juris.hq
Starting a companyUpdated 30.08.2026

What types of company can a foreigner open in Uzbekistan?

Short answer

Four realistic doors — and nearly everyone takes the LLC.

LLCThe default — a legal entity from registration, any lawful activity, shareholders’ risk limited to their contributions; one to fifty owners (LLC Law, Arts. 3–4, 8 — lex.uz ↗)
JSCThe joint-stock company — shares as securities, a heavier governance regime; the form the LLC must grow into past fifty shareholders (LLC Law, Art. 8 — lex.uz ↗)
PE/branchA foreign company’s own presence — accredited rather than founded; for tax it is a permanent establishment, taxed on its Uzbek result (Tax Code, Art. 36 — lex.uz ↗)
SelfIndividual entrepreneurship — exists for individuals, but is built around residents and small local activity rather than foreign-owned business
What the law provides

The working choice for a foreign founder is the limited liability company: it takes legal personality on state registration, may run any activity not prohibited (licensed ones with a licence), answers for its debts with its own property, and holds its shareholders’ risk to what they contributed. One founder is enough and fifty is the ceiling. The joint-stock company exists for share capital raised wider than a private circle — it is the form an LLC must transform into if its shareholders exceed fifty. (LLC Law, Arts. 3–4, 8 — lex.uz ↗)

A foreign company can also operate as itself, through an accredited presence rather than a local subsidiary — but the moment that presence is a fixed place of business or sustained work in Uzbekistan, it is a permanent establishment and pays profit tax on its Uzbek result. Most founders comparing the two end at the LLC: same tax on the substance, cleaner banking, and a company that can hold assets, hire and sign in its own name. (Tax Code, Art. 36 — lex.uz ↗)

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Part of the answer bank 89 questions, each cited to the article it rests on.