UZBEKISTAN REPORT TRAVEL.

 VISA UZBEKISTAN

It is quite simple to obtain a tourist visa even if it must be said that the Uzbek Embassy does not accept documents by post and therefore if you do not live in Rome you are almost forced to go to an agency with a consequent significant increase in costs.

I turned to:

EUROEST TRAVEL di Intelservizi S.r.l, OPERATIONAL CONSULTING AND SERVICES FOR COMPANIES, Via Marche 74, 00187 Rome - Tel. 0699925957/58 Fax: 06233298811, VAT number and Tax Code: 11537081009, E_MAIL: info@intelservizi.it

But the VISTONLINE Agency, Via di San Romano, 24/26, 00159 Rome, also offers the same service at more or less the same prices.

The documents to be transmitted are as follows:

1. passport valid for at least 6 months.

2. 1 passport-size photo to be glued and not stapled.

3. Visa application form that I filled out online on the Embassy website.

4. letter of appointment;

Timing: 1 or 2 weeks depending on the period

Duration of the visa: 7 days, to be used in a fixed period of 9 days.

 

Costs for obtaining:

• Consular fees 7 days for single entry, including bank fees € 65

• Agency fees 30 € (VAT excluded)

• Shipping costs vary according to the type.

Below I report other useful information obtained from the website of the Uzbek Embassy in Rome:

FROM THE SITE: http://www.uzbekistanitalia.org/home/ambasciata/ ufficio-consolare/informazioni-sui-visti-1

Visa information

Foreign citizens can enter the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan only with visas issued by the competent bodies according to established procedures.

Entry visas to Uzbekistan for foreign citizens are issued at:

- the Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices of Uzbekistan abroad;

- the Offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan located in the Tashkent airport (for citizens of countries where there are no Uzbekistan Diplomatic Missions);

In Italy, entry visas are issued by the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Rome.

Foreign citizens who have entered the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan for a period of more than three days must compulsorily register with the special offices of the Ministry of the Interior of Uzbekistan (OVIR) at the police offices located in the territory of the district of their temporary residence.

A. PROCEDURE FOR THE ISSUE OF ENTRANCE VISAS FOR CITIZENS OF

Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Latvia for business or tourism is regulated as follows:

1. Business trips

Citizens of the above countries who wish to visit Uzbekistan for work can apply for a visa directly at the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Rome.

The inviting party must officially contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the request for the issuance of a visa for the foreign citizen and, in the case of a positive response, notify the person inviting the number of the authorization for issuing the visa. After obtaining this number, the applicant must submit the following documents to the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Rome:

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport (must be valid for at least another 3 months after the expiry of the visa) and a photocopy of it;

- 2 photos (passport size);

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

 2. Tourist travel

Citizens of the above countries who wish to visit Uzbekistan for tourism can apply for a visa directly at the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Rome.

The applicant must submit the following documents to the Consular Office:

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport and a photocopy of it;

- 2 photos (passport size);

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

B. PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING ENTRANCE VISAS FOR CITIZENS OF OTHER COUNTRIES

To obtain an entry visa for Uzbekistan, the following documents must be presented to the Consular Office of the Embassy in Rome:

1. Business trips

- letter of invitation (in original or by fax) from an Uzbek legal company;

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport and a photocopy of it;

- 2 photos (passport size);

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

2. Tourist travel

- Tourist voucher from an Uzbek travel agency;

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport and a photocopy of it;

- 2 photos (passport size);

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

Note: It is possible to buy the tourist voucher for Uzbekistan at the following companies in Italy:

G.S.Air srl (Rome), tel. : 06/4743735

Y.O.R. (Rome), tel. : 06/763426

To obtain a visa and to authenticate the documents, interested parties must present themselves, by appointment, at the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Italy, either personally or through a representative of a specialized agency.

C. GROUP VISA (FOR TOURIST TRAVEL ONLY)

Information for tourist agencies

The group visa is issued for groups of at least 10 people (excluding children aged up to 16 years).

The following documents must be submitted for each member of the group:

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- photocopy of the passport;

- 2 photos (passport size).

Agencies must submit the document certifying the payment of the visa amount and the list of the group on the agency's headed paper, in the following form:

N ° Sex Surname Name Place and date of birth Nationality Passport N ° Place and date of issue Expiry Profession Address

 

Rates for group visas

up to 15 days: 15 euros per person + 20 euros for the whole group

up to 30 days: 25 euros per person + 20 euros for the entire group

D. PRIVATE TRAVEL

The inviting person, resident in Uzbekistan, must request permission from the competent bodies of the Ministry of the Interior of Uzbekistan (OVIR) at the police offices located in the territory of the constituency where the guest is expected to temporarily reside. The original permit must be delivered to the Consular Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan and, at the same time, the inviting person must submit a request for authorization from the indicated diplomatic headquarters.

