Guys, I wanted to register my phone (IMEI). But for some reason, it says I need to pay $200. I was told it would be cheaper through uzimei.uz, but I don’t see any difference; they are asking for the same amount.
Now, when bringing a phone into Uzbekistan, individuals must fill out a customs declaration. If the declaration is not completed, a customs duty will be required when registering the IMEI code through the UzIMEI system.
What has changed?
Previously, it was enough to leave the country to register a phone brought in from abroad, but now the UzIMEI system checks the device's data against the customs database. If the declaration information is missing, the owner will have to pay a customs duty of 30% of the customs value of the device.
Example: If you want to register a phone through the uzimei.uz website, the system automatically checks the device's presence in the customs database. If the phone has not been declared, registration is only possible after paying the duty. This applies to all mobile devices manufactured outside Uzbekistan.
Customs restrictions:
When crossing the border, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, and portable devices with a SIM module must be declared. However, modems, computers, communication modules, terminals, vehicles, and other devices with SIM modules do not need to be declared. A new device will work without an IMEI for 60 days.
I'm reaching out to the experts on IMEI registration 🙏🏻. I understand that this topic has been exhausting for everyone, but there’s a lot of scattered information in the chat, and I couldn't find clear proof in the form of any regulations or information from the uzimei or my.gov.uz websites 🥲.
Do I understand the situation correctly?
A non-resident enters Uzbekistan with a phone that has not been brought into the territory of Uzbekistan before. They do not declare the phone at customs because they plan to stay for less than 60 days. For the first week, they use a foreign SIM card, and then they decide to get a bank card and buy a local SIM. Upon connecting the local SIM, they receive an SMS about the need to register the IMEI within 60 days.
Without the declaration that should have been filled out upon entry, registering the IMEI will incur a duty of 30% of the phone's value, as determined by the local customs service.
The tourist leaves Uzbekistan after a week without registering the IMEI. Their local Uzbek SIM in this phone will continue to work in roaming outside the borders of Uzbekistan, and access to banking applications will not be lost.
If the non-resident left Uzbekistan before 60 days, the slot will still be blocked within Uzbekistan. If nothing else is done, no SIM card in that slot will work in Uzbekistan anymore.
Upon the next entry of this phone into Uzbekistan, it can be declared at customs (for free at the time of entry) and then the IMEI can be registered by paying the registration fee of 93,750 soms (specifically, 25% of the BRV, link to tariffs: https://uzimei.uz/ru/tariffs This is the same amount that non-residents pay to register the IMEI within the 30 to 60 days period). Are there any proofs besides the experiences of chat participants?
Alternatively, is there a way to unlock the IMEI without filling out a declaration upon entry for an additional fee (I couldn't find proof that this is possible, how much the IMEI unlock would cost, and whether a duty of 30% or some percentage of the device's value would still need to be paid)?
Correct
Correct
Correct, if the rate is not tourist. That is, you get the number after receiving the PINFL, or after receiving the PINFL, you provide the data to the company and change the rate to a local one.
Correct
Correct
Without entering information about your phone into the customs database, whether for free or for a fee, it is impossible to register the IMEI. Paying to enter the customs database is essentially the same as declaring it for 30% of the device's value.
Good afternoon! Could you please help me? I couldn't find the answer, all the info that I have read is very mixed. Last year we went to Uzbekistan for 10 days, and we didn't declare or register our phones. We bought local SIM cards. We plan to go again this year for about 10 days. Do we need to declare our phones and register the IMEI?
The slots for SIM cards that had Uzbek SIM cards during your last visit will not work now. After that, it’s up to you to decide whether you need to declare and register your phone or not. If you want the phone to work, then declare the phone (if it’s the same device as last year) upon entry and then register its IMEI slot through uzimei.uz, and the Uzbek SIM will work in it. However, if you have a different device and you’re only entering for 10 days, then you don’t need to do anything—no declaration or IMEI registration is required. But after 60 days of using the Uzbek SIM card, the IMEI slot of that device will be blocked. 😊
Guys, can you please help me? How do I register my IMEI through this website (uzimei.uz)? Or is it better to do it upon arrival at the airport? This is my second trip; I have the same phone, and I didn’t register it last time. At what stage should I do this? Do I need to declare the phone, or is it enough just to register the IMEI for a week of use in Uzbekistan?
