242 Ukrainians request asylum in Georgia in last three months

Georgian authorities received asylum claims from 441 foreign nationals over the past three months, of which 242 were Ukrainian citizens who have fled the country due to ongoing Russian aggression, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed on Tuesday. 

The Ministry said authorities had granted asylum to 201 foreign citizens, including 185 Ukrainians, during the period of April-June, noting the number of requests had increased by 77 compared to the January-March period.

Beside the 242 Ukrainian nationals, the list of asylum-seekers included 35 Russian citizens, 48 Iranians, 44 Türkiye citizens and 11 with Egyptian passports.

In the past three months, 238 citizens of different countries were denied refugee or humanitarian status, including 13 Russian citizens, 97 Iranian nationals, 38 individuals with Jordanian passports, 20 citizens of Iraq and 19 of Türkiye. 

The list of origin countries for individuals granted a humanitarian status in Georgia in the indicated timespan was led by Ukraine with 185 citizens, followed by Afghanistan with seven persons, Yemen with three individuals and Syria with three people. No Russian citizens were granted the status. 

In comments on the refugee status, the Ministry said it had been granted to a total of eight foreign nationals, including four from Afghanistan, one from Egypt, one from Syria and two with unidentified nationality.

A total of 53 citizens of foreign countries were expelled from Georgia over the past three months, including nine from Azerbaijan and Iran each, five from Türkiye and two from Russia.  

• The granting of asylum in Georgia is based on the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees. The refugee status is granted to an alien or stateless person who is outside the country of their origin due to well-founded fears of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of the country of origin.
• The humanitarian status is granted to an alien or stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee, with reasons to believe that upon return to the country of origin they will face a risk of suffering serious harm.