Consular protection. How to avoid problems abroad and exercise your rights



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on all citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan who are on a visit or living abroad to register (register for consular records) at the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad. In the event of an emergency, this will allow diplomatic agencies to contact you and provide immediate assistance. According to Art. 25 p. "B" of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Citizenship" No. ЗРУ-610 dated March 13, 2020, citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan is lost if a person permanently residing abroad has not entered permanent consular registration without valid reasons for seven years.

  • Before traveling abroad, obtain information from all available sources about the country you intend to travel to. Pay attention to the most pressing issues, such as customs of the country of entry, climatic conditions and associated dangers, political and epidemiological situation at the time of your visit to the country, study the legislation of the country you intend to travel to. Getting acquainted with this information, try to determine for yourself where threats to your health, freedom or rights may come from, whether your habits conflict with the customs or laws of the country of entry
  • Go to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan www.mfa.uz, find out where the consular missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan closest to the points of your trip are, write down their phones and e-mail addresses
  • Check when your passport expires so that you don't have any problems with your visa. As a rule, when applying for visas, many states put forward a requirement that the validity of the passport be six months or a year longer than the expiry date of the requested visa.
  • When applying for a visa, make sure that the visa category corresponds to the purposes of your stay in a foreign country, and the time of entry and exit coincides with the planned dates of your crossing the border (tickets). However, even with a visa, according to international practice, a border guard of any country, acting on behalf of his state, has the right to refuse you entry without explaining the reasons and commenting on his actions. In addition, if already on the territory of the country of travel, law enforcement agencies establish a discrepancy between the visa category and what you actually do in this country, you may be detained and deported, depriving you of the right to enter this country for a certain period.
  • When purchasing plane, train or road tickets, check that the itinerary and ticket dates match your plans, the start and end dates of your visa.
  • Considering that the cost of medical care abroad is quite high, secure yourself with a life and health insurance policy. You should carefully approach the choice of an insurance company, find out the phone number by which you can declare the occurrence of an insured event abroad and get an insurance policy in your hands.
  • Get a medical examination before traveling abroad. You should take care of your personal hygiene abroad. Observe the recommendations of the attending physicians. A sharp change in climate, bacteria, viruses and insects that are not typical for your climatic zone, carrying them, as well as certain spa procedures can be fatal to your health. Pilgrims to Mecca are recommended anti-meningococcal vaccination. In cases of long-term stay in the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia, it is advisable to get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
  • Before crossing the customs border of a foreign country, make sure that you do not have any goods prohibited from being imported into this country. Reject any requests for cross-border transfers of any kind. It is strictly forbidden to transport narcotic drugs, rare plants and animals, as well as their parts across the border. Remember that if you export drugs, bear paws, tiger bones, antlers, etc. abroad, you may face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
  • If you need to take medical supplies with you, carefully study the customs requirements of the country of destination in this regard. And take with you the approved drugs in the allowed amount. If you vitally need to take a medication, stock up in advance with a prescription from your doctor, an annotation of the medication and a receipt confirming the purchase of the medication, translated into the language of the country you are entering. When crossing the border, inform the customs service about the imported drug. Motivate the amount of medication being transported. This can protect you from possible seizure of the drug at customs.
  • When crossing the border, find out the limits set by our and foreign customs for the carriage of currency. Declare monetary amounts and values in accordance with the procedure established by the customs authorities.
  • Write down the phone numbers of relatives and friends whom you or the competent authorities could contact in an emergency. Take with you a copy of your passport and visa. You can also take your driver's license with you and keep it separate from your passport, so that if you lose your passport or otherwise need to use it to confirm your identity. It is also recommended that you have some passport sized photographs with you.

Once abroad, every citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan falls under dual jurisdiction, that is, he is obliged to comply with the laws of both Uzbekistan and the host country. At the same time, in the event of committing administratively or criminally punishable acts, he is subject to liability under the law of the host country.

Any citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad must respect the customs and habits of the people of this country, follow the rules of the road.

Monitor your health. Do not visit establishments of dubious reputation. Do not use drugs.

Take possible precautions to avoid falling prey to local swindlers, robbers or hooligans and try to stand out as little as possible from the locals.

  • Do not keep money and documents together (in the same wallet).
  • Do not carry wallets in lightweight plastic bags.
  • Keep money and documents in hotel safes or, as a last resort, in internal zippered clothing pockets.
  • In public places, do not hang jackets and sweaters on the backs of chairs with documents and money in their pockets.
  • When getting into a taxi or other public transport, do not let go of the bags in which you keep money or valuables.
  • Before leaving public transport, check the account of the things with which you got there.
  • Break your money down into small amounts and keep them in different places. Do not reach wads of money in public places.
  • Do not exchange money on the black market, as this is considered an illegal foreign exchange transaction in some countries.

If you have become a victim of a robbery or deception, immediately after the incident, you should contact the police and get a document confirming the fact of your appeal.

If you believe that your legal rights have been violated, protect them strictly in accordance with local law, do not resort to illegal methods. If necessary, you can contact the consular office of the Republic of Uzbekistan for consultation. The consular officer is obliged to take measures to restore the violated rights of citizens and legal entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (Article 15 of the Consular Charter of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-517 dated January 17, 2019)

Consulate staff can assist you in the following matters:

  • Provide information on local lawyers and translators
  • Visit citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan in case of serving a sentence abroad or arrest
  • In the event of an accident, establish contact with your relatives
  • Assist in the search for missing relatives
  • If you belong to the category of persons living abroad for a long time, then accept documents for issuing a new passport instead of an expiring one, or issue a certificate for returning to the Republic of Uzbekistan
  • Perform at your request notarial actions, etc.

At the same time, you should keep in mind that consular offices:

  • Cannot apply for visas for citizens of Uzbekistan. (A consular official draws up and issues visas, with the exception of electronic visas, to foreign citizens and stateless persons to enter the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan or transit through its territory in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and international treaties of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Article 22 of the Consular Charter Of the Republic of Uzbekistan under No.ZRU-517 dated 17.01.2019)
  • Do not employ citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad and do not issue them permits for the right to work abroad
  • Do not interfere with the work of judicial and executive bodies of foreign states
  • Do not file lawsuits instead of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan
  • Cannot assist in obtaining preferential conditions of detention in comparison with local residents in places of detention, a temporary detention center or a hospital
  • Do not pay the expenses of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad, whatever they may be
  • Cannot leave you for accommodation, store your luggage, act as guides and translators, meet and see off citizens arriving abroad

Keep in touch with family members regularly by phone or email.

Attention!

  • That the period of stay abroad is limited by the expiry date of your visa.
  • Issues of issuing (extending) visas on the territory of foreign states are dealt with by migration services or special police units.

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Remember (!)

Citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, legal entities can always receive full protection of their rights and interests by consular institutions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad. A consular officer is obliged to take measures to ensure that citizens and legal entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan enjoy all the rights granted to them by international treaties to which the Republic of Uzbekistan and the host state of the consular post are parties, international customs, as well as the legislation of the host state of the consular post, if such rights do not contradict the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Article 15 of the Consular Charter of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-517 dated January 17, 2019)

In addition, consular offices contribute to the development of friendly relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the host states and the expansion of economic, trade, scientific, technical, cultural and other ties with them (Article 1 of the Consular Charter of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.ZRU-517 dated January 17, 2019)

We wish you good travels and no problems, but we recommend that you take a printout of this document with you on your travels!

Have a nice holiday!


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