From 2021, ID cards to be issued instead of a biometric passport

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - As part of the implementation of previously adopted decisions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on modernization of the existing biometric passport system of the country, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted a resolution “On measures to introduce a registration system and issuing identification ID cards in the Republic of Uzbekistan” on 6 March. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan.

The document notes that starting from 1 January 2021, all newborns, citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, stateless persons and foreign citizens permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan will be issued identification ID cards as a document proving the identity and citizenship of its owner for a period for 10 years instead of a biometric passport.

ID cards will be valid exclusively in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. To travel outside the country, a biometric passport of a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan is issued for travel abroad (passport).

Issuance of ID-cards will be carried out systematically without any additional burden for the country’s population from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2030. At the same time, the replacement of previously issued biometric passports of a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan of the 2011 model, residence permits for stateless persons and foreign citizens will be carried out as they expire or ahead of schedule at the request of their owners. From 1 January 2030, biometric passports of a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan of the 2011 model will be considered invalid.

The transition to the system of issuing ID-cards is carried out taking into account the experience of developed foreign countries and will accelerate the implementation of a system of digital identification of citizens, automate the process of integrating primary data of citizens with information systems of ministries and departments of the Republic of Uzbekistan, facilitate and optimize the process of providing public services to the population.