Mirziyoyev Grants Uzbek Citizenship to 264 People

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree granting Uzbek citizenship to 264 individuals ahead of the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, state television channel Uzbekistan 24 reported.

Among those granted citizenship are individuals who resided in Uzbekistan for decades without holding country citizenship. Khursanoi Jumaboyeva stated that she was born in Tajikistan and has lived in the Tashkent region since 2000, noting that the lack of citizenship prevented her from visiting Tajikistan for many years, including when her mother died. Robiya Kakhhorova said she had waited 40 years to receive citizenship. Otabek Rasulov also described difficulties associated with lacking citizenship, stating that his family used a temporary document known as "Form 4" for a decade while awaiting a decision.

Out of the 264 individuals granted citizenship under the decree, 90 reside in the Surxondaryo region.

According to data presented by the television channel, 482 stateless persons received Uzbek citizenship between 1991 and 2007 following the declaration of independence. No decisions on granting citizenship were made between 2007 and 2016.

Since 2016, approximately 26,000 people have been granted Uzbek citizenship. In addition, more than 60,000 individuals were recognized as citizens after the introduction of the citizenship recognition framework.

Mirziyoyev signed his first decree on granting citizenship in December 2016, covering 179 people. In 2017, ten decrees were issued granting citizenship to 1,064 people. The president enacted 15 decrees granting citizenship to 2,759 stateless persons in 2018, followed by 25 decrees in 2019 covering 5,441 individuals. The latest decree granting citizenship to 264 people was signed on the eve of the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence.