Uzbekistan · Employment & Labour Compliance

Uzbek labour is jointly governed by the Labour Code (ZRU-798) and the State Social Insurance Law (ZRU-1101, effective 2026). Standard hours are 40/week; statutory paid annual leave no less than 15 working days; maternity leave 126 days (extended for complications/multiples); salaries must be paid in som (UZS) through local accounts - non-IT-Park enterprises are strictly forbidden from paying in foreign currency or cash, a core FX and labour compliance red line. Foreign employees need 'employer sponsorship + three documents': the enterprise first obtains a Corporate Work License, then personal Work Permit Confirmations for employees, then E-category work visas; the employer must prove the position cannot be filled locally. The minimum wage from 2025-08-01 is UZS 1,271,000/month (no 2026 increase, per presidential decree). On taxes: PIT 12%, employer social tax 12% (textile/apparel 1% to September 2028; IT Park residents 0% employer social tax with PIT 7.5% to 2040); from 2026 sickness-pay from day 6 is borne by the new State Social Insurance Fund. Employment contracts and civil agreements must be registered through the my.mehnat.uz portal. Chinese enterprises must also pay attention to halal catering, religious holidays and trade-union compliance.

Key points

Contracts and registration: employment contracts in Uzbek uploaded to my.mehnat.uz; from 2026-01-01 all leave and civil contracts must also be registered through the portal.
Payroll red line: salaries must be paid in som through Uzbek local accounts; only IT Park resident enterprises may pay foreign experts in foreign currency from service-export FX income; ordinary Chinese enterprises are strictly forbidden from cash payroll or FX-linked salaries.
Minimum wage: UZS 1,271,000/month from 2025-08-01; no 2026 increase; further adjustments require presidential decrees.
Hours and leave: standard 40 hours/week; overtime requires written consent with caps (first 2 hours >=1.5x, rest >=2x); annual leave >=15 working days; maternity 126 days (extended to 140 for complications/multiples); pregnant/nursing workers protected from dismissal.
Foreign employment three documents: Corporate Work License + personal Work Permit Confirmation + E-category work visa; the enterprise must prove the position cannot be filled locally; confirmation review about 15 business days, validity usually 1 year.
Tax burden: PIT 12%; employer social tax 12% (textile/apparel 1% to 2028-09; IT Park 0% to 2040); ZRU-1101 consolidates maternity/sickness/childcare allowances into the State Social Insurance Fund; from 2026-07-01 sickness pay from day 6 borne by the fund.
Tax residency: foreigners staying 183+ days in any rolling 12 months become Uzbek tax residents, taxed on global income at 12%.
Cultural compliance: provide halal catering, observe Eid al-Fitr/Eid al-Adha/Navruz holidays, engage lawfully registered trade unions; prevent employment and reputational risk.

Procedure

Position and local-first assessment: confirm no suitable local candidates for the intended foreign positions; prepare position-necessity statements.
Corporate Work License: the employer applies to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, authorizing the company to hire foreigners; about 10 business days, valid 1 year.
Personal Work Permit Confirmation: apply for each employee via my.gov.uz with passport, education (apostilled), contract, medical check and no-criminal record; review about 15 business days.
E-category work visa: after the confirmation, the employee applies for an E-Visa via the state services e-visa portal; about 10 business days, single entry, validity matching the permit (usually 1 year, renewable to 3).
Arrival and residence registration: within 3 business days of arrival, complete temporary-residence registration (hotels automatic via E-mehmon; rented accommodation online self-service or interior ministry offline); passport carried at all times.
Contract signing and registration: sign Uzbek employment contracts and upload to my.mehnat.uz; agree som salaries with local-account payment.
Payroll, social and filings: pay salaries in som monthly, withhold PIT, pay employer social tax and register social contributions; annual permit renewal review (at least 20 business days before expiry).

Hard requirements

Employer is a lawfully registered enterprise in Uzbekistan with a valid tax number
Position-necessity proof that the intended foreign positions cannot be filled locally
Employee passports, education (apostille/consular certified), no-criminal records and medical checks complete
Employment contracts in Uzbek uploaded to my.mehnat.uz
Salaries paid in som through local accounts with PIT withholding and social tax paid
Foreign employees complete the work permit, E-Visa and temporary-residence registration full flow

Costs

Corporate Work License fees and annual renewals (per official publication)Personal Work Permit Confirmation fees by skill tier (high-tech/experts about 1x minimum wage; ordinary workers about 30x minimum wage)E-category work visa fees: about several hundred USD/person (subject to policy, per embassy publication)Education certification, medical checks, translation and visa travel: comprehensive per-person annual documentation about USD 1,800-2,000Employer social tax (12% of payroll; textile 1%/IT Park 0%) and PIT withholding (12%)⏱ ⏱ Timeline：Corporate Work License about 10 business days; personal confirmations about 15 business days; E-Visa about 10 business days; end-to-end first foreign hire usually 8-12 weeks. Permits usually valid 1 year; renewals at least 20 business days before expiry.

⚠ Common risks

Working without permits on business visas or visa-free status: illegal employment with penalties and deportation
Foreign-currency or cash payroll: touches FX and labour compliance red lines; penalized
Contracts not in Uzbek or not uploaded to my.mehnat.uz: unrecognized and non-compliant
Permit expiry without renewal or over-scope employment: ordered stop and fines
Misusing visa-free entry (China-Uzbekistan mutual visa exemption from 2025-06-01, single 30 days / 90 days per 180) for work: visa-free cannot be converted to work visas
Ignoring local religious culture (halal, holidays, trade unions): employment disputes and reputational risk
Foreigners reaching 183 days without tax-residence filing: global-income tax compliance gap

Handbook

📘 Step-by-Step Handbook (with owner / timeline / cost / penalties)

Applies to：Full labour compliance for Chinese enterprises registered in Uzbekistan hiring local and foreign employees (including Chinese secondees); not applicable to pure trade without an entity or short business visits.

