State Committee for Tourism is ready to reimburse the two Italian tourists for any expenses incurred

Earlier, news about two foreign citizens (Louis Bartoli and Philip Erfürth) who were not able fly from Uzbekistan due to visa problems went viral on the internet.

The Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the periods of stay of the above-mentioned persons in Uzbekistan were arranged according to the applications they filed online. The procedure for issuing an electronic visa, entered into force in July 2018, assumes that visa applications are processed automatically by the electronic system according to the data entered by the applicant independently.

“According to generally accepted international standards, tourists arriving in any country of the world are obliged to independently control the expiration date of their visas. Violation of the visa regime in any country of the world entails administrative and often criminal consequences. In response to the unfounded accusations, the Consular and Legal Department consulted with the Italian Embassy in Tashkent and found out that the above-mentioned citizens had arrived in Uzbekistan for tourist purposes only,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

At the same time, the press service of the State Committee for Tourism declared that the current regulatory framework requires improvement and in many respects does not meet the world standards.

In this regard, the judge of the Yunusabad District Administrative Court, instead of a fine in the amount of one hundred minimum monthly wages, issue a violation order.

“We deeply regret for the incident happened, especially in the light of the latest presidential decree, where in the near future citizens of Germany, Italy and many more countries will not need an entry visa to visit our republic. At the same time, guests were offered reimbursement of material and moral damage in the form of providing a return air ticket and covering the cost of accommodation on additional days of stay in Uzbekistan, to which the guests said there was no need for such compensation,” the State Committee for Tourism noted.