The document provides an overview of Georgia's visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the EU. It discusses the key provisions and pillars of the agreements related to visa facilitation, readmission, and liberalization. It also analyzes statistics on EU visas issued to Georgian citizens, refusals, migration trends, and remittances. The document assesses implementation challenges and prospects for further cooperation.

1. www.ei-lat.ge
Visa Facilitation and Readmission:
Georgia’s Visa Liberalizations
Prospects with the EU
Final Report
April 27, 2012
The project is supported by the Open
Society Georgia Foundation
1

2. Report Contents
Chapter 1: The main pillars and provisions of the Agreement;
The EU’s “black” and “white” lists; Georgia’s ‘open
door’ policy; Visa statistics; Visa refusals; the profiles
Visa Facilitation
of the EU consulates; level of awareness;
implementation
Chapter 2: The main pillars and provisions of the Agreement;
Migration and labor migrants; Remittances; level of
awareness and risk perceptions; Deportations;
Readmission
Implementation
Chapter 3: The significance of the Agreements; Prospects for
Visa Liberalization; Balkan experience with visa
liberalization and EU migration policies; Action Plans
Liberalization
of Ukraine and Moldova; Brief country profiles; Visa
dialogue experiences.
Annexes (9): Information on EU embassies and consulates; EU
citizens visits to Georgia in 2004-2011; EU detailed
visa statistics for 2007-2010; Samples of visa
application form and refusal motivation;
Remittances in 2006-2011; statistics of deportations
in 2009-2011; focus group questionnaires. 2

3. Presentation Outline
Visa Facilitation and The Agreements; Major pillars; Other
Readmission relevant information.
General context The EU “black” and “white” lists; Visa
Statistics; Visa refusals; Migration and labor
migrants; remittances;
Implementation Significance of the Agreements; Progress
assessment; challenges; results;
perspectives.
3

4. The Visa Facilitation Agreement
Participating EU member states:
17 June, 2010 / 1 March, 2011
Austria France
Belgium Slovakia
Bulgaria Slovenia
Germany Hungary
Spain Finland
Estonia Sweden
Italy Czech Republic
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania does not apply to:
Luxembourg
Malta United Kingdom
Netherlands Ireland
Poland Denmark
Portugal
Romania
Greece
4

5. Visa Facilitation
The main pillars of the Agreement
1. Documentary evidence proving the purpose of
the journey - 13 categories
2. Multiple-entry visas
• up to five years
• up to one year
• minimum of two years and a maximum of five years
3. Diplomatic passports - visa free
4. Visa fees
• reduced visa fee at 35€ instead of 60 €
• total exemption from the visa fee for 12 categories
5

6. Visa Facilitation
The main pillars of the Agreement
5. Applications considered within 10 days (down from 30)
6. The EU Visa Code (Community Code on Visas, 2010)
• Consular services: Language and quality
• The list of minimum requirements
• Motivation of refusal of visa
• The right of appeal
7. Joint Committee
• monitoring the implementation of the Agreement;
• suggesting amendments or additions to the Agreement;
• settling disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of
the provisions in the Agreement.
6

7. The Readmission Agreement
Participating EU member states:
22 November, 2010 / 1 March, 2011
Austria France
Belgium Slovakia
Bulgaria Slovenia
Germany Hungary
Spain Finland
Estonia Sweden
Italy Czech Republic
Cyprus United Kingdom
Latvia
Lithuania does not apply to:
Luxembourg
Malta Ireland
Netherlands Denmark
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Greece
7

8. Readmission
The main pillars of the Agreement
1. Readmission of own nationals
• persons who do not, or no longer fulfill the conditions for entry into,
presence in, or residence on the territory of the member state
2. Readmission of third-country nationals and
stateless persons
• illegally and directly entered the territory of a Member State after
having stayed on, or transited through the territory of Georgia;
• hold a valid visa or residence permit issued by Georgia.
8

