Visa free travel to Schengen countries a real possibility
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Travelling to many European nations is set to get easier as Georgia looks to enter the second phase of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
Today, Deputy Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili said she believed Georgian citizens could soon travel visa-free to Schengen countries.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the chief negotiator and coordinating body of the Visa Liberalization dialogue between the European Union (EU) and Georgia, hosted the EU Assessment Group in Georgia.
The EU Assessment Group will measure how Georgia planned to move forward and implement criteria of the VLAP.
If the Group evaluates the changes positively, Georgia will gain the chance to move into the second phase of visa dialogue this summer.
"As you know there are precedents for a visa-free regime with the European Union and Moldova has already received it. To get visa free travel with the EU is our task and our whole efforts are directed toward this,” Beruchashvili said.
"I strongly believe that soon we will see very serious benefits in this process and the citizens of Georgia will be able to travel visa free travel to Schengen zone countries.”
The Schengen area comprises of 26 countries that have abolished border control between their common borders. It functions as a single country for international travel purposes and encourages free movement of goods, information, money and people.
Georgia already has completed the first phase of the VLAP and looked to the European Commissioner Adviser’s assessment to move forward.
In order to achieve a visa free regime with the EU, Georgia needed to meet a number of criteria listed in the VLAP.
Georgian travellers are set to enjoy an increase in freedom after authorities announced citizens would travel visa-free to Shengen countries no later than 2016.
Georgia is moving one step closer to Europe as it looks to enter the second phase of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP).
The Georgian Government is continuing to issue new identity documents to make it easier for Georgians to travel to EU countries.
Easing visa regulations for Georgians and European Union (EU) countries is on the agenda for a meeting between Georgian and EU officials in Brussels.
A top Georgian leader assumes but cannot guarantee Georgians will enjoy visa-free travel to countries in the Schengen area by 2016.
Travelling to European Union member countries could be possible for Georgian citizens from 2016, the authorities have announced.
Georgian residents could travel to Schengen countries visa free with ordinary passports by late 2015 or early 2016, announced Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze after a briefing with British Foreign Secretary William Hague today.
Georgia is one step closer to gaining visa-free travel to the European Union (EU) after implementing 100 high level changes in the past year.
The Georgia-European Union (EU) Association Council session will be held in Brussels in November for the first time after the country signed an important deal with the EU this Summer.