinary residency, the special regime, TIFC

Since July 2026, a wealthy foreigner has one more route: the status of investment tax resident of the Tashkent International Financial Centre under Constitutional Law No. ZRU-1158 of 13 July 2026 (in force since 25 July 2026).

Once the procedure is operational, the special regime will be faster: a clear amount and 5 working days for a decision. The TIFC route depends on acts of the Centre’s Council, but the benefit is fixed by law for decades. More in our review TIFC: participants and benefits until 2076.

Risks: your departure country and double taxation

The Uzbek regime does not cancel your residency in the country you leave. That country determines residency by days of presence, home and centre of vital interests, and the US does so by citizenship. If your country of departure continues to treat you as a resident, your foreign income will be taxed there, and the $50,000 will be a registration payment rather than a tax saving. In some countries a change of residency triggers an exit tax on unrealized capital gains.

Double tax treaties usually resolve a conflict between two residencies through a tie-breaker sequence: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality. Thirty days in Tashkent, with family and business in another country, will most likely lose on these criteria. Whether the Tax Committee issues a regime participant a tax residency certificate for treaty purposes, the decree and the Regulation do not say. Even with a certificate, another country may refuse to recognize a regime participant as a resident of Uzbekistan for treaty purposes if that person is not taxed in Uzbekistan on worldwide income.

Account data may reach other countries through international information exchange. Obtain a written opinion from an adviser in your country of departure before filing.

Link to a residence permit, visa and housing

The special tax regime is not a residence permit. It gives a tax status and temporary registration at the place of stay for up to 5 years, but not beyond the validity of the visa. The basis for your stay is secured separately: a visa, a residence permit, or work or investment status. We collected the options for investors in the article residence permit in Uzbekistan for an investor.

A lease is enough for the regime. Buying makes sense for a long relocation, but foreigners face restrictions on land and the transaction requires checking the property and the seller. More on the page real estate and land in Uzbekistan.

What has changed since 2025

• 4 October 2025 — UP-180 signed, in force from 7 October 2025.
• 8 November 2025 — NAPP published the first list of crypto exchanges for the regime: Kobea Group, Coinpay and Asterium (Spot.uz).
• 1 January 2026 — the regime starts under the decree, although the Cabinet’s procedure had not yet been approved.
• 21 May 2026 — Resolution No. 270 approved the administrative regulation; under its para. 4 it takes effect after amendments to the Tax Code.
• 1 June 2026 — NAPP Order No. 49: two exchanges on the list, COINPAY and ASTERIUM.
• June 2026 — the Legislative Chamber passed the bill on the special regime in the first reading; according to the media, the benefits may be extended to minor family members (Spot.uz).
• 7 July 2026 — the bill passed in the second and third readings and was sent to the Senate (Spot.uz).
• 13 July 2026 — Constitutional Law ZRU-1158 on TIFC, with the status of investment tax resident, signed; in force from 25 July 2026.

What is still unclear (checked 12 October 2026)

• The law and entry into force of the Regulation. There is no data on Senate approval or signature, and Articles 30 and 18 of the Tax Code do not yet contain rules on 30 days or a special regime for foreigners. The lex.uz card gives 22 May 2026, but para. 4 of Resolution No. 270 ties entry into force to the Tax Code amendments.
• How often the fee is paid. Whether it is one-off for the whole term or recurring is not stated.
• Renewal. The heading of chapter 3 of the Regulation mentions renewal, but the text has no procedure.
• Residency certificate for treaty purposes and the tax consequences of leaving the regime are not regulated.

Example: a family relocates to Tashkent

The scenario is hypothetical and assumes that the filing procedure is already operational. A foreign entrepreneur owns a stake in a trading company abroad and receives dividends. The entrepreneur moves to Tashkent with a wife, an adult son and a 12-year-old daughter, rents an apartment and plans to live in Uzbekistan for most of the year.

Under the texts of the decree and the Regulation, the fee will be $50,000 for the entrepreneur and $10,000 each for the wife and the son, $70,000 in total. Under the current texts the daughter is not covered by the regime: no fee is paid for her, but the regime registration does not extend to her either, and her stay is secured by a visa or another basis. If the law extends the regime to minors, the calculation will be revisited. Before filing, the family obtains an opinion from an adviser in the country of departure, assembles a file on several years of dividends and checks the visa term.

Where the scheme breaks down: the family keeps a home in the country of departure, and that country continues to treat the head of the family as a resident; tax has already been withheld abroad on the dividends, and after credit the saving turns out to be smaller than the fee; the son advises clients from Tashkent, and his income becomes Uzbek-source wherever the client is; the bank returns the payment because the source of funds is not fully documented.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the regime already works. The Regulation takes effect after the Tax Code amendments; check the status on the date you apply.
• Paying the fee before the commission’s decision. Under the Regulation, the decision comes first, then the account and payment.
• Opening an account or wallet outside the lists of the Central Bank and NAPP.
• Not preparing the source of funds. Crediting happens only after an anti-money laundering check.
• Counting the saving without credit for foreign tax and without the position of the country of departure.

How Pactum helps

• We check whether the regime applies to you: sources of income, the conditions of the decree, and the interaction with a double tax treaty, together with your adviser in the country of departure.
• We track the entry into force of the Tax Code amendments, prepare the application and the document package, and support the filing and correspondence with the commission’s working body.
• We assemble the source-of-funds file for the bank or exchange.
• We review the lease or purchase of housing and connect the regime with your visa, residence permit and business structure in Uzbekistan.

You can start with a lawyer consultation: 60 minutes, UZS 300,000, credited toward the cost of the service. The cost of ongoing support is set after we review your case. If you are also moving capital or a business to Uzbekistan, see the page on foreign investment in Uzbekistan. For tax support of a foreign investor’s business, see tax compliance in Uzbekistan.

FAQ

Can I apply for the special tax regime now?

The filing channels are named: the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services, the tax services portal and Public Services Centers. But Resolution No. 270 takes effect after amendments to the Tax Code, and there is no data that the law has been signed (checked 12 October 2026). It is worth preparing the file in advance and checking whether filing is possible on the date you apply.

Is there a non-dom regime in Uzbekistan?

A similar mechanism exists: the special tax regime under UP-180 exempts foreigners’ foreign-source income from PIT for a $50,000 fee. In design it is closer to regimes with a fixed charge for the status. The mechanism will start working after amendments to the Tax Code, and Uzbek-source income is taxed under the general rules in any case.

Do I need a residence permit to get the special tax regime?

No. You need lawful stay (a visa or another document), more than 30 days in the country within 12 months, and a home owned or rented. The regime gives temporary registration for up to 5 years but not beyond the validity of the visa, so the basis for your stay still has to be renewed.

Do I have to keep money in an account in Uzbekistan?

The decree and the Regulation require you to open an account at an authorized bank or a wallet at an authorized exchange (UP-180, para. 1; Regulation, paras. 13–16), but they name no minimum balance or holding period. The bank or exchange may set its own conditions, and the law amending the Tax Code may add requirements, so check on the filing date.

Are crypto assets of a regime participant taxed?

The decree has no separate rules for crypto income. Only income from sources abroad is exempt, and the source of crypto transactions has to be classified in advance. The wallet for the regime is opened at COINPAY or ASTERIUM (NAPP Order No. 49).

Can my wife and children be included in the regime?

Adult close relatives can: a wife, adult children, parents and others on the list, $10,000 for each (UP-180, para. 3; Regulation, para. 14). The current texts do not include minors: the Regulation (para. 18) grants the regime to the foreigner and adult close relatives. The bill may extend the benefits to children, but until the law is published, a child’s stay is secured by a visa or another basis.

How do I leave the regime, and what happens on early termination?

The regime runs for the term stated in the application, up to 5 years. The Regulation describes only early termination: on AML/CFT grounds, reciprocity grounds (citizenship of a state that restricts the rights of Uzbek citizens) or undesirability of the stay, by court decision, and in the event of death (Regulation, paras. 19–20). Voluntary exit, its tax consequences and renewal are not regulated by the texts yet.

Sources

• Presidential Decree UP-180 of 4 October 2025 “On measures to introduce a special tax regime for foreign citizens” (lex.uz, Russian)
• Cabinet Resolution No. 270 of 21 May 2026, document card (lex.uz, Russian)
• Administrative Regulation to Resolution No. 270, text (lex.uz, Uzbek)
• Tax Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (lex.uz, Russian)
• Constitutional Law No. ZRU-1158 of 13 July 2026 “On the Tashkent International Financial Centre” (lex.uz, Russian)
• NAPP: list of authorized crypto exchanges for the special tax regime
• Spot.uz, 9 June 2026: the bill in the first reading (Russian)
• Spot.uz, 7 July 2026: the bill in the second and third readings (Russian)
• Spot.uz, 8 November 2025: NAPP’s first list of crypto exchanges (Russian)
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Uzbekistan, taxes on personal income