Hello. You need to declare it when passing through customs. Then you can register the IMEI online on the website you mentioned. When you declare the phone, customs will add it to their database. When registering the IMEI, the service checks your device's IMEI code against that database, and if the number isn’t there, you won’t be able to register the device until you pay a 30% customs fee based on the device's value. Since you’re bringing this phone to Uzbekistan for the second time and the IMEI wasn’t registered last time, it’s likely that the IMEI slot will be blocked for use with Uzbek SIM cards (roaming SIM cards from other countries will work without issues).
Guys, can you tell me HOW the phone declaration process works? I mean, at what stage and when should I do this? I’ve never had to do it before...
To declare your phone, you need to go through the red corridor. So, upon arrival, you first go through border control, then collect your luggage, and after that, at the airport exit, there will be two passages marked in red and green, with signs for the red and green corridors.
The red corridor is for those who need to declare something by law, like a lot of currency, valuables, etc.
The green corridor is for quick passage, for those who have nothing to declare, but they can randomly check luggage.
So, if you’re coming to Uzbekistan for an extended period (more than 60 days) or plan to return here with the same phone, go through the red corridor and declare your phone. If your stay is shorter than 60 days, don’t stress and just go through the green corridor without declaring anything. Even if you buy an Uzbek SIM card, everything will work for the next 60 days.
However, after inserting a local SIM card and connecting to the network, the phone is considered imported into Uzbekistan, and you have 60 days for its "customs clearance." After 60 days, your service will be blocked. If you plan to come back in the future and use the same phone, it’s better to declare it. If you’re just visiting briefly and don’t plan to return, you can skip the registration. 60 days should be enough for you. 😊
Maybe something has changed now, but a couple of years ago it was like this. If you came for a couple of weeks, just go to a mobile store and buy a local SIM card with a tourist tariff. If you plan to stay longer, go to the Main Post Office in Tashkent and register your phone’s IMEI there. After that, you can go back to the mobile store and choose a suitable full tariff that will work indefinitely.
That’s just it, things have changed. Starting 20 December 2024, if your phone (whether new or old) hasn’t been declared upon entering Uzbekistan, you won’t be able to register the IMEI (neither online on the website nor at the main post office). Well, you can, but only after paying a 30% fee based on the phone's value.
Exactly. I messed up when I arrived from vacation in January. Through the airport, you can declare up to $2000 (and up to 2 phones) without paying a fee; through the land border, it’s up to $300. Over the weekend, I made a wasted trip to the land border with Kazakhstan—they said that considering the "discount of $300," they still wouldn’t believe that the latest iPhone is "used" (it was actually bought this year) and costs less than $1000. They suggested I pay a fee on ($1000-$300)*0.3. Now I’ll try to declare the phone on my next flight.
Good evening! Yesterday someone asked about phone declarations. On February 5 of this year, I flew to Uzbekistan and didn’t declare my phone. Because of this, I couldn’t register the IMEI.
Before that, I had been to Uzbekistan several times, and registering the IMEI didn’t require declaring the phone. It turns out new rules came into effect on December 20, 2024.
After 30 days, on March 6, my Uzbek SIM card stopped working. I was supposed to pay a customs fee of 30% of the phone's value, which amounted to about 4,500,000 sums. Of course, I wasn’t ready to pay that kind of money.
On March 10, I returned to Russia. Today, I flew from Moscow to Tashkent. After collecting my luggage, I asked where to fill out the customs declaration. The red corridor was closed, but there was a booth in the left corner before the exit where they would give you a form. You fill out the declaration (I just wrote down the phone), and right next to it, there's a stand for IMEI registration. I paid 200,000 sums for the registration of two IMEIs from the two slots of my phone. The staff suggested registering just one IMEI to save money.
The Uzbek SIM card started working, even though I had already used this phone without customs clearance. I thought it wouldn’t work.
So, for everyone arriving in Uzbekistan for a long stay or multiple times, it’s necessary to declare your phone upon arrival. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay not only for the IMEI registration (75,000 sums for one IMEI) but also the customs fee of 30% of the phone's value. 😊
Dear people, can you please tell me, at the airport when registering the IMEI in the red corridor, do I need to pay around 100,000 sums, as I understood from the previous messages, and where can I get that in the screening area? I only have rubles and dollars. How do I pay?