Tashkent, Uzbekistan – On March 12, 2026, France officially inaugurated a new TLScontact visa application center in Tashkent, marking a significant shift in how Uzbek applicants seek travel visas to France.kun.uzwww.travelandtourworld.comzamin.uz The facility, located at the Inco Business Center on Fidokor Street, now exclusively handles all visa submissions, document collection, biometric data capture, and preliminary processing, streamlining what was previously a more fragmented system.

French Ambassador to Uzbekistan Walid Fouque presided over the opening ceremony, describing the center as a key expression of strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.www.trend.az Operated by TLScontact—a global provider of visa services for multiple governments—the center aims to enhance efficiency, reduce queues, and improve service quality while the French Embassy retains final decision-making authority.menafn.com This centralized model is expected to make the process more orderly and convenient for applicants planning tourism, business, or educational trips to France.www.travelandtourworld.com

The move aligns with growing people-to-people exchanges, as Uzbekistan saw nearly 27,500 French visitors from January to October 2025—a 27% increase from the prior year, with most traveling for leisure. By modernizing visa operations, France supports burgeoning tourism and cultural links, potentially boosting further travel between the countries.daryo.uz