Prerequisites

Employer lawfully registered in Uzbekistan with a tax number
Intended foreign positions assessed for local-first with position-necessity statements
my.gov.uz and my.mehnat.uz access with e-signatures opened
Salary payment path in som through local accounts confirmed (IT Park excepted)
Minimum wage, hours and leave statutory floors understood

Step	Action	Owner	Timeline	Cost	Official form / system	Notes & penalties
1	Local-first and position-necessity assessment Confirm the target positions cannot be filled in the local labour market; form position-necessity statements as the precondition for the Corporate Work License; prioritize local hiring to lower costs and compliance burden	HR + management	1-2 weeks	Internal cost	Position-necessity statements; recruitment records	Migration authorities focus on whether the enterprise genuinely lacks suitable local candidates Penalty：Inability to prove necessity: personal confirmations denied
2	Corporate Work License The employer applies to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations for a Corporate Work License authorizing the company to hire foreigners; submit company registration, tax and position plans; issued about 10 business days, valid 1 year renewable	Employer HR + MELR	About 10 business days	License fees	Corporate Work License	Renew before expiry to avoid affecting subsequent personal confirmations Penalty：Hiring foreigners without the license: illegal employment; penalties and deportation
3	Personal Work Permit Confirmation Apply via my.gov.uz for each employee's personal Work Permit Confirmation with passport, education (apostilled), employment contract, medical check and no-criminal record; reviewed by the External Labour Migration Agency about 15 business days; confirmations usually valid 1 year	Employer + External Labour Migration Agency	About 15 business days	Confirmation fees (by skill tier)	Personal Work Permit Confirmations; payment vouchers	Ordinary-worker fees are high (about 30x minimum wage); budget in advance Penalty：Working without confirmations: illegal employment; fines and shutdown risk
4	E-category work visa After the confirmation, employees apply for E-category work visas via the state services e-visa portal; issued about 10 business days, single entry, validity matching the permit; enter within 30 days of issuance recommended to preserve residence-registration time	Employee + State Services	About 10 business days	Visa fees (about several hundred USD/person)	E-Visa; invitation/visa-support letters	Visa-free entry (mutual exemption from 2025-06-01) does not apply to work and cannot be converted locally Penalty：Working on visa-free/business visas: illegal; penalties and deportation
5	Arrival, residence registration and contract registration Within 3 business days of arrival, complete temporary-residence registration (hotels automatic; rented accommodation online via emehmon.uz or interior ministry offline); sign Uzbek employment contracts and upload to my.mehnat.uz; keep passports on person	Employer HR + employee	Within 3 business days of arrival	Registration costs	Residence-registration vouchers; employment contracts (registered)	From 2026-01-01 leave and civil contracts must also be portal-registered Penalty：Late registration or un-uploaded contracts are violations
6	Payroll, social contributions and annual renewals Pay salaries in som through local accounts monthly, withholding PIT (12%) and paying employer social tax (12%; textile 1%/IT Park 0%); maintain leave and contracts via my.mehnat.uz; submit renewals at least 20 business days before permit expiry; foreigners reaching 183 days file tax-residence declarations	Finance/HR + tax and social authorities	Monthly/annual	Salaries and taxes	Payroll slips; tax/social filings; renewal applications	FX-linked or cash payroll is a red line; IT Park foreign-expert FX payroll must be backed by service-export income Penalty：Violating payroll rules or missing social contributions: fines and credit impact

✅ Self-check list

⚠ Common pitfalls

Working on visa-free/business visas影响：Illegal employment; employee deported; enterprise fined; reputation damaged规避：Work always uses the work-permit + E-Visa three documents; visa-free limited to short business

Foreign-currency or cash payroll影响：Touches FX and labour dual red lines; penalized规避：Pay in som through local accounts; IT Park foreign experts paid in FX only from service-export income

Contracts not in Uzbek or not portal-uploaded影响：Contract validity unrecognized; employment violations规避：Sign in Uzbek and upload to my.mehnat.uz with receipts

Permit expiry without renewal or over-scope影响：Over-scope employment ordered stop with fines规避：Ledger reminders at least 20 business days ahead

Ignoring religious culture and trade-union compliance影响：Employment disputes and reputational risk规避：Provide halal catering, observe holidays, engage lawful trade unions

📅 Ongoing post-incorporation obligations

Pay salaries in som monthly with PIT withholding and employer social tax; register social contributions per law
Maintain employment contracts, leave and civil contracts on my.mehnat.uz
Renew work permits and E-Visas at least 20 business days before expiry
Foreigners reaching 183 days file Uzbek tax-residence declarations; global income taxed at 12%
Continuously satisfy halal, holiday and trade-union local cultural and labour compliance

🔗 Official portals

Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations of Uzbekistan (labour permits)Unified e-government platform (my.gov.uz, work-permit applications)State Tax Committee (soliq.uz, PIT and social)

📎 Source：Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Law No. ZRU-798, effective 2023); Law on State Social Insurance (Law No. ZRU-1101, signed December 2025, effective 2026-01-01); Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and External Labour Migration Agency labour-permit rules; unified labour portals my.gov.uz / my.mehnat.uz; minimum wage per presidential decrees (UZS 1,271,000/month from 2025-08-01; no increase in 2026); State Tax Committee (soliq.uz) social-contribution rules. Specific rates and thresholds per official publications

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