Once the authorization has been obtained, the applicant must submit to the Consular Office of the Embassy:

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport and a photocopy of it;

- 2 photos (passport size)

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

E. TIMES OF RELEASE

To obtain the visa it takes at least 7 working days (excluding the day of acceptance of the documents and public holidays).

If the interested party travels in transit in the territory of Uzbekistan, he can obtain the transit visa in 1 day if he is in possession of the visa for the country of final destination and the Uzbekistan Airways air ticket.

F. RATES AND METHOD OF PAYMENT

1 admission up to 7 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 60 euros

2 admissions up to 7 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 70 euros

3 admissions up to 7 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 80 euros

1 admission up to 15 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 70 euros

2 admissions up to 15 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 80 euros

3 admissions up to 15 days of stay in Uzbekistan - 90 euros

1 admission up to 1 month of stay in Uzbekistan - 80 euros

2 admissions up to 1 month of stay in Uzbekistan - 90 euros

3 admissions up to 1 month of stay in Uzbekistan - 100 euros

1 admission up to 3 months of stay in Uzbekistan - 100 euros

2 admissions up to 3 months of stay in Uzbekistan - 110 euros

3 admissions up to 3 months of stay in Uzbekistan - 120 euros

Multiple visa up to 6 months of stay in Uzbekistan - 170 euros

Multiple visa up to 1 year of stay in Uzbekistan - 270 euros

Payment for consular services is made in euros in the form of a bank transfer to the current account of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Italy.

Below are the bank details of the Embassy:

Unicredit Banca di Roma

IBAN: IT02H0200805001000400985366

______________________________________________________

For information

EXTRACT FROM THE ORDER OF THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN IN ITALY №22 of 17.10.2003

For the execution of the Provision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the approval of the Regulations for the collection of taxes for the compensation of expenses relating to the execution of consular documents and use of the means entered ", registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan N ° 1273 of 18 September 2003, approve the fees for the compensation of expenses related to the execution of consular acts as follows:

            - issue of visa from the Republic of Uzbekistan - 20 euros

            - issue of transit visa - 10 euros

            - issue of the certificate for the return to the Republic of Uzbekistan - 5 euros

            - other consular services - 15 euros

Example: 1 entry up to 7 days of stay in Uzbekistan: 40 euros + 20 euros = 60 euros.

G. TRANSIT VISA

To have the right to transit through the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, it is necessary to apply for a transit visa from the Consular Office of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Italy, which is issued, for a duration of 72 hours, after the presentation of the following documents :

- application form for obtaining a visa filled in personally with detailed answers to the questions in the questionnaire;

- passport with entry visa for the country of destination;

- Uzbekistan Airways air ticket;

- photocopy of the invitation letter from the country of destination;

- 2 photos (passport size);

- document certifying the payment of the visa amount.

 

Transit visa fees

transit visa with one entry: 60 euros

transit visa with two entries: 70 euros

http://ruggerodaros.blogspot.it/2012/08/il-problema-dei-visti.htmlhttp://ruggerodaros.blogspot.it/2012/08/il-problema-dei-visti.html

- UZBEKISTAN VISA: the Uzbekistan visa is made in Rome, but they do not receive the application by post and do not send your passport back to you (you have to take care of it by asking a courier, with proxy). So, if you don't go in person, you have to go to an agency. The visa is valid for one month, within which you can enter or exit whenever you want, but the dates for that month are fixed and you have to decide them when you apply in Rome. This is a problem because two or three months in advance you have to decide exactly when you will be in Uzbekistan, if you are traveling by land it is not easy. The cost is 88 euros, plus 10 euros for each additional entry that is requested. The issuing time is about 4/5 days. We did it with a visa agency in Rome to which we sent the passports with a commission cost of about 50 euros more per visa.

TRAVEL REPORT

A few kilometers after Turkmenabat, there is a checkpoint where I had to get off to register.

Several km after the village of Farab, there is an endless line of trucks that have crossed the border or are waiting to cross it.

La Frontiera di Farab closes for lunch from 13.00 to 14.00. Before entering you must register.

Then once inside, there are tons of pissed black truckers showing their papers to the Customs Staff.

Since I don't have my own vehicle, I skip that step at the counter and a kind Customs Lord helps me fill out the exit card, which is available only in Turkmen.

Then I go to the next counter where the exit stamp is placed on me in a few minutes. All in all, I can handle it in less than an hour.

