Afghan nationals who overstay their Uzbekistan visas will not be expelled to their homeland, since the border for individuals between the countries is still closed, an representative of the Interior Ministry said.
Earlier, the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) stated that more than 70 Afghan citizens in Uzbekistan face deportation to their homeland. According to human rights activists, in mid-August 2021, after the Taliban came to power, they received Uzbek visas for three months and now fear that they will not be extended, since they arrived in the country not by invitation, but by force.
“There is no constraint. At present, such a question is not raised, because our border with Afghanistan is closed,” said the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to the ministry, there are currently 13,658 Afghan citizens in Uzbekistan, including 13,032 temporarily living, most of them came here on business, as well as to visit their relatives.
The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that in order to extend visas, citizens of Afghanistan need to contact the migration departments at their place of temporary residence in Uzbekistan.
“They will get registration with the consent of the owner of the living space,. All foreign citizens who do not violate the Uzbek laws and the rules of stay in the republic will have their visas extended, ”the ministry added.
In mid-August, about 150 Afghans crossed the Afghan-Uzbek border after the Taliban seized power in the country. Later they all returned to their homeland under guarantees of their safety from the new Afghan authorities.
In August, the head of the EU Delegation to Uzbekistan, Charlotte Adrian, noted that as a gesture of assistance, Uzbekistan could consider extending visas to Afghan citizens in the country. "There are many Afghans in Uzbekistan ... Perhaps the authorities need to think about extending visas for these people, as in the situation with lockdown restrictions that were introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic," she said at the time.
