According to the lower house of parliament, the proposed legislation comes as the number of foreign visitors continues to grow following the introduction of electronic visas and visa-free travel arrangements. Lawmakers noted that 5.5 million foreigners visited Uzbekistan during the first five months of the year, a 27% increase compared with the same period last year.
Under current legislation, foreign citizens and stateless persons must be registered at their place of stay after arriving in Uzbekistan. The requirement applies to hotels, motels, recreation areas, sanatoriums, boarding houses and medical institutions.
However, lawmakers said accommodation providers frequently fail to register guests in accordance with legal requirements. The bill therefore proposes increasing liability for the late submission of guest information to the E-mehmon registration system.
The legislation also introduces changes aimed at standardizing legal terminology and mechanisms related to residence registration. Under the proposal, the terms "permanent place of residence" and "temporary place of residence" would be replaced with "place of residence" and "place of stay," respectively.
During the debate, lawmakers called for several provisions to be further refined to improve their practical application. The bill passed its first reading with the support of 103 of the 109 deputies present.
