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Migration Policy

Uzbek Migration Agency Clarifies Legal Status Rules for Citizens in Turkey

Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency has issued an official clarification in response to social media posts and Telegram channel reports claiming that Uzbek citizens are no longer being deported from Turkey. The agency stated that such interpretations are misleading and do not reflect existing agreements or procedures. According to the agency, the issue at hand is not the cancellation of deportations, but rather the possibility of legalizing migration status strictly within the boundaries of Turkey’s current legal framework. “Responsibility for illegal stay and violations of migration law in Türkiye remains in force,” the agency said, urging citizens to rely exclusively on official sources and to view a detailed explanatory video published by the agency. The clarification follows what the agency described as inaccurate portrayals of ongoing consultations. Officials stressed that some outlets had distorted the nature of the discussions, leading to confusion among the public. The agency emphasized that the safety and legal protection of citizens abroad can only be guaranteed when migrants comply with the laws of host countries. Addressing the situation of undocumented migrants, the agency stated that Uzbek citizens currently residing or working illegally in Turkey may apply to Turkish migration authorities or to the agency’s representative office in Turkey to legalize their status, without facing deportation, provided they follow the established legal procedures. However, it warned that this does not mean individuals can leave Turkey without consequence if they have violated migration rules. The clarification comes amid heightened attention to the status of Uzbek migrants in Turkey following a high-profile criminal case in Istanbul. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, on January 24 the body of an Uzbek woman, identified as Durdona H., was found in a garbage container in Istanbul. Two Uzbek men were detained while attempting to flee to Georgia in connection with the case. The killing sparked protests in Turkey, where women called for justice for Durdona and other victims. On January 30, Uzbekistan’s Consulate General in Istanbul announced that Durdona’s body and her two children had been repatriated. The consulate stated that all related expenses were covered by the diplomatic mission and the Migration Agency. The Migration Agency concluded its statement by reiterating its call for responsible information sharing, and warning against the spread of unverified claims that could endanger citizens abroad.

Germany

Tajik Citizen Deported from Germany Over Suspected Terror Plot

German authorities have deported a 21-year-old citizen of Tajikistan who was detained on suspicion of planning attacks in crowded areas. Although no criminal case was formally opened, law enforcement officials cited concerns for public safety as sufficient grounds for deportation. The individual was detained in December 2025 in the city of Magdeburg. According to Die Zeit, the arrest was prompted by concerns that the young man posed a potential threat to public safety. Authorities claimed that although there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him under criminal law, his behavior suggested the possibility of radical intentions. Following several weeks of investigation, a decision was made to deport him. Police linked their concerns to signs of religious radicalization. Reports suggest the individual exhibited ideological extremism and a growing interest in firearms. While enrolled in a vocational school, he allegedly clashed repeatedly with classmates over religious issues. Mario Schwan, head of the Saxony-Anhalt state police, stated that the case was considered an “immediate threat” based on the police’s assessment. The man had entered Germany legally in June 2024 under a visa granted for participation in the Au Pair program. In his application, he expressed interest in German language and culture. He later enrolled in medical studies at the University Hospital of Magdeburg.

