The Senate at the 23rd plenary session on Friday approved amendments to the Criminal Code (CC) and the Code of Administrative Liability (CAL), aimed at liberalizing penalties related to violation of the rules of temporary stay in Uzbekistan of foreign citizens and stateless persons, which will take effect after being approved by the president.

Article 224 “Violation of the rules of stay in Uzbekistan” has been deleted from the Criminal Code, which means that foreign nationals and stateless persons shall not be prosecuted for this offence.

Article 223 “Violation of the rules of the passport system” of the CAL is supplemented by the item that the residence of a foreign national and a stateless person holding a residence permit in Uzbekistan, with an invalid residence permit, without temporary or permanent registration, its loss, shall entail a fine of 0.5 to 3 minimum wage (MW=223,000, or 23 USD). The same offense committed repeatedly within a year after the application of administrative penalties is punishable by a fine of 5 MWs.

The penalty for overstay by a foreign citizen or stateless person (article 225 of the CAL):

• less than 10 days - 5 MW;
• more than 10, but less than 30 days - 10 MW;
• over 30 days - 20 MW

with fines payable at cashier's desks in Uzbekistan airports.

The current version of the article provides for the 50 to 100 MW fines regardless of the duration of overstay.

In case of non-payment of the penalty for violation of the rules of stay, a foreign citizen and a stateless person shall be expelled from the country with further ban to enter for 1 year, and in case of repeated violation after applying the administrative penalty - for 3 years.

Foreign citizens and stateless persons under the age of 18 years shall no longer bear liability for for violation of the rules of the passport system and the rules of stay.