Georgians visit Europe 258,663 times since visa-free agreement

Within a year of the Georgia-EU visa free agreement, 192,453 Georgian citizens have visited the Schengen Zone 258,663 times, the Georgian Interior Ministry reports.

Deputy Interior Minister Nino Javakhadze stated that in total 1,001 Georgians were refused entry into the EU passport-free zone.

• The Georgian PM made a special statement over the anniversary of the Georgia-EU visa free deal.

The ministry had no information about the exact number of the Georgians who violated the visa-free terms, which are 90 days in any 180-day period.

A citizen who arrived in one of the EU states with the use of the Georgia-EU visa-free deal, may then travel to Turkey, Mexico and elsewhere from the Schengen zone and stay there, even with the changed status,” Javakhadze said.

First visa free trip with Georgian government members. Photo by N.Alavidze/Agenda.ge. 

• The Agenda.ge economic editor was one of the first who made the first visa free travel with Georgian government members.

The deputy minister stated that the government of Georgia was taking steps to prevent the illegal stay of Georgians in the EU and to decrease the number of Georgian asylum seekers in Europe.

Javakhadze stated that those who asked for asylum in Europe named family reunion or health conditions as their motivation.

The regulation lifting visa requirements for Georgians entered into effect on March 28, 2017.

Georgian citizens holding biometric passports can travel to the EU’s Schengen Zone for a period of 90 days within any 180-day period for purposes other than working.