Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are negotiating on implementing an Asian version of a Schengen visa. The countries have agreed upon provisions on a multiple entry tourist visa to be named as “Silk Road Visa”.
Currently, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are working on regulating the implementation process of a single electronic system for issuing visas for entry and stay in the countries of the Silk Road zone. Initially, the process will begin from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as a start.
Silk Road Visa has all possibilities of becoming an analogue for a Schengen visa for Silk Road countries, as announced at the Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan.
The new document will enable tourists and visitors of the countries to easily pass the cross border points that include visa, customs and passport control procedures.
The Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan informed that Uzbek side so far has held two consular consultations and four working group meetings on the issues of the implementation of the project on applying Silk Road electronic visas.
As a result of the held negotiations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Regulation on a multiple entry electronic visa “Silk Road Visa” and a list of countries, whose citizens will be able to apply for the visa, have been agreed.
Regulatory and technical parts of the process are still under discussion, such as the integration of IT systems, joint financial funding of the project by the countries, including the single consular fees collection, as well as the conclusion of the intergovernmental agreement for the full implementation of the project.
The project is planned to have a deadline of its completion by the end of 2021.
As we know, our country has been applying the new flexible visa policy for travelers and visitors since the end of 2016, in order to encourage more tourists to visit Uzbekistan. The process of receiving a visa has become less bureaucratic and a lot easier, so that travelers could just buy their ticket, pack their bags and enjoy their unforgettable trip to Uzbekistan in 2021 to the breathtaking historical and cultural heritage Uzbekistan.
While easing the process of getting a visa for many countries, Uzbekistan has been applying a visa-free regime for 86 states until today, whose citizens could cross the border for periods between 30 and 90 days, depending on the nationality. Also, citizens of 77 countries had the opportunity to come to Uzbekistan by obtaining an electronic visa.
Additionally, since July 2018 visa-free entry to Uzbekistan was allowed for the period of 5 days for the citizens of almost 100 countries, traveling as a transit through the country. If you are passing by Uzbekistan as a transit destination, 5 days of stay in Uzbekistan gives you opportunity not only to stay in the modern capital of Uzbekistan – Tashkent city, but also quickly travel to historical cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva by train or by taking a local flight, which has become extremely comfortable.
To make traveling to Uzbekistan even more convenient during the pandemic, as of 25 March of the current year, foreign citizens arriving to Uzbekistan are allowed to enter the country without passing the express PCR test at the border, subject to providing a negative PCR test result taken in the laboratories meeting the international quality standards.
