Uzbekistan's First ID Card Fee Draws Scrutiny Over Cost and State Priorities

Public debate in Uzbekistan has intensified around the state duty charged for a first national ID card after a social media post described a family struggling to pay for the document. A comparison across eight countries has turned an emotional anecdote into a broader question about how governments price a core public service.

The immediate trigger was a post by journalist Dilnoza Qurbonova about an encounter at a passport office involving a girl aged about 15 or 16 and her father. The family had come so the teenager could obtain an ID card for the first time. Qurbonova focused on the parents' worn clothing and the signs of hardship visible on their faces. When the cashier announced the amount due, she wrote, the father's hands began to shake as he opened his wallet and counted the money one piece at a time. The girl, according to the post, first looked at her father and then at the ground.

He opened his wallet and started counting even the last small coins one by one. Seeing the father's anguish and the girl's gaze first at him and then at the ground broke my heart.

That account quickly moved one policy question to the center of public discussion: how fair is the state duty for the first identity document a young citizen receives, and how does Uzbekistan's approach compare with other countries?

How the Uzbek fee works

In Uzbekistan, the state duty for a first ID card depends on how the application is submitted. If the application goes through a migration office, a State Services Center, or a consulate, the fee is set at 89% of the base calculation amount, or BHM. Since the BHM has been fixed at 412,000 Uzbek so'm since Aug. 1, 2025, that means the current charge stands at 366,680 so'm.

If the application is filed online through my.gov.uz, the fee is lower at 80.1% of BHM. Under the current benchmark, that makes the cost of a first online ID card 330,012 so'm.

The structure matters because the benchmark itself is about to rise. From Sept. 1, 2026, the BHM will increase to 440,000 so'm. If the tariff percentages remain unchanged, the fee for applications filed through a migration office, a State Services Center, or a consulate will rise to 391,600 so'm. The online fee would increase to 352,440 so'm.

For policymakers, that creates a familiar tradeoff built into benchmark-linked pricing. The state preserves a formula that automatically adjusts over time, but households face higher nominal costs unless the government changes the rates or introduces exemptions. In this case, the pressure point is unusually visible because the payment is attached to a person's first identity document.

How other countries price a first identity document

The regional comparison shows that neighboring countries and other peers use noticeably different models. In Kazakhstan, from Jan. 1, 2026, it became free for every citizen turning 16 to receive an ID card for the first time, and renewals after the document expires also became free. The exemption also applies to people obtaining the document for the first time after age 18, to those who have accepted Kazakh citizenship, and in some other cases. The stated goal of the initiative is to reduce citizens' financial burden and simplify document processing.

In Kyrgyzstan, citizens receiving an ID card for the first time can obtain it under the standard procedure within 12 working days for 1,103 Kyrgyz som. At the current exchange rate, that is about $12.6, or 149,000 Uzbek so'm. That makes the standard first-time Kyrgyz fee about 2.5 times cheaper than Uzbekistan's current 366,680 so'm duty.

In Tajikistan, the fee for issuing a citizen's ID card is set at $10, collected in the national currency, somoni, at the exchange rate on the day of payment. The document is issued within up to 15 days. At the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's official exchange rate on Aug. 21, $10 is equal to about 118,000 Uzbek so'm, roughly 3.1 times cheaper than the fee charged in Uzbekistan.

Turkmenistan does not have a separate national ID card. Instead, the main proof-of-identity document is a biometric passport. According to the State Migration Service, the state duty for that passport is 60 manat. At the black-market exchange rate, that is about $3.2, or 37,000 Uzbek so'm. Children under 16 are exempt from the charge, making the cited amount about 10 times cheaper than Uzbekistan's current fee.

In Russia, citizens receive an internal passport at age 14. The state duty for a first passport is set at 300 rubles, equal at the current exchange rate to about $3.6, or 42,000 Uzbek so'm. That makes a first Russian passport about 8.7 times cheaper than the amount charged for an ID card in Uzbekistan. Under Russia's tax code, the same 300-ruble duty applies both when the passport is first issued and when it is replaced under the standard procedure. If the passport is lost or becomes unusable, the fee rises to 1,500 rubles.

In Turkey, the main identity document is the Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Kimlik Karti. In 2026, its set price is 220 Turkish lira, or about $5 and 59,000 Uzbek so'm. But when a child's birth is registered within the period required by law and the first identity card is issued on that basis, no fee is charged. A late first issuance or a replacement card costs 220 lira.

In Azerbaijan, citizens begin receiving an identity card at age 15. According to the Interior Ministry, a standard issuance within 10 days carries a state duty of 5 manat.

Why the debate is widening

The Uzbek discussion now goes beyond a single line item at the cashier's window. By linking the first ID card to a rising benchmark, the government has created a pricing structure that is predictable on paper but politically sensitive in practice. The comparison with other countries sharpens that sensitivity because several peers either charge far less, grant exemptions to first-time applicants, or make initial issuance free under certain conditions.

Qurbonova's Facebook post gave the issue a human face, but the underlying question is administrative and strategic: whether the first formal identity document in a young person's life should be treated mainly as a fee-bearing transaction or as a public service with lower costs or broader waivers. With the BHM scheduled to increase on Sept. 1, 2026, that question is moving from social media to a more sustained debate about affordability, fee design and the state's priorities.