Nationals of Uzbekistan and China will be eligible to travel to each other’s countries visa-free for a stay of up to 30 days, starting from June 1, 2025.
The new decision comes under the intergovernmental visa waiver agreement, VisaGuide.World reports.
However, it has been emphasised that the visa-free agreement will not be applied to employment, media-related activities, study, or similar activities that require prior approval from the relevant authorities of the respective countries.
The intergovernmental agreement on mutual visa exemption between China and Uzbekistan was signed on December 1, 2024, and has met all the needed requirements prior to approval from the relevant authorities of the respective countries.
The new decision was announced by the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The agreement does not extend to visits to China’s Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The new agreement means that nationals of Uzbekistan and China will be permitted to enter, transit, and exit through each other’s countries without visas for up to 30 days per visit, provided the total stay within any 180-day period must not exceed 90 days.
New Changes to Facilitate Travel Process
The new changes are expected to make the travel process easier while also contributing to the tourism sector.
Uzbekistan places special emphasis on strengthening cooperation with China in the tourism sector.
He said that in 2024, the Tourism Year of Uzbekistan was inaugurated in China, to promote Uzbekistan’s tourism potential in China and also tighten connections between representatives of the tourism sectors of both countries, according to a report from China Daily.
Yakhyaev said that Uzbekistan is launching the “Friendly China” initiative, which, among others, aims to incorporate the Chinese language in airports, hotels, and restaurants.
At present, there are a total of 58 direct flights between Uzbek cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Fergana, as well as Chinese cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Urumqi, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou.
Uzbekistan plans to increase the number of weekly flights to 100. It also plans to attract 1 million Chinese tourists in the near future, according to the Counsellor and Consul General of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in China
In April this year, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Uzbekistan and China are close to reaching a visa-free travel agreement.