Rights to own agricultural Georgian land return to foreigners

Rights to own agricultural land in Georgia will return to foreigners under certain conditions, announced Georgian officials.

Georgia's Ministries of Justice and Economy have already initiated changes to the legislation, which will later given to Georgia’s Parliament to discuss.

The legislative project said the right to ownership of agricultural lands in Georgia were open to the state, local government, a public entity, Georgian citizen, farmstead, a legal entity who was registered in Georgia in accordance with Georgian legislation and international financial institutions.

Soon, foreigners will be able to benefit from the same rights if the agricultural land was inherited, if the foreigner was a member of a farmstead created by a Georgian citizens or if the foreigner was married to a Georgian citizen. In the instance of divorce or leaving the farmstead, the foreigner will have the right to keep the property rights if he/she meets the conditions set by the law for agricultural land ownership to foreigners.

If a foreigner no longer meets conditions after obtaining the property ownership right, the person must sell the land within a six month time frame. If this does not happen, the Ministry of Economy will take over the land in favour of the state.

About two years ago changes were made to the same law, according which the Government imposed a moratorium where only commercial banks had the right to own agricultural land. Last year Georgia’s Constitutional Court declared the moratorium as unconstitutional and repealed the corresponding article in the law.