Labor migrants

Russia Announces ‘Deportation Regime’ for Migrant Laborers

It has been more than a month since the deadline for migrant laborers working in Russia to complete their registration documents or face expulsion. The anticipated mass deportations have not happened, but Russian State Duma Chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, indicated on October 13 that could change soon. Volodin warned, “A new migration regime is now in effect… the deportation regime.” The Final Bell Several months ago, Russian officials announced the September 10 deadline for all migrant laborers to legalize their status to work and live in Russia. Russia’s Federal Migration Service created a list in the summer of 2024 of “controlled persons,” those who still did not have all the required documentation to remain in Russia. The list was posted on the service’s website in February 2025. Volodin said those on the list lacked one or more of the following: “documents or certificates required for obtaining migration status or citizenship, registration of a place of stay or residence.” Volodin said the list also included those who failed to complete mandatory procedures such as “annual medical examinations for [their] presence… as well as fingerprinting and photographing” or have failed to show that their “patent, work permits, or employment contract” was renewed. The Duma Chairman said some 35,000 “foreign citizens” had already been expelled between January and August of this year. September 10 arrived, and in the days that followed, there were no reports of Russian law enforcement rounding up migrants and sending them back to their homelands. However, it was clear the Russian government was not bluffing. In his remarks to the Duma, Volodin explained that as of September 1, there were still some 770,000 migrants on the register of controlled persons, and that one-third of them were women and children. If these people have not taken care of their requirements, Volodin said, “They need to leave our country, informing [us] of the date, place, and route of their departure.” The Dwindling Number of Central Asian Migrant Laborers in Russia There are several million foreign workers in Russia, and the largest group is those from Central Asia, though fewer of them work there than was previously the case. The terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March 2024 that left more than 140 people dead was blamed on citizens of Tajikistan. It sparked a wave of xenophobia in Russia aimed at Central Asians, and prompted a raft of new laws and regulations for migrant laborers. Uzbekistan’s citizens have long been the largest group of Central Asian migrant laborers working in Russia, numbering between 4 to 6 million, depending on the season, during 2016. Figures vary for how many Uzbek citizens are working in Russia now, but Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency said at the start of October that it was about 1.3 million, noting the figure fluctuates depending on the time of the year, and that during the warmer months of 2025, it was closer to 2 million. During his recent visit to Tajikistan for a CIS summit and a separate meeting with...

Fraud

Uzbek National in U.S. Faces Deportation Following Voter Fraud Conviction

An Uzbek citizen, Sanjar Djamilov, is facing deportation from the United States after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud, according to a U.S. court ruling reported by Florida Politics. Djamilov, 33, who resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, was sentenced to time served and placed under supervised release pending deportation. He has been remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals and is awaiting processing by the Bureau of Customs and Immigration. If deported, he will be barred from re-entering the U.S. without explicit government authorization. The court imposed a $100 assessment on Djamilov, but waived restitution and other fees. According to investigators, Djamilov and a Russian national, Dmitry Shushlebin, submitted 132 fraudulent voter registration applications to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections between February and March 2023. The applications were flagged for identical formatting, repeated typographical errors, sequential Social Security numbers, and recurring birth dates, raising immediate suspicion. Authorities say the pair also submitted change-of-address forms to the U.S. Postal Service to redirect official mail to three addresses under their control. The case was jointly investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, following a referral from the Florida Department of State’s Office of Election Crimes and Security. In an April 2025 plea agreement, Djamilov admitted that Shushlebin had hired him and others to submit more than 100 fraudulent applications. While Djamilov has now been sentenced, Shushlebin has also pleaded guilty but is still awaiting sentencing. Djamilov had faced up to five years in prison for his involvement. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, 131 citizens from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan were repatriated from the U.S. on a special charter flight in May 2025. Funded by the Uzbek government, the operation reflected growing cooperation between Washington and Tashkent on migration and security issues.

