Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In Uzbekistan, the issues of hospitality and development of the tourism sector are elevated to the rank of state policy. At the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, close ties were established with neighbors, a completely new political atmosphere was created, and relationships based on mutual trust and good neighborliness were strengthened.

The liberalization of the visa regime, simplification of the procedure for registration of foreign citizens, the provision of benefits and preferences for the development of the tourism industry have created favorable conditions for the effective promotion of the national tourism potential both in the domestic and foreign markets.

As a result of the reforms, the influx of tourists as of September 2019 reached 4.3 million. It should be noted that in our country, unlike other states, criminal liability was established for violating the rules of stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Including imprisonment for up to three years. Over the past three years, 76 criminal cases have been investigated.

In addition, the legislation establishes administrative liability for violations of the passport system and the rules of stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan. For 2016 - 2018, out of 18,026 persons held administratively liable, 11,997 are foreign citizens. In order to implement the tasks identified by the head of state to improve the field of travel and hospitality, a bill has been prepared providing for the liberalization of liability for violation of the rules of stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the preparation of the bill, the opinion of the public, tourism companies and other organizations was taken into account, which, in turn, supported the desire of lawmakers to liberalize responsibility for violation of the rules of stay in our country. In this regard, a decision was made to exclude article 224 from the Criminal Code.

It is envisaged that foreign citizens and stateless persons for the commission of this offense will no longer be prosecuted. Significantly improved administrative penalties in the form of a significant reduction in the size of the fine. In particular, in order to implement the principles of equality of citizens before the law, humanism and justice, the issue of holding foreign citizens and stateless persons accountable for violation of the rules of stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan is differentiated, that is, classified according to violations of the terms of illegal stay in the country.

The liberalization of liability on the expulsion of foreign citizens and stateless persons from the republic was carried out. Now, with the first violation of the rules of stay, the offender will be expelled from the republic with a subsequent restriction on the right to enter for a period of one year, and with a second offense - for three years. According to the deputies, in order to judicially protect human rights, the punishment in the form of administrative expulsion of foreign citizens and stateless persons from the Republic of Uzbekistan should be carried out by administrative courts, while the competence to impose fines was transferred to the internal affairs bodies.

Also, a norm is introduced according to which a foreign citizen and a stateless person under the age of eighteen years are not subject to administrative liability for violation of the rules of stay in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Taking into account the opinions of all fractions of political parties and the deputy group from the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, which supported the draft law as a whole, the Legislative Chamber adopted this law and sent it for further approval to the Senate of the Oliy Majlis.