Legal support in Uzbekistan for foreign companies: how it works

Not for the registration itself. A request can be filed online, in which case the foreign founders sign it with an electronic signature, or a representative can file in person at a Public Services Centre under a power of attorney. A power of attorney signed abroad is notarised there and apostilled (or legalised, see below).

A trip may still be needed later. Some banks want the director in person to open the account, and whether the account can be opened remotely depends on the bank. A foreign national who becomes the director must, as a general rule, register at the place of stay within 3 working days of entry, unless a treaty or Uzbek law sets another period. We tell you which steps can be done under a power of attorney before we start, not after registration.

What the Regulation itself requires is short: the constitutive documents in the state language (para. 12) and the registration application, which includes the founders' details and a beneficial owner questionnaire (Annex 5). It does not list the papers that prove a foreign founder exists and has authorised the filing; those are what the filing and the bank need in practice, and the list below is the one from our guide for a US parent.

If the founder is a company: a certificate of good standing (or an extract from the commercial register of the country of incorporation), ordered shortly before filing; a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation or formation; a board resolution to create the LLC, approve the charter and appoint the director; and a power of attorney for the representative in Tashkent if you do not file yourself. Each is apostilled, or legalised where the apostille does not apply (see below). In addition: passports of the director and of the beneficial owners, with translation.

If the founder is an individual: a passport copy with translation and the beneficial owner details, plus a power of attorney if you do not file yourself.

Other countries name the same papers differently. We name the exact list for your structure in the written proposal.

The Hague Apostille Convention has been in force for Uzbekistan since 15 April 2012. A public document issued in another party to the Convention needs an apostille from its own country, not consular legalisation.

There is one exception that matters: Germany and Austria objected to Uzbekistan's accession, so the Convention does not operate between them and Uzbekistan, and documents from those two countries usually need consular legalisation. Belgium and Greece have withdrawn their objections. The same applies to documents from any country that is not a party to the Convention. Check your country in the HCCH status table.

Which authority apostilles a document depends on the country and the document. In the United States, for example, state documents are generally apostilled by the Secretary of State of the issuing state, and a document notarised in one state is apostilled in that state.

Foreign documents are translated into Uzbek. In practice the translation is certified by a notary in Uzbekistan; the Regulation does not set the format, so it is checked with the registrar and the bank first. We arrange translations.

The LLC law (Law ZRU-1137, in force since 22 July 2026) sets no general minimum, although licensing requirements for a particular activity may. Each participant pays its contribution by the deadline in the charter, at most one year after state registration (Art. 15).

For an enterprise with foreign investment, meaning foreign investment of at least 15% of the shares or of the charter capital (Art. 3 of the Investment Law), Annex 11 to the State Registration Regulation names a minimum of UZS 400 million, or UZS 200 million in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Khorezm region. Lower capital is a ground for refusal (para. 40). The LLC law itself sets no such minimum and the Regulation has not been aligned with it, but while the Annex is in force we plan for it and check with the registering authority before filing.

Banks must identify the owner or controlling person of a corporate client by examining its ownership and management structure on the basis of its constitutive documents (Art. 7), and must refuse to open an account if due diligence cannot be completed (Art. 15). In practice, expect to show the chain of ownership up to the individuals who control the foreign parent.

Uzbekistan and the United States have a Model 1 FATCA agreement, in force since 7 July 2017, so a US-owned client should expect FATCA self-certification forms. Some banks want the director in person, so plan the trip around this step. We support the opening of the account; the decision is the bank's.

The state step is short: registration takes up to 30 minutes in the state system once a complete filing is in it. The weeks go into the apostilled paperwork, translation, the bank account and the director's immigration status.

Our planning estimates, not official terms: choosing the vehicle and tax regime 1 to 5 working days; foreign documents with apostille 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the issuing state; translation and notarisation in Tashkent 2 to 5 working days; state registration 1 to 3 working days including payment and checks; the bank account 1 to 3 weeks; a work permit for a hired director 3 to 5 weeks with documents. As a planning figure, allow 4 to 8 weeks from the decision to an operating company with a bank account. These figures come from our guide for US founders. The final timeline is fixed in the written proposal.

