Uzbekistan abolishes visas for Poles

Uzbekistan – like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – is opening up to tourists. From February 1, 2019, citizens of 45 countries – including Poland – will be able to visit Uzbekistan without a visa (for tourism purposes) and stay in the country for up to 30 days.

The president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed the decree “On additional measures to accelerate the development of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan”. According to this document, from February 1, a visa-free regime was introduced for a period of 30 days for citizens of 45 countries around the world. The list of countries covered by visa-free travel includes, inter alia, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Estonia.

The change is aimed at increasing the number of tourists visiting Uzbekistan. Last year’s simplification of the visa regime and the rules of stay in Uzbekistan, along with the development of infrastructure and promotion of the country’s tourist potential abroad, caused a double increase in the number of foreign visitors to the country – from 2.6 million in 2017 to 5.3 million in 2018.

Uzbekistan is famous for its monuments of the Silk Road, including the famous architectural complex Registan in Samarkand and the ancient city of Buhara. In 2011, a fast railway line was opened, which makes it much easier to reach interesting places scattered over a large area.

From Poland, we will not get to air travel directly to Uzbekistan – at least one change is necessary. You can also fly from Warsaw to Astana (Kazakhstan), and then get to Uzbekistan by train.

photo: MehmetO / Shutterstock