JAKARTA - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Government of Uzbekistan exchanged notes in Tashkent on June 3 to establish a mutual 30-day visa-free arrangement, according to a June 4 HKSAR Government release. 

Chief Executive John Lee and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov witnessed the exchange, and the arrangement has not yet taken effect. The release said both governments agreed to discuss implementation details and would immediately advance those talks to seek early implementation. 

Current travel access is narrower. HKSAR passport holders can visit Uzbekistan visa-free for 10 days. Diplomatic and service passport holders from Uzbekistan can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 14 days, and ordinary passport holders from Uzbekistan must apply for a visa to visit Hong Kong.

The planned arrangement would extend visa-free access for HKSAR passport holders visiting Uzbekistan from 10 days to 30 days. It would also allow all passport holders from Uzbekistan to visit Hong Kong visa-free for 30 days, replacing the current split between diplomatic, service and ordinary passport holders.

A HKSAR Government spokesman said that after Hong Kong relaxed the application criteria for multiple-entry business and travel visas for Uzbek nationals in September 2025, “establishing a mutual visa-free arrangement with Uzbekistan will help further promote economic, trade, and tourism development between Hong Kong and Central Asia.”

The Immigration Department’s current visa-free access list says 174 countries and territories grant visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to HKSAR passport holders. Its Uzbekistan note says the existing 10-day access has applied since March 1, 2021, for arrivals with a return air ticket or an air ticket to a third country, and only for air travel into and out of Uzbekistan.

The HKSAR Government linked the arrangement to closer economic, trade and tourism ties with Uzbekistan after the September 2025 visa facilitation for Uzbek nationals. The next practical marker is the implementation detail, including the start date and any entry conditions attached to the 30-day access.