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The Ministry of the Interior in Georgia has submitted a package of legislative changes in relation to migration to parliament for examination. The changes are mainly concerned with foreigners who commit crimes or excesses, as well as the procedure to obtain asylum.
The Ministry of the Interior published an overview of the changes in a short explanation on Thursday. The official documentation cannot yet be seen on the parliamentary website.
According to the ministry, the changes were ready to “improve the fight against illegal migration and to refine the regulations in connection with the granting of Asylum”. They also found that the changes were created in accordance with the guidelines of the European Parliament and the Council.
The first change listed in the official declaration on Thursday is that a new kind of punishment would be added to the Georgian Criminal Code, which would require a foreigner from Georgia and an entry in Georgia for a certain period of time. Likewise, a new administrative penalty in the code of administrative crimes would be added with the same punishment.
No details were given for which crimes these punishments would apply or how long the entry ban would last.
In addition, the changes would increase the fines for foreigners who have violated the rules for the stay on the Georgian territory, while the procedure for the illegal stay of foreigners in the country would be “significantly simplified”.
With regard to the asylum procedure, the legislative package would introduce an accelerated system, whereby the temporal restrictions for checking and calling are “significantly reduced”. This would also include the simplification of the procedure for submitting decisions.
The ministry also listed a change that would introduce a new mechanism according to which asylum could be taken into account at the state border without the asylum seeker entering the Georgian territory if his entry “represents a threat to the security of the states”. No details were given as to which basis the decision would be made and who would create it.
The last change listed by the Ministry would limit the granting of a residence permit to every foreigner who was examined with the intention of the expulsion or has already received an exclusion application.
Citizens from over 90 countries are currently receiving a visa -free entry to Georgia for a period of one year, which is reset every time you leave the country and enter again. There are also only a few alleged restrictions on what can be done in Georgia within the one -year period, be it travel, work or study.
Datablog | The Georgians want immigration restrictions on Russians
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the accompaniment of the domestic in Russia and the imposition of sanctions, there was a discharge of Russians in the South Caucasus – and many in Georgia felt restless. On March 7, the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Georgia estimated that 20,000 to 25,000 Russians had come to Georgia since the invasion. In Armenia, the government has reported that around 5,000 Russians have moved into the country every day since the beginning of the war. This mass migration has