Upon exiting customs, however, the armed guards prevent me from continuing on foot but I have to wait for the minibus that arrives after almost an hour and which takes 1 Manat to transport you across 600 meters. about to the Uzbek Checkpoint where the military checks my passport.

Then you have to continue on foot for about 700 meters. alongside an endless line of Cammion, standing still waiting to cross the Uzbek border.

Arrived at the Uzbek Customs, they test me for fever with an electronic thermometer but they find it for me 8 times even though I was fine and in the end they let me go through the same.

I still do 50 meters. before arriving at another facility where the entry stamp is first placed on my passport and then, after completing the customs declaration in English in duplicate that must be returned when leaving the country, my backpack is checked very thoroughly : some medicines are checked on the internet.

There is no exchange office at the Farab border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and therefore it is better to spend the Manat in Turkmenistan.

Beyond this obstacle, another 200 meters. and they are at the pitch where there are collective taxis to Bukhara. Border crossing times: about an hour and a half of time for the Uzbek side and an hour for the Turkmen side At the end it is already late afternoon and nobody but me is willing to go to Bukhara with a collective taxi and therefore I have to pay even $ 30. The taxi driver initially asked me even $ 50. The 90 km journey takes a good hour.

In Bukhara in Uzbekistan, whose historic center has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, there are many tourists, some even Europeans. It turns very well on foot.

In Bukhara, I sleep at the Gran Dorimberg Hotel, located 20 meters away. about from the central Lyabi Hauz Square, for a price of $ 15 per night, for a double, including a hearty breakfast. There are no singles. The rooms are beautiful and clean. The bathroom in the room also.

The compulsory registration to be done in Uzbekistan within 3 days of arrival is taken care of by the hotel staff and will issue you a receipt.

The owner of the Gran Dorimberg Hotel swears to me that he will change my Dollars at very advantageous prices and I like an idiot I trust and therefore I exchange 100 $ getting 2,600 Uzbek Sum for every dollar only to discover that the correct exchange rate in Bukhara is 3,000 Sum Uzbeks for every dollar. Great thrust again this time.

As for payments in Uzbekistan, keep in mind that hotels, private and collective taxis can be paid in Dollars, while buses, trains, restaurants and supermarkets must be paid in Uzbekistan.

From Anbar Street above Lyabi Hauz Square, I take Marshrutka No. 61 which, at the price of 600 Sum, in 15 minutes takes me to the state road east of the Marshrutka pitch adjacent to the Karvon Bazaar, located 4.5 km north of the center.

To reach Urgench, there are no Marshrutkas, but only collective taxis parked in the parking lot south of the Karvon Bazaar. They leave when they are full and sometimes, as happened to me, you have to wait up to 2 hours. There are 2 monopoly taxi drivers who practice this route with faces that inspire me little confidence. If it were up to me I would not even entrust him with the painting of the dog's bed and instead I am forced to entrust him with my life. It is I who need them and not them me. And they know this well and in fact they charge me absurd prices. I try to ask them for a discount but they also get angry and then I am reluctantly forced to accept the price of 65,000 Uzbek Sums to these monopolists, only to discover that the Uzbek boy who was traveling with me has paid for the ride to Nukus which is much further away compared to Urgench, 53,000 Uzbek sums.

The journey from Bukhara to Urgench of about 400 km in the middle of the desert takes about 4 hours. The taxi driver drives like a madman on a road full of potholes. He is constantly on the phone and opens the door continuously at 120km / h to spit. He also enjoys racing with his other taxi driver friend. The road runs near the border with Turkmenistan and therefore the Uzbek police checkpoints are very frequent, even if we are never stopped as the taxi driver knows the staff.

If you are heading to Khiva, you must ask the taxi driver to drop you off at a parking lot located just south of the Urgench Bazaar where private taxis, collective taxis and Marshrutkas to Khiva depart for the price of 5,000 Sum, 3,000 Sum and 2,000 Sum respectively, also if the taxi driver seeing that you are a tourist could ask you for 20,000 negotiable Sum. Also keep in mind that the journey of about 30 km takes about half an hour and collective taxis and Marshrutkas leave only when they are full. They make stops at the customer's request and drop you off in front of Khiva's North Gate.

The Ichon Qala, surrounded by walls in Khiva, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site Khiva, can be easily explored on foot and for free. You only pay when you enter to visit the various attractions.

After visiting Khiva, I stop the Marshrutka in front of the north door, despite the discontent of the taxi drivers parked next to them who demanded that I get on one of them and in about half an hour I reach the parking lot located just south of the Urgench Bazaar for the price of 2,000 Sum.

From the road located just south of the Urgench Bazaar, I take bus no. 19 which takes me in minutes to Al Khorezmi Street Railway Station in Urgench. You can buy the ticket on the bus from the controller and it costs 400 Sum for a single journey.

