Israel moves to slow asylum applications:
Georgia added to list of safe countries of origin

Israel has added Georgia to its list of safe countries of origin.

This move will have implications for individuals from Georgia seeking asylum or refugee status in Israel.

The addition of Georgia to the Israeli list of safe countries of origin is also an acknowledgement of Georgia’s provision of fair defence and rights to all citizens, regardless of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political belief.

Georgian Deputy Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili went to Twitter to welcome the news.

Good news - @TheStateofIsrael has included Georgia in the list of safe countries. According to #Israel no one in #Georgia is under threat!

— Tamar Chugoshvili (@ChugoshviliMP) February 28, 2017

Applications of asylum seekers from Georgia wishing to immigrate to Israel will now be reviewed differently. Claims will now be dismissed unless there are extreme, extenuating circumstances.

Moreover, applications for asylum will be reviewed within a one-month period; during this period, those seeking refugee status will not be allowed to work in Israel.

Israel is the fifth country to place Georgia on a list of safe countries of origin. The other four are Belgium, France, Bulgaria and Austria.

More than 3,050 Georgian citizens requested asylum in Israel in 2016. In comparison, only 5 Georgian citizens requested asylum in Israel.

Israeli media reported in 2016 that many Georgians name ‘political repression’ in their home country as the reason for their request to be granted asylum.

In response to an influx of applications in the same year, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced that it was considering the implementation of a mechanism which would allow for the summary rejection of applications from Georgia and Ukraine in order to "free resources for considering more serious cases”.