Visas have always held a special status in tourism universe. They are an endorsement of you indicating that you’re legally allowed to enter, stay, and leave a country within permitted time frame.
Lately, Uzbekistan has taken significant strides in improving its tourism infrastructure and makes it accessible to a wider audience. In 2018, the tourism ministry has introduced technology-backed services like E-Visa & Transit Visas.
What Are E-Visa And Is There Any Difference From Visa On Arrival?
E-visas are an alternative to visas issued at the embassies and ports of entry. You fill out the form online in the required portal, upload the necessary documents, and after verification, a printable visa document will be sent to your registered email address. The difference from the regular paperwork visa underlies just in the medium of issuance and its way of handling it. Apart from that, both basically serve the same purpose.
But in terms of ease of travel, E visa is superior to paperwork visa. That’s why Uzbekistan Tourism Ministry adopted the policy in the first place. The officer on duty at the transit points can just scan your e Visa on his system and if it gets verified, you’re through. Visa on arrival, on the other hand, have lot of things to cover and the time of issuance depends on working hours, airport traffic, and officer on duty, and systems which can delay the process.
What Are Free-Transit Visas?
Transit visas are temporary visas issued for few days to tourists at a destination who pass through the country to a third destination. By getting a transit visa, you can explore the stoppage destination for few hours before leaving for your final place. Some transit visa will cost you money while other countries have free transit visas for tourists coming from particular countries.
Uzbekistan On E-Visa
To boost its tourism, Uzbekistan has adopted an e-visa and free transit visa policies. On July 15th 2018, Uzbekistan started issuing E-visa over the internet and has seen interesting results so far. For issuance of visa, it takes approximately two days, excluding the day of application. Thus three days time is required for the whole process.The visa thus obtained is valid for 90 days from the issued date. Currently, citizens of 51 countries can apply for an e-visa.
With high number of travelers using Uzbekistan Destinations as a transit spot, the country has started offering transit visas. These are offered to people coming in from selected 101 countries. Visas are valid for five days from issuance in which tourists are free to roam around the tourist places in the country. But to obtain these, the carriers must provide information about the passenger to the border authorities and tickets and other documents relating to a third country also must be submitted.
Why Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan is one of the “Stans” located in Central Asia with better tourism infrastructure as compared to its neighbours. It was centrally and strategically built around the Silk Road route and thus has excellent number of architectural monuments archaeological sites that still in place both in ruined and preserved for. The city of Bukhara alone has 140 of them. Furthermore, you can get to explore the mountainous region in Fergana Valley or visit the rapidly drying up Aral Sea which at one point was the biggest inland lake. With diverse culture and friendly people, Uzbekistan is undoubtedly one of the travel gems in the world.
Whether you’re planning for a 25 day Uzbekistan Tour or a few days short tour, we at Minzifa Travel can provide you with the best tour packages. For assistance on obtaining visas, we can help in that regard too. Contact Us today!