Uzbekistan's phone rules confuse a lot of visitors, and with reason. There is a customs declaration for phones at the border, a device register with a fee, a 30 day clock, and plenty of old forum posts written before the rules changed. A foreign phone does work on a local SIM, with conditions. Below are the rules as UzIMEI and the operators publish them in 2026, and prices for Ucell, Beeline, Mobiuz and Uzmobile. After that: what to expect at Tashkent airport, and why a travel eSIM skips the register.
The registration rule, explained once and properly
Uzbekistan runs a national phone register called UZIMEI. Every phone that uses a local SIM card must be registered on it, and the rule for foreigners is published plainly on the operators' own support pages, so here it is without the forum fog.
- Local SIM in a foreign phone: you get 30 calendar days from the first connection before the phone has to be registered. Inside that window registration costs 88,000 som, about $7. After 30 days it rises to 110,000 som. Do nothing and the phone is blacklisted and blocked from local networks.
- Foreign SIM or travel eSIM, roaming: registration is free and not required if you never buy a local SIM. The rule is explicit. A phone that only ever roams is outside the system.
- Customs: since 20 December 2024, a phone you want to register has to be listed, with its IMEI, on the passenger customs declaration when you enter. Up to two phones worth no more than $2,000 then register free of duty. Skip the form and you must apply on customs.uz and pay a duty before the phone can be registered. None of this applies if you only roam.
So for a two week holiday with one phone and a local SIM, there is nothing to do. Put the SIM in, use it, leave. The rule bites only if you stay past a month on a local number, or if you come back next year with the same phone and want a local SIM again, in which case the earlier 30 days are already used and registration is due. Registration itself is simple: dial *1170#, or send the IMEI by SMS to 1170, or use the uzimei.uz portal, then pay at any payment terminal or in the MyGov app.
How it compares to the neighboursUzbekistan is strict on paper and gentle in practice for short visits. Compare Turkey, where registering a foreign phone costs 54,258 lira in 2026, about $1,100, or Kyrgyzstan, where the IMEI goes on the form at the kiosk. Here the system only notices you after 30 days.
The four networks
Uzbekistan has four operators. Ucell and Beeline are the two that most visitors end up with. Mobiuz is the old UMS, rebranded. Uzmobile is the state operator and is often recommended for the trains and the long stretches between cities.
In the cities, all four are fine and 4G is quick. Out in Khiva and the Karakalpakstan desert towards the Aral Sea, expect gaps on every network.
What a SIM costs in 2026
Data here is astonishingly cheap once you are past the paperwork. These are the tourist bundle prices reported this year, rounded, in Uzbek som and dollars.
| Operator | Typical bundle | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uzmobile | 45 GB to 200 GB, 30 days | 61,000 to 101,000 som ($5 to $8) | Best rural and train coverage |
| Ucell | 45 GB to 85 GB, 30 days | 69,000 to 99,000 som ($5.50 to $8) | Good cities, foreigners served at main offices |
| Beeline | 20 GB to 50 GB, 30 days | about $5 to $8 | The network our eSIM uses |
| Mobiuz | 5 GB to 20 GB, 30 days | about $2.50 to $4.50 | Cheapest, city focused |
Two practical notes. Some small operator shops only serve locals and will send a foreigner to the main office in town. And the SIM itself can cost extra on top of the bundle. Both are minor. The passport is not optional anywhere.
Tashkent airport
Tashkent International has SIM desks in the arrivals area, but not every operator is there, so the choice is smaller than in town. Flights from Europe and the Gulf tend to land at night, and the Yandex Go app that gets you into the city for a sensible fare needs data to book.
The arrivals hall trapThe taxi drivers in the Tashkent arrivals hall know you have no data. Their quotes can be several times the fare Yandex Go shows. Either book from inside the terminal on a connection you already have, or walk to the official taxi desk and pay the posted rate.
Samarkand airport, where many tours now start, is smaller again. If you land there, plan to buy a SIM in the city the next morning rather than expect a proper desk on arrival.
When an Uzmobile or Ucell SIM makes more sense
A month or more, or a stay where you need a local number for drivers and guesthouses: buy Uzmobile or Ucell at a main office in Tashkent, pay the few dollars, and register the phone at *1170# before day 30 if you are staying past it. The data allowances are huge and the price is almost nothing. Long stay volunteers, students and anyone working remotely from Tashkent for a season should go local.
For a one or two week Silk Road trip, the sums go the other way. You will spend a morning finding an office that serves foreigners, hand over your passport, possibly pay the registration fee if you plan to return, and give up your home SIM slot unless the phone takes two. If your bank sends codes to your home number, that line matters more in Bukhara than it does at home.
Skipping UzIMEI with a travel eSIM
A travel eSIM is installed at home and connects to Beeline the moment you land, with no desk, no passport form and no IMEI registration, because you are roaming, and roaming phones are outside the register by the operators' own rule. Our Uzbekistan eSIM plans start at $1.29 for 1 GB over 7 days, a 5 GB month is $4.06, and unlimited starts at $3.26 a day. Your home number stays live on the other line.
To be fair about the other side: on raw price per gigabyte over a month, Uzmobile's bundles beat any travel product, and an eSIM gives you no Uzbek number. The eSIM also runs on Beeline only, so on the emptiest stretches of the Khiva road a local Uzmobile SIM will hold signal where it does not. Short trips, and anyone who wants to skip the register, suit the eSIM. Long stays suit the paperwork. A phone that holds both can run a local SIM and the eSIM together.
Doing the full Silk RoadCrossing into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan? Uzbek SIMs stop at the border and every neighbour has its own rules. Our Central Asia eSIM covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on one install, instead of four queues.
Setting up an Uzbekistan eSIM before you fly
- Make sure your phone is unlocked and on our eSIM device list.
- Install the Uzbekistan eSIM at home on WiFi and keep that line off for the flight.
- In the arrivals hall, switch the eSIM on and set it as the data line. Keep your home SIM on with data roaming off.
- Book Yandex Go from inside the terminal. The fare on screen is the fare.
No signal after a minute? Select Beeline manually in network settings, then run through the not working checklist.
Uzbekistan phone and SIM questions
Do I need to register my phone in Uzbekistan as a tourist? Only if you use a local SIM for more than 30 days. Inside 30 days it is free and automatic. Phones roaming on a foreign SIM or a travel eSIM never need registering.
How much is IMEI registration in Uzbekistan? 88,000 som inside the first 30 days, 110,000 som after. Dial *1170# or use uzimei.uz.
Will my phone be blocked? Only if it uses a local SIM past 30 days without registering. A roaming phone is never blocked.
Which network is best in Uzbekistan? Uzmobile for rural roads and trains, Ucell or Beeline for cities, Mobiuz for price.
Can I buy a SIM at Tashkent airport? Yes, but the choice is limited and the service is slow. Most travellers do better at a main operator office in the city the next morning, or with an eSIM installed before the flight. Details on our Uzbekistan eSIM page.
- ✓Plans from $1.29, unlimited from $3.26 a day
- ✓No IMEI registration, no passport form
- ✓Live before you reach the Tashkent taxi rank
- ✓Support answered around the clock
