Visa policy of Georgia

Visitors to Georgia must obtain a visa from Georgian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries or one of the countries whose citizens may obtain an e-Visa.

All visitors must have a passport. However, citizens of certain countries are entitled to visa-free entry with an ID card in lieu of a passport.

In Georgia, as of 2024, the Agreement on Visa-Free Movement of Citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States across the Territory of its Participants signed on 09 October 1992[1] and the CIS Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases signed on 22 January 1993[2] remain in force.

Visa policy map

Visa exemption

Georgia adopted a new law of on Legal Status of Alien and Stateless Persons that went into effect on 1 September 2014. It was amended on 9 June 2015 when the maximum allowed stay was extended to 1 year.[3]

The list of countries whose citizens have the right of visa-free entry to Georgia is no longer provided in the new law, it is determined in the separate ordinance of the Government of Georgia.[4] The visa-free list was re-approved on 9 June 2015.

Citizens of the following countries and territories may enter Georgia without a visa for the following period:[5][6][7][8]

1 year

90 days

45 days

30 days

ID - May enter with an ID card.
ID* - May enter with an ID card if arriving directly from the country of nationality.
1 - Also applies to holders of passports issued by Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and Turks and Caicos Islands.
2 - No more than 90 days within any 180 days.

All visitors may enter without a visa if they meet one of the following conditions:[15]

Holders of valid visas or residence permits of following countries may stay in Georgia for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period:[16][17]

1 - Except Anguilla, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
2 - There have been many cases where those holding valid residency of GCC countries have been denied access without assigning any reason, especially if they are citizens of India, Pakistan and Palestine.[18][19]

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

Holders of passports of the following countries and territories may obtain a visa online. Alternatively, for certain countries, it is possible to enter Georgia with the visa for one of the visa-free countries.[20]

90 days per 180-day period

30 days per 120-day period

Entry to Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Entering Abkhazia and South Ossetia (considered by Georgia and a major part of the international community to be Russian occupied territories) through border crossing points other than located in Georgia's Zugdidi Municipality and Gori Municipality is an act punishable under Georgian law. However, entering South Ossetia from the territory controlled by Georgian government is currently impossible.

Admission restrictions

Entry and transit is refused to citizens of Kosovo, Palestine and Taiwan (visas can still be obtained on a case-by-case basis for holders of passports of Taiwan, including for participation in international conferences and sports events held in Georgia), even if not leaving the aircraft and proceeding by the same flight. Georgia also does not recognize the passports of Abkhazia, the Sahrawi Republic, Somaliland, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Georgia were from the following countries of nationality (dynamic table including 2014):[21]

Country 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Turkey 1396660 925561 326494 335580 1156513 1312129 1247082 1254089 1391721 1442695
Azerbaijan 199835 152969 82718 295132 1526619 1807068 1695084 1523075 1393257 1283214
Armenia 962540 742593 164698 260965 1365048 1725163 1718243 1496246 1468888 1325635
Russia 1418464 1087257 212979 208677 1471558 1705142 1392842 1037564 926144 811621
EU-27 422227 272916 139157 65117 447518 355755 260920 214002 197427 186879
Ukraine 146931 168915 144901 42414 207667 204952 193127 172631 141734 143521
Israel 217065 210178 100686 25731 205051 173366 125320 92213 59487 42385
Iran 126282 102877 18549 17053 141997 339462 322898 147915 25273 47929
Kazakhstan 167492 120494 66787 13779 103611 68452 56801 48809 36777 28394
Belarus 130203 130046 53698 13340 66174 68360 32939 42149 25724 16577
Poland 91210 41917 30988 10691 88300 71668 48913 41609 39309 44415
Germany 68824 48548 21194 9338 89051 74131 43090 33469 30481 27073
India 84688 52841 24992 8364 54606 73458 59738 36410 12114 4679
USA 46735 35319 19470 7384 46558 41863 33569 27304 24978 22545
UK 30732 21407 7936 5625 37478 29406 22392 15470 16142 15732
Saudi Arabia 72953 119921 63437 4960 75155 65560 56247 21257 9850 5485
China 48304 7380 3468 4363 48071 31855 18179 10847 6849 5919
Total 7072220 5426903 1881271 1747110 9357964 8326252 7556339 6360503 5901.094 5515559

See also

References

  1. ^ https://cis.minsk.by/reestrv2/doc/149#documentCard
  2. ^ https://cis.minsk.by/reestrv2/doc/192#documentCard
  3. ^ "Civil.Ge - Georgia Restores One-Year Visa-Free Rules". www.civil.ge. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons – 100 Questions Regarding the New Law (March, 2014)" (PDF). mfa.gov.ge. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Visa information".
  6. ^ იმ ქვეყნების ჩამონათვალის დამტკიცების შესახებ, რომელთა მოქალაქეებსაც შეუძლიათ საქართველოში უვიზოდ შემოსვლა (Ordinance 255) (in Georgian). Government of Georgia. 5 June 2015.
  7. ^ "On Approval of the List of Countries, Whose Visa and/or Residence Permit Holders May Enter Georgia without a Visa for an Appropriate Period and under Appropriate Conditions".
  8. ^ "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  9. ^ "GeoConsul.Gov.Ge - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia". www.geoconsul.gov.ge.
  10. ^ "Travel Between Armenia And Georgia Is Possible With An ID Card". 14 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia". GeoConsul.Gov.Ge. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  12. ^ „იმ ქვეყნების ჩამონათვალის დამტკიცების შესახებ, რომელთა მოქალაქეებსაც შეუძლიათ საქართველოში უვიზოდ შემოსვლა“ საქართველოს მთავრობის 2015 წლის 5 ივნისის №255 დადგენილებაში ცვლილების შეტანის თაობაზე (Ordinance 43) (in Georgian). Government of Georgia. 26 January 2022.
  13. ^ "格鲁吉亚外交部确认对我公民免签政策已落地生效". 中国驻格鲁吉亚大使馆.
  14. ^ "Check if you can enter Georgia and stay for a year visa-free". agenda.ge.
  15. ^ "GeoConsul.Gov.Ge - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia". www.geoconsul.gov.ge.
  16. ^ იმ ქვეყნების ჩამონათვალის დამტკიცების შესახებ, რომელთა ვიზების ან/და ბინადრობის ნებართვების მქონე უცხოელებს შეუძლიათ საქართველოში უვიზოდ შემოსვლა შესაბამისი ვადითა და პირობებით (Ordinance 256) (in Georgian). Government of Georgia. 5 June 2015.
  17. ^ "List of Countries, Whose Visa and/or Residence Permit Holders May Enter Georgia without a Visa for an Appropriate Period and under Appropriate Conditions". geoconsul.gov.ge.
  18. ^ Reporter, Faisal Masudi, Staff (24 December 2015). "Holiday makers turned back from Georgia -- 3,250 USD worth of holiday expenses wasted". gulfnews.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ http://www.eatpraytour.com/gcc-residents-read-before-travel-georgia/
  20. ^ "Georgia eVisa".
  21. ^ "Inbound Tourism".