Labor migrants

Turkmen Migrants Face Deportations as Russia Escalates Crackdown

Russian authorities are intensifying their deportation of foreign nationals under a sweeping crackdown on irregular migration, with Turkmen citizens increasingly targeted, according to Turkmen News. Deportation Without Trial Under new rules introduced in February 2025, Russian police and migration officials can summarily expel foreign nationals without awaiting court decisions. The measures coincide with a significant uptick in Turkmen migration: nearly 90,000 Turkmen citizens entered Russia in 2023, triple the number recorded in 2022. Now, reports of deportations are mounting. In July alone, media outlets across several Russian regions reported hundreds of foreigners, many of them from Turkmenistan, being forcibly removed. Key figures include: Astrakhan Region: 200 people Nizhny Novgorod Region: 518 people Republic of Dagestan: 260 people Stavropol Krai: 127 people Raids have also been carried out in other areas, though officials often refrain from disclosing detainees’ nationalities. For example, in early July, Moscow police raided hostels and prayer houses, detaining over 500 foreigners. More than 30 were later expelled for immigration violations, according to Kommersant. A recent case in Saratov Region highlighted the situation. On July 30, the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) announced the deportation of three Turkmen citizens for violating migration laws. Among them: a 27-year-old former student who overstayed his registration in Kazan, a 55-year-old man whose legal stay had expired in 2024, and a 47-year-old businessman who failed to obtain a work permit. All three cited lack of funds to return home. They were escorted to a Moscow-area airport and deported, receiving five-year re-entry bans. According to Turkmen News, they will also be placed on a "no-exit" list upon return, barring them from leaving Turkmenistan in the near future. Tougher Migration Regulations Millions of Central Asians live and work in Russia, forming the backbone of the country's migrant labor force. Official figures indicate that nearly 4 million citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan currently reside in Russia. An additional 670,000 foreigners are believed to be in the country without legal status. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan account for the largest share of migrant laborers. In 2023, over one million Tajik citizens entered Russia for work. However, the overall number of Central Asian migrants has been declining, driven by tighter restrictions, growing xenophobia, and fears of forced conscription. In 2024 alone, Russian authorities expelled around 15In 2025, Moscow introduced a new set of migration regulations aimed at curbing irregular migration. These measures authorize law enforcement to carry out deportations without judicial review, establish a centralized registry of undocumented foreigners, and set a deadline of September 10, 2025, for migrants to legalize their status. Those who fail to comply will face deportation and multi-year bans on re-entry. These efforts build on previous policies, including mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of all incoming migrant workers, reducing visa-free stays from 180 days to 90, and expanding the list of deportable offenses. The crackdown intensified following the March 2024 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which was allegedly carried out by suspects of Central Asian origin. The incident sparked a...

Migrants

Potential Mass Expulsion of Migrants Looms in Russia

Russia introduced new regulations for foreign citizens in the country on February 5, and started keeping a list at the Interior Ministry of foreigners who are living or staying in Russia without proper documentation, the “controlled persons registry.” The rules are aimed at migrant laborers working in Russia, many of whom come from Central Asian countries. Russia has set a September 10 deadline for foreigners in the country to clear up all their paperwork with the authorities or face expulsion with a ban on re-entry. Judging by recent comments from Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to Russia, Kubanychbek Bokontayev, many might not make that September 10 deadline. Needed but Not Desired Over the course of the last two decades, millions of citizens from Central Asian countries have worked in Russia. Most are from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The remittances they send home have grown to the point where this money now accounts for nearly 40% of the GDP in Tajikistan, 24% in Kyrgyzstan, and 14% in Uzbekistan. Most of these remittances come from Russia. Russia badly needs the extra workers, and, until recently, the arrangement seemed to suit all parties. But the March 2024 terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall changed the situation. The Russian authorities detained and charged a group of Tajik nationals for the attack, and the always simmering xenophobia in Russia, particularly toward Central Asians, boiled over. New rules and restrictions have been imposed on migrant workers. Those that came into force in February this year were only the latest in a series of changes that already included mandatory fingerprinting and photographs upon entry to Russia, a reduction in the term of stay from 180 to 90 days, and an increasing list of infractions that provide grounds for deportation. In 2024, Russia expelled some 157,000 migrants who were in the country illegally, which, according to Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, was an increase of some 50% over 2023. The Clock Is Ticking At the start of February, just before the latest regulations came into effect, Russia’s Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandr Gorovoi said there were some 670,000 foreigners living illegally in Russia. Gorovoi added that more than half were women and children, “those who entered, but we do not see that they received a patent registered with the migration service… [or] that an employment agreement was concluded with them.” On July 24, Kyrgyz media outlet AKIpress published an interview with the Kyrgyz Ambassador to Russia, Bokontayev, in which he said that at the start of July, there were some 113,000 Kyrgyz citizens on the controlled persons registry, which he referred to as the “gray list.” He also said there were some 80,000 Kyrgyz citizens on the “black list” of people barred from entering Russia. In a separate interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service published on July 25, Kyrgyzstan’s General Consul in Russia, Bakyt Asanaliyev, said that about 30% of the Kyrgyz citizens on the gray list are children. Ambassador Bokontayev said Kyrgyzstan’s embassy is working to make sure...