Do Americans Need a Visa for Uzbekistan?

Effie Frank

July 17, 2025

With competing information online, many Americans are wondering if they need an evisa to visit Uzbekistan.  The short answer is yes, Americans under 55 years old do still need to apply for an evisa. Americans over 55 can enter Uzbekistan visa-free for up to 30 days. However, recently Uzbekistan’s president announced a plan to ease these requirements, which led to some of the current confusion. Though things may be changing soon, here is the current situation regarding evisas for Americans.

Presidential Decree

On May 15 ^th 2025, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced instructions for the Foreign Ministry to establish a 30-day visa-free regime for Americans. Currently, Americans older than 55 or younger than 16 can enter Uzbekstan without a visa, but all others must apply for an e-visa or physical visa. This decree is part of a big aim to increase Uzbekistan’s already flourishing tourism industry. In 2024, Uzbekistan welcomed 8.2 million foreign tourists, and the president hopes to almost double that number by the end of this year. Only a small fraction of last year’s tourists were from the US, so the government is hoping that doing away with the e-visa requirement will increase numbers from a large and wealthy nation.

However, part of the intention behind this plan is to negotiate the easing of restrictions on Uzbek tourists entering the United States, at a time when travel restrictions are only tightening for foreigners trying the enter the US. It is unclear whether the plan hinges on some kind of trade off, or if the increased dollars from American tourists will be reason enough to loosen the restrictions.

E-visa Process

Americans can apply for a 30-day e-visa using Uzbekistan’s e-visa site- https://e-visa.gov.uz/main . The site can be very clunky, so it is important to make sure you’ve received confirmation that the site has accepted all of your documents and information. The application itself does not take long to fill out, and you will be asked for your passport information and some basic details about yourself and your planned stay in Uzbekistan. Where most people encounter difficulty is with the upload section for a visa photo and passport photo. The visa photo must meet the ICAO standards for a passport/visa photo- having a plain, light-coloured background, and a neutral facial expression. It must be a sharp clear image with a resolution of 300 dpi and fit the dimensions of 35mm x 45mm. In order to be accepted, the file size must be very small- not exceeding 1MB. If you are having difficulty getting the site to accept your files, try saving them at an even smaller size.

Once you have successfully uploaded your files and submitted your application, you will get an email with payment instructions.  A single-entry visa costs $20, and a double-entry visa is $35. You must complete your payment in order for the application to be processed. Some people can have trouble with their bank rejecting the payment, so be sure your payment has actually been completed. Once everything is submitted, you should receive your e-visa in 3 business days. They do not always send an email confirming your application approval, so be sure to check your application portal yourself. Print out a copy of your e-visa, and you should have no issues at a land border or airport. Remember that you will need to show your e-visa again when you exit the country as well.

Even though the turnaround time for getting the e-visa can be fairly quick, I recommend that you apply several weeks in advance of your travels, as the site can have frequent glitches.

Can Americans  Apply For A Visa at an Embassy or Consulate?

Technically yes, you can visit an Uzbekistan embassy to obtain a visa. However, this process typically takes about 2 weeks and requires more paperwork than the e-visa site, including a letter of confirmation from a sponsor in Uzbekistan.

Considering a trip to Uzbekistan?

We include Uzbekistan on all of our 5 Stans group tours! We visit the ancient Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, the ever-changing capital of Tashkent, and even a small town in the east with a fascinating soviet history. You can check out our Central Asia tours here! We can also arrange private tours anywhere in the country for any duration of time.