Int’l Organization for Migration: Number of Georgian asylum seekers in EU decreasing
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Representative of the International Organization for Migration Marc Hulst says that the number of Georgian asylum seekers in the EU member states is decreasing, which benefits the Georgian-EU visa waiver agreed upon last year.
Hulst says that between January and June of 2018:
- 490 Georgian citizens asked for asylum in Sweden.
- 2,485-in Germany.
- 471-in Belgium.
- 81 in Netherlands.
The figures are mostly lower compared to the same period of last year. Georgian citizens have nearly a zero chance of receiving asylum in EU member states,” Hulst told journalists today.
Of those Georgians who were seeking asylum in Germany, only one per cent managed to do this. We speak about two different types of status: one is a refugee status and no one from Georgia has received this status in Germany this year and the second is the status for a temporary stay. The second status is mostly for those who have certain health-related problems,” Hulst says.
Hulst says that those seeking asylum have to live in hard conditions, with no pocket money and education opportunities for their children.
Hulst says that in the situation when Georgia is recognized as a safe country by many of the EU member states it is not clever by Georgians to ask asylum in the EU as their requests will be dismissed.
The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in EU member states has significantly decreased, the Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament Tamar Khulordava said.
The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in Germany has decreased dramatically in May, compared to the previous data, the statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany has revealed.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Deutsche Welle that Germany intends to add Georgia and Armenia to the list of safe countries, which means that no one from those countries will receive asylum in Germany.According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany, 3,462 citizens of Georgia and 3,857 citizens of Armenia applied for asylum in Germany last year.
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.
The number of Georgians returning back to homeland from Russia has increased 10 times over the past 10 years, Georgia’s State Commission on Migration Issues reports.