Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan plans to transfer responsibility for sending citizens to work abroad to the most reliable private employment agencies from 2027.
The agencies will receive an incentive payment of 1.5 million soums for each person they place in a high-paying job overseas. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the plans at a meeting on labour migration held on 2 November.
The president said that the number of private employment agencies in the country had tripled over the past two years following the simplification of licensing requirements. Over the same period, the number of citizens who found jobs abroad with the assistance of these organisations increased fivefold.
At the same time, Mirziyoyev highlighted persistent problems in the sector, including errors by intermediaries, corruption and cases of jobseekers being deceived. A separate law was previously adopted to improve regulation of private employment agencies.
As part of the planned changes, the authorities intend to introduce a rating system for private employment agencies.
Their performance will be assessed based on actual job placements, whether the jobs offered match the advertised conditions, salary levels, protection of migrants’ rights and the provision of social guarantees.
To prepare citizens for employment abroad, private agencies are expected to receive free premises in technical college buildings.
The facilities could be used to provide training in востребованные professions and foreign languages. A social tax rate of 1% is also proposed for payments to teachers and experts recruited from abroad.
Equipment required for training activities is expected to be exempt from customs duties.
Mirziyoyev instructed the relevant authorities to prepare a draft resolution within one month on further reforming the activities of private employment agencies.
Under the proposal, their activities would be classified as social services, allowing for simplified taxation.
However, the specific arrangements for dividing responsibilities between private agencies and the state Migration Agency following the proposed transfer of functions have not yet been clarified.