9. Readmission
The main pillars of the agreement
3. Means of evidence regarding nationality
• passports of any kind
• identity cards
• other official documents that mention or clearly indicate citizenship.
4. Prima facie evidence regarding nationality
• documents that expired 6 months ago
• driving licenses, birth certificates or photocopies thereof
• statements by witnesses
• Language tests, Etc.
9

10. Readmission
The main aspects of the agreement
5. Readmission procedures and time limits
• The application must be submitted within maximum 6 months
• A readmission application must be replied within 12 calendar days (2
working days under the accelerated procedure)
• Transportation within 90 days
6. Transport and transit costs
7. Joint readmission committee
• monitor the implementation of the Agreement;
• uniform application of the Agreement;
• recommend amendments to the Agreement
10

11. The EU “Black” and “White” Lists
The European Council #539/2001 Regulation - 2001
• 41 countries and territories – the EU “White list”
• Visa Facilitation and Readmission: 9 countries
Albania; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Macedonia; Moldova,
Montenegro; Russia; Serbia; Georgia; Ukraine
• Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia: “White List,” 2009
• Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina: “White List,” 2010
• Moldova and Ukraine: Facilitation and Readmission - 2008
Dialogue on visa liberalization - 2010
11

12. Georgia’s ‘Open Door’ Policy
Law of Georgia on legal Status of Foreigners
1 June, 2006 - 90 days ; 14 January, 2009 - 360 days
Visa free regime for more than 80 countries;
The 547 390 EU citizens entered Georgia in 2004-2011
The highest rate The lowest rate
Germany - 113030 Cyprus - 1784
United Kingdom - 78119 Malta - 624
Greece - 97377 Luxembourg - 560
Bulgaria - 58881
France - 51791
After the unilateral liberalization in 2006:
2005 - 48 508 Persons 2011 – 136 975 Persons
12

13. Georgia’s ‘Open Door’ Policy
Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions 2010 and 2011 Index
Position Country Index* Position Country Index*
1-98 2010 1-198 2011
1 United Kingdom 166 1 Denmark, Sweden, 173
Finland
5 .
Germany, France, 161 5 United Kingdom 171
Italy, Netherlands
49 Russia 83 77 Russia 89
65 Ukraine 64 97 Ukraine 69
67 Ghana 62 118 Ghana 62
71 Moldova, Saudi Arabia 57 122 Moldova, Saudi Arabia 58
72 Georgia, Belarus 56 123 Georgia 58
73 Benin 54 127 Belarus 54
92-98 Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, 34-26 194-198 Iraq, Pakistan, 32-24
Somalia, Afghanistan, Somalia,
Sudan Sudan
13

14. The EU visas for Georgian citizens
in 2007-2011
Year Total Visa A, B, C Visa Visa rejected Percent
issued
2007 61701 55042 6659 10,8%
2008 66734 56495 10239 15,3%
2009 61818 51198 10620 17,2%
2010 59162 50224 8938 15,1%
2011 65084 55152 9932 15.3%
A Category - an airport transit visa
B Category - a transit visa, for passing through the Schengen area
C Category - business and tourist visa for short-term stays
* These Categories are covered by the Visa Facilitation Agreement
** Airport transit visa equals to short-term visa
14

15. Visa refusals by consulates
Visa Refusals Visa Refusals
Consulate 2010 2011
1 Estonia* 31,1% 20,9%
2 Lithuania 29,1% 19,9%
3 Greece 28,8% 21,3%
4 Netherlands* 21,4% 26,6%
5 Czech Republic 18,9% 19,9%
6 Latvia* 18,5% 10,9%
7 Poland* 11,7% 10,2%
8 Germany* 10,9% 12,0%
9 France 8,2% 7,9%
10 Bulgaria** 4,3% ---
11 Italy* 4,00% 5,0%
12 Romania** 0 % ---
* These Consulates also render consular services of other EU countries.
** Relevant data for Bulgaria and Romania are not included in the 2011 data.
15

16. Refusal rates in the region
(EaP and Russia)
Country Visa refusal Visa refusal
2009 2010
Georgia 17.2% 15.1%
Armenia 10,8% 10,8%
Moldova 5,3% 6,9%
Ukraine 4,7% 3,4%
Azerbaijan 3,6% 5,0%
Belarus 1,2% 0,96%
Russia 1,6% 1,2%
16

17. Migration - Georgia
• An estimated 25% (1 058,3 thousand persons) are in emigration (WB, 2011)
• nearly 80 % of them are illegal labor migrants (IOM, 2008)
• Out of whom 72 % send remittances back home (IPPR, 2010)
• Every fourth household has a migrant abroad (BSLMR, 2010)
• Georgia per asylum seekers: 2009: 6th position
2010: 10th position (34% decrease)
(e.g. Russia is on 2nd position)
• With the index of net migration* (per 1000 persons) Georgia in one of the leaders in the
region (EE, CA, "New Europe") - (IOM, 2010) and is in the group of “sending” countries
average Region (0 / – 1.5) Georgia – 12 (2005-2010)
–20 (1990-1995)
* Net migration is the difference between the total number of immigrants and the annual number
of emigrants. (WB, 2010)
17

18. Labor Migration - Georgia
Major routes (top 10 countries / number of migrants):
644,390
75,792
13,497
18,164
41,817
26,032
10,702
72,410
25,310
7,295
Armenia Cyprus Germany Greece Israel Russia Spain Turkey Ukraine USA
Number of Emigrants
Emigrants percent
WB (2011)
EU 95,992 9%
CIS 802,291 76%
Other 160,755 15%
18

19. Remittances
Total $ 5,471,099 thousand in 2006-2011 (National Bank) - max. 70%
11.2
9.2 9.2
8.5 8.5
8.1 7.8 8.1 7.8 8.1
Remittances and 7.1 7.3
Agriculture / GDP
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Share of agriculture in GDP (percent) Percent of Remittances of GDP
Remittances and FDIs
2,014,800
1,564,000
1,268,127
1,190,400
1,002,122
980,600
939,669
866,156
841,776
814,500
553,249
658,400
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011*
19
Remittances (Thousand USD) FDI's (Thousand USD)

20. Remittances
Remittances average annual (IPPR) 1325 $ EU top three more than
80% of total (2011):
From Western Europe 2000 $
Average annual income of households 3035 $ Greece 41%
2007 Italy 30,9%
Average annual income of households 4390 $ Spain 8,8%
2010
66.6
62.9
63.3
53.5
52.8
51.7
27.8
20.1
22
15.3
14.9
11.1
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Share of remittances from the EU in total remittances (percent)
Share of remittances from Russia in total remittances (percent)
20

21. Migrants from Georgia
Profile:
Age: 60% from 20 to 39 years old
Sex: nearly equal male and female (though 70% male in CIS)
Education: majority with high education – “brain drain”
Type of employment: mostly low income, low qualification jobs;
Around 85% had no prearranged jobs prior to emigration (IPPR/GDN, 2010)
Potential Migrants: (IOM 2006-2009 Surveys)
Destinations: 20 per cent – the US; 20 per cent - any country, other: EU
Gender : 54.36 per cent - Female - 45.64 percent - Male
Age: up to 25 - 22.60 per cent; 25 -30 - 18.31 per cent, 45-50 - 13.66 per cent
Education: higher- 49.21 per cent, professional-31.40 per cent,
Profession: Teachers, lecturers - 18.74 %, medical personnel - 11.23 %,
engineers/architects - 8.30%, economists and social scientists 8 %, students – 8 %
Jobs (in emigration): nurse -27.68 %, any job - 23.61 %, Service -10.37 %
Preparation and adaptation: Language knowledge – 40 %- only basic;
84.5 %- without any experience of study and work abroad 21

22. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
Methodology:
- Review of web-pages
- Telephone Services
- Field research / Monitoring consulates at spot
- Two small-scale surveys
- Three focus groups
- Facebook survey
22

23. Consulates
EU Consulates
Accredited EU Member States’ Consulates in Georgia
Directly represented