Supporting the illegal stay of a Georgian citizen in a foreign country to become punishable by law
The bill now only needs to be signed by the president to come into play. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian parliament has approved a bill with its third and the final reading which provides for imprisonment as punishment for providing support to a Georgian citizen to stay illegally in a foreign country.
Supporting a Georgian citizen to receive asylum illegally in a foreign country and taking money for the “service” will also be a criminal offence.
Both of the offences will be punishable by two to four years in prison.
A repeated offence by a group of individuals will be punishable by six years in prison.
The bill was offered by the Georgian Dream ruling party MPs and it aims to suspend the illegal migration of Georgians to EU member states, creating threats to the EU-Georgia visa free deal.
The government of Georgia has announced changes in the law that will introduce tougher sanctions against Georgian citizens violating the Georgia-EU visa-free travel agreement.The announcement came after today’s special meeting at the government of Georgia headquarters.
Georgian Interior Minister has discussed steps taken by Georgia towards reducing asylum seekers from the country with his German colleague Horst Seehofer pointing out that there is a positive dynamic in terms of a decrease in their number.
The Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced today that the Justice Ministry has prepared amendments against illegal migration in Georgia.
The PM stated that the motivation for providing the changes is that some foreign nationals violate the law and benefit from Georgia’s loyal migration policy.
From now on, Georgian citizens no longer need a visa to travel to the Schengen Zone. The regulation lifting visa requirements for Georgians entered into effect today, Tuesday, March 28.