Tashkent anticipates population boom with end of residence restrictions

TASHKENT -- Tight restrictions on permission to live in Tashkent could soon become a thing of the past.

The Justice Ministry is soliciting public opinion on the relevant proposal April 11-26 and plans to incorporate that opinion before presenting a worked-out version of the bill to the cabinet May 5.

If the cabinet responds by legalising the end of such residence restrictions in Tashkent, the capital will see a construction boom as Uzbekistanis surge into the city to take advantage of its higher standard of living, say observers.

Residence permit

The residence permit (propiska) system unique to Tashkent city and to Tashkent Province is a holdover from Soviet times. Only natives of Tashkent, their immediate family, and employees of some government agencies have a propiska enabling them to live or buy a home in the capital.

The restriction, meant to prevent Tashkent from being overwhelmed by job-seekers fleeing the comparatively poorer provinces, frustrates those with energy and money to contribute, if only they could live in Tashkent.

"I can't legally stay in Tashkent for longer than five days," Bukhara businessman Rustam Kattakhojayev told Caravanserai by phone. "That's humiliating. I can't open a business here without having access to real estate."

Stagnant population

The propiska requirement has succeeded in holding down population growth in Tashkent since 1991, the year of the Soviet break-up, says the Uzbekistani government.

As of 2016, Tashkent residents comprised 7.5% (about 2.4 million) of the country's population. In 25 years of independence, the capital's population grew by only 263,000 (about 12.3%), while the country's population surged by 10.9 million (more than half the previous figure).

Apparently, government officials suspect that keeping such a tight cap on the Tashkent population also hindered economic growth.

That said, the proposal to liberalise the Tashkent residence permit system is meant to screen out the economically unviable by allowing only purchasers of homes to acquire a permit.

"Officials want to gradually phase out restrictions," Tashkent-based sociologist Ravshan Kushlubayev told Caravanserai. "If they completely do away with the residence permit system, the capital might not be able to handle the influx."

"Not being able to freely reside in the capital is one of the most painful problems for Uzbekistanis," he added. "Many Uzbekistanis are gravitating here in search of higher-paying work, as well as business and educational opportunities."

New rules

For new buyers, if the cabinet enacts the resolution, the housing units must be within a newly constructed apartment buildings and cost no less than 2,000 times the minimum monthly wage. As of April, the cheapest such apartment costs 300 million UZS ($81,500), according to the government.

That price is imposing to most citizens of a country with per capita annual GDP of $2,126 (7.9 million UZS), according to the World Bank.

"Buying a home in Tashkent is an excellent investment," Tashkent resident Oleg Ardeyev told Caravanserai. "I expect many people to take advantage of this opportunity and that it'll help the economy. Otherwise, citizens' savings sit in their piggy banks."

Many others cannot afford to buy a Tashkent apartment under the proposed rules.

"That's quite a large sum for me," Ibragim Jumayev of Urgench told Caravanserai. "I hope it's just the beginning and that the government will further liberalise the propiska system in the capital."