Yes, the director of an Uzbek LLC may be a foreign national. But registering the company and the director's right to work are two separate matters: working requires a confirmation of the right to engage in labour activity, or an exemption.

The confirmation is issued by the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction on an application filed through the Litsenziya system or my.gov.uz, with a statutory review period of 15 working days. The fees are a review fee of 1 base calculation unit plus an issuance fee that depends on the category; together, for most categories, they come to 2 to 31 base calculation units, that is UZS 880,000 to 13,640,000 at the base calculation unit of UZS 440,000.

A founder of a foreign or joint enterprise, including its first head, may work without the confirmation for 3 months from the date of the employment contract. On the literal text of Annex 20, a hired director who is not a founder needs it at once. An investor of at least 8,500 base calculation units in the company is exempt, as are residence permit holders and specialists of IT Park residents. The registration at the place of stay is needed in every case.

It is chosen before registration: a new company elects turnover tax in the registration application, and the choice affects contract pricing from day one. Turnover tax is available only to legal entities of Uzbekistan, so an Uzbek subsidiary may choose it if its activity is not excluded by Art. 461(2) of the Tax Code, while a foreign legal entity operating through a permanent establishment pays VAT. The headline rates are 12% for VAT and 15% for corporate profit tax; the general turnover tax rate is 4%.

The threshold is two facts. Art. 461 of the Tax Code says UZS 1 billion of income a year, while Decree UP-100 set 12,000 base calculation units (UZS 5.28 billion at the current unit) from 1 June 2026 as the threshold for mandatory transition to general taxation. The Code has not been amended, so the two rules conflict. We calculate on your figures and give a written recommendation; the decision is yours.

The Regulation requires the constitutive documents filed for registration, including the charter of the LLC, to be in the state language, Uzbek (para. 12). Foreign documents are translated, as described above, and we file submissions to the tax authority in the state language.

On tax compliance work, correspondence, recommendations and the summary for head office are in English, and our site states English and Russian for that work. Corporate secretarial work includes an English summary for the owner: what happened in the period, which decisions were taken, what was signed and what is coming up.

Our own service agreement with a foreign client is bilingual, in Russian and English.

We name the cost in writing before the work starts. After we review the task we send a written proposal with the scope, the price and the timeline. Before that any figure would be made up, because the price depends on the form of presence, the number of participants, whether a licence is required and whether the charter has to reflect a specific arrangement between participants.

State fees are not part of our fee and are paid separately. For registering an LLC the state fee is 1 base calculation unit, UZS 440,000, or UZS 396,000 if you apply yourself through my.gov.uz.

The agreement is signed with PACTUM-AI CA LLC. For a non-resident company we issue an invoice in US dollars, and you pay by international bank transfer (SWIFT). The payment schedule is set out in the agreement.

Under Art. 17 of the Investment Law an investor may transfer income abroad without restriction after paying taxes. Transfers may be suspended in listed cases, such as the company's insolvency, a violation of creditors' rights, offenses by an individual investor, or a court or arbitral decision. The Foreign Exchange Operations Rules let non-residents buy currency to repatriate investment and income, and the bank may request supporting documents.

Tax on dividends is withheld at source. Under the Tax Code the rate for a non-resident is 10%, both for a company (Art. 353) and for an individual (Art. 382). A tax treaty between Uzbekistan and the recipient's country may set a lower rate, applied under the treaty procedure. There is no treaty rate for the United States: the IRS lists Uzbekistan under the 1973 US–USSR tax convention, which has no article on dividends, so the 10% rate applies.

By e-mail at info@pactum.uz or by phone on +998 78 113 81 01. We work Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Tashkent time (UTC+5). The office is at 21 Afrosiyob Street, Tashkent. You can also describe your case in the registration wizard.

The legal entity behind Pactum is PACTUM-AI CA LLC, taxpayer identification number (STIR) 313212227, registered in Tashkent.