How many Georgians changed surnames in 2017?
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In total 8,339 Georgian citizens changed surnames in 2017, the Georgian Justice Ministry reports.
The statistics come after the Georgian government had announced plans to make the changing of surnames more complicated to prevent the illegal flow of Georgian citizens to the European Union countries with the help of the EU-Georgia visa free deal.
Read about the planned amendments here.- A direct relative’s surname was taken by 1,977 males and 5,467 females in 2017.
- The same year, a spouse’s surname was taken by 418 males and 477 females.
In 2016 7,175 people changed surnames in Georgia.
- A direct relative’s surname was taken by 1,678 males and 5,497 females.
- The same year a spouse’s surname was taken by 398 males and 464 females.
The Justice Ministry reports that 58 individuals changed a name or a surname twice in 2016 and one individual had their name changed three times.
In 2017, 59 individuals changed their name or a surname twice and one individual four times.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has confirmed today that new regulations will be established concerning the changing of surnames to prevent Georgian citizens from violating the Georgia-EU visa free regulations.
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.
Georgia’s Ministry for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration has informed the local media that between March 28 and October 20, a total of 161,885 Georgian citizens have traveled visa-free to the EU’s Schengen Zone.
Georgia has revealed more details of the country’s new visa regulations and announced which countries do not need a visa to enter Georgia and stay here for 360 days.
The process for changing one’s surname has been made more difficult with the amendments prepared by the Ministry of Justice and passed by the Georgian parliament. The new regulations will help the Georgian government to easily identify citizens who violate visa free travel rules while the current law allows a person to change one’s surname 25 times or more on different grounds.
About 1.4 million Georgians have left the country between 2002 and 2017, a study conducted by the NGO Society and Banks with the support of the Ilia University Financial Education Centre reads.