The new edition of the Citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan law took effect today on September 15. The Law was passed by the Legislative Chamber on February 18, approved by the Senate on February 28 and signed by the President on March 13 this year. The Law was published on March 15 and was set to take effect 6 months later, on September 15.
According to the Law, a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan is:
a) a person who had permanently resided in the republic on July 28, 1992, who is not a citizen of a foreign state and has expressed a desire to become a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
b) a person who lived in the territory of Uzbekistan and left Uzbekistan for study before July 28, 1992 and continuously studied or did military service and returned to Uzbekistan within one year after graduation or military service and permanently registered in the Republic of Uzbekistan provided he is not the citizen of a foreign state;
c) a person who has citizenship of Uzbekistan on the effective date of this Law;
d) a person who has acquired the citizenship of the republic in accordance with this Law.
The general procedure for admission to citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall apply in relation to a citizen of a foreign state or a stateless person, if he:
a) renounced form the citizenship of a foreign state;
b) from the date of receipt of a residence permit for a stateless person and until the day of applying for the citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan, has permanently resided in the territory of the republic for five years continuously;
c) has a legitimate source of existence;
d) pledges to comply with the Constitution;
e) speaks the Uzbek language within the limits necessary for communication.
The procedure for determining the level of knowledge of the state language is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
In addition, such the concept of a compatriot appeared in the document. The Law states that a compatriot is a person and his relatives in a direct descending line, who were born or previously lived in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who are not citizens of the republic, living outside the territory of Uzbekistan, provided that their relatives in a direct ascending line live in the territory Uzbekistan and are citizens of the republic.
"A person who has arrived and is permanently registered in the territory of Uzbekistan before January 1, 1995, who has not acquired the citizenship of a foreign state and who lives before the entry into force of the above Law on the basis of a residence permit in the republic for a stateless person, upon expression of desire, is recognized as a citizen of Uzbekistan," the document says.
