The French president has signed an agreement ratified by the country’s legislative body which will allow a certain category of Georgian citizens to receive temporary residency permits and work legally in the country.
The agreement covers both the employment of Georgians in France and French citizens in Georgia.
Young Georgian specialists, as well as graduates of French educational institutions and their branches will be able to stay in the country for working experience and then return to Georgia.
France will allocate 150 permits for young specialists annually, and an additional 500 permits for others.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that the agreement regulates terms for residency permits and quotas for jobs.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Vakhtang Makharoblishvili explained that the agreement does not mean that a Georgian citizen will travel to France and will be legally employed there.
The agreement will concern only qualified specialists and certain professions which will be identified,” he said.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said that the Georgian government is holding active talks with other foreign states to achieve similar agreements.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that with the help of the International Organization for Migration a pilot project is ongoing in Poland with 30 Georgian citizens legally employed.
We are negotiating with the Polish Government to sign an agreement regarding the legal employment of Georgian citizens,” Zalkaliani said.
He stated that talks are in progress with Germany regarding the same issue.
In August 2018, during her visit to Georgia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Germany will create working quotas for Georgia,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
The ministry says that Georgia is also holding talks with Israel, Portugal, Greece and Bulgaria regarding the labour agreement.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that such agreements decrease the level of unemployment, illegal migration and promotes the development of qualified staff.