Uzbekistan’s IT and venture ecosystem is opening its doors even wider to foreign capital and specialists. The new rules for issuing IT Visas, approved by the Ministry of Justice, not only expand the list of eligible candidates but also establish clear financial requirements for investors entering the market with serious intentions.
Below, we detail the most important aspects of these changes and how they will impact the local startup environment.
Who is eligible for an IT visa?
Under the updated rules, the circle of individuals eligible for an IT Visa has been significantly expanded. The following can now claim this status:
- Foreign investors and IT specialists: Professionals bringing their capital and expertise to the local market.
- Founders and executives of IT Park residents: Founders (participants) of legal entities that are residents of the Software Products and Information Technologies Technopark, as well as individuals acting as the sole executive body, chairs of the collegial executive body, and their deputies.
- Digital startups: Founders and specialists of startup projects participating in the digital startups program. This is a great opportunity for foreign founders to develop their projects in Uzbekistan.
- Academics: Foreign professors and university teachers holding a Candidate of Sciences, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), or Doctor of Sciences (DSc) degree in the field of information technology. This step aims to attract not only practical but also strong academic knowledge to the market.
Along with the expansion of categories, clear financial requirements have been introduced to ensure the quality of capital entering the market:
- Investment amount: A foreign investor must finance a legal entity—a resident of Uzbekistan operating in the IT sector—in the amount of at least $30,000, or hold a share in the authorized capital of such a legal entity worth at least $30,000.
- For IT Park residents: The share in the authorized capital of an individual who is a founder (participant) of a legal entity that has received IT Park resident status must also be at least $30,000.
These updates serve to make the Uzbekistan IT market even more attractive to international-level specialists and founders, while also attracting real and serious players to the ecosystem by setting a minimum threshold for incoming investments.
