Georgia proposes tougher migration rules, stricter oversight of foreign students

Georgia's Interior Ministry has drafted legislative amendments aimed at strengthening migration management and national security, including stricter requirements for foreign students, tighter residency permit rules and new measures to combat illegal migration.

Under the proposed changes, foreign students seeking admission to higher education or vocational institutions would be required to demonstrate language proficiency through an international certificate or by passing a language examination organised by the National Assessment and Examinations Centre (NAEC). The government would also introduce quotas limiting the number of foreign students educational institutions can enrol.

Educational institutions would be required to record information on foreign students – including enrolment, suspension or termination of student status, restoration of status, academic mobility and graduation – in a unified information system accessible to relevant state agencies. Institutions that fail to comply could face fines, restrictions on admitting foreign students or the revocation of their authorisation.

The draft legislation would also tighten rules governing study-based residence permits, limiting eligibility to adult students enrolled in authorised higher education or vocational institutions. Residence permits could be revoked if a student fails to meet academic requirements, breaches employment conditions or is not physically present in Georgia for the period required by law.

The package also introduces a new residence permit category for foreign spouses of Georgian citizens. Authorities would verify the authenticity of marriages before issuing such permits, with a special commission established for that purpose.

In addition, fictitious marriages entered into for the purpose of obtaining Georgian citizenship, a residence permit or another legal basis for remaining in the country would become a criminal offence. Penalties could include deportation, a ban on re-entering Georgia for between two and 10 years, a fine, house arrest for up to two years or imprisonment for up to two years.

The proposed amendments would also allow courts, under conditions set by law, to replace the remaining sentence of a foreign national convicted in Georgia with deportation and a ban on re-entry.

The legislation would grant the Interior Ministry's Migration Department authority to conduct operational search measures aimed at preventing and tackling illegal migration. It would also streamline court procedures by shortening appeal deadlines, introducing accelerated case review timelines and, in some cases, allowing proceedings to be conducted without oral hearings.

The Interior Ministry said the legislative package, prepared in coordination with the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, is designed to address modern migration challenges and create a more effective, transparent and secure system for regulating the stay of foreign nationals in Georgia.