Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has submitted a comprehensive package of legislative amendments to Parliament aimed at tightening migration controls and reforming the country’s asylum system.
The proposed changes, introduced under the draft law “On International Protection”, are designed to bolster efforts to combat illegal migration and enhance regulatory mechanisms related to international protection, according to the Ministry.
Under the amendments, both the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses would introduce new provisions allowing for the expulsion of foreign nationals and bans on re-entry for a specified period. Penalties for violating rules on legal stay would also be increased, and the procedures for expelling undocumented migrants would be significantly streamlined.
The bill also seeks to curb abuse of Georgia’s asylum system. Foreign nationals who fail to apply for asylum within one month of entering the country will face accelerated review procedures. A new mechanism would allow authorities to assess asylum claims at the border, without granting the applicant entry, in cases deemed to pose a threat to national security.
Additional proposed reforms include shorter timelines for reviewing and appealing asylum applications, the introduction of a simplified electronic decision-notification process, and restrictions on granting residence permits to individuals under expulsion review.
While the Ministry has framed the changes as necessary for maintaining border integrity, human rights groups have raised concerns over increasing difficulties faced by foreign nationals entering Georgia in recent months. Journalists and human rights defenders from European countries have reported being denied entry at border checkpoints.
Similar complaints have come from anti-Kremlin Russians, as well as activists and media workers from Belarus and Azerbaijan, many of whom say they were turned away without clear justification.
Despite repeated calls for transparency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not release detailed data on entry refusals. The only publicly available figures relate to expulsions – in March alone, 97 foreign nationals were expelled from Georgia.
The draft law is expected to be debated in Parliament in the coming weeks.
