Around 160,000 Uzbek Citizens Removed from Russian Interior Ministry’s Controlled Persons Register

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Deputy Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Olimjon Abdullayev held a working meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Alexey Erkhov, focusing on labor migration and the protection of Uzbek citizens’ rights in Russia.

According to Temurbek Khamidov, attaché of the Consular-Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in interview to Dunyo news agency, the meeting was held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. Key issues discussed included safeguarding the rights of citizens and their families, ensuring children’s access to preschool and school education, allowing work alongside family members, and the proper conduct of migration checks and inspections.

During the dialogue, measures to simplify procedures for labor migrants were discussed. Proposed initiatives include pre-departure training and document processing in Uzbekistan through branches of Russian universities, establishing training centers for Russian language, history, and legislation, and involving Russian specialists to train teachers and industrial personnel.

The Uzbek MFA continues active efforts to protect its citizens. In the first nine months of 2025, diplomatic missions in Russia processed over 50,000 requests, assisted 3,246 citizens in employment, held negotiations with 276 employers, recovered wages totaling more than $309,000, returned unlawfully confiscated passports to 1,323 citizens, and provided financial aid to over 500 people.

A “hotline” and call centers operating around the clock have been established at all Uzbek consulates in Russia.

To regularize migrants’ status, a migration amnesty has been actively applied: according to the Russian Interior Ministry, around 160,000 Uzbek citizens have been removed from the Controlled Persons Register, including over 70,000 due to status regularization with migration authorities, and the remainder due to timely departure from Russia or other grounds.

The cooperation between the Uzbek MFA and Russian authorities aims to create safe, convenient, and transparent conditions for Uzbek citizens living and working in Russia and to strengthen bilateral dialogue on migration policy.