From the Al Khorezmi Street Railway Station in Urgench, a train leaves every day at 20.20 for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Since the beginning of the 3rd millennium, this train no longer passes through Turkmenistan thus avoiding unsuspecting tourists from getting fines from the Turkmen Police who found them in the past without a transit visa.

The train leaves at 15.20 in Tashkent, after 19 hours of travel. The ticket is not taken at the station but at the ticket office located in Al Khorezmi Street, on the left in front of the station itself. Logically the staff speak a lot of languages but not English. There are only sleeping cars on that train. A berth in 2nd class costs 77,000 Sum, while in first class 120,000 Sum. Be careful as in summer during the day the train heats up so much that it almost becomes an oven. There is no air conditioning. The first class has closed cabins while the second does not. Anyway they are both very livable.

Logically, the train described above stops in Samarkand and does so at about 10.30 after about 14 hours of travel.

Once you have purchased your ticket you can enter the station and to do so you must first pass a police check point where you have to register and then the baggage check with the metal detector. Needless to say, I was the only tourist on that train.

Once I arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, I was in a hurry and so I hired a taxi for about 2 hours, paying 15,000 Sum.

Trains from Tashkent to Samarkand are very frequent and take about 4.5 hours to travel. The ticket costs 38,000 Sum in second class and 53,000 Sum in first class and must be purchased at the ticket office located just west of the railway station itself located southeast of the center, near the Metro stop.

Once you have purchased your ticket you can enter the station and to do so you must first pass a police check point where you have to register and then the baggage check with the metal detector. Needless to say, I was the only tourist on that train.

Samarkand Railway Station is located approximately 7km west of Registan, which can be reached in Marshrutka by day. On the other hand, if you arrive like me after 9.00 pm, in addition to finding a crazy darkness around the station you have to take a taxi which costs 6,000 Sum for the ride to Registan.

In Samarkand I stayed at the Bahodir B & B, located in Mulokandov n. 132 to 200 mt. approximately northwest of the Director. The cost of a bed in a dorm including breakfast is $ 10 or 30,000 Sum. The structure is not bad. Logically, you have to forget the air conditioning. The staff speaks English and also offers you hot welcome tea even when it is 50 ° in the shade. The bathrooms are unlivable. The very welcoming inner courtyard.

For a poor day excursion to Shakhrisabz, whose historic center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I was found early in the morning at the small parking lot located on Suzangaran Street in Samarkand, just south of the intersection Registan Street, where collective taxis leave when full. I tried to ask for a discount from the taxi driver who, despite my insistence, asserted all his monopolism and I had to accept a large jab of 55,000 Sum for the round trip and the break of about 3 hours for the visit to the Monuments. more significant than Shakhrisabz. The other passengers paid 12,000 Sum for the Samarkand - Kitab route. Logically, the taxi driver does not speak a word of English.

The journey takes almost 2 hours despite the fact that there are only about 90 km to separate Samarkand from Shakhrisabz, as the road in addition to being full of holes is quite tortuous as it has to cross the Takhtakaracha Pass mt 1788, which among other things in Winter it is closed forcing everyone to extend the journey by about 1 hour and a half. However, the landscape is pleasant.

All passengers get off at Kitab, located a handful of kilometers north of Shakhrisabz, which we will soon reach for the taxi driver and I. Despite Unesco having a hand in it, the town is falling apart and not even a shadow of tourists.

Having visited all the most significant monuments of Shakhrisabz for free, the taxi driver and I return to Kitab, where he parks in part on the main road to wait for people who intend to reach Samarkand. It takes 2 hours to fill the 5-person collective taxi including the driver.

Once back in Samarkand I visit the most significant attractions that the most famous city in Central Asia offers. There are some tourists but mostly organized groups with a guide.

For the entrances to the various Monuments, keep in mind that if it is true that they accept both Sum and US Dollars at the cash desk, it is also true that if you use the latter, they will give you a thrust that half is enough. An example above all: bearing in mind that at the time of my trip the exchange rate was $ 1 = 3,000 Sum, the entrance to the Amir Temur Mausoleum cost 10,000 Sum or $ 4.5. So by paying in Dollars you get back over a Dollar not to mention that if you accidentally pay with $ 10, $ 20 or even worse $ 50, the rest is given in Sum but with an unbearable exchange rate of $ 1 = 2,300 Sum.

Same thing happens at the entrance to the Registan: 16,000 Sum or $ 7. In this case you lose over a dollar and a half.

My complete travel report with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:

https://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2015/09/viaggio-in-iran-e-nel-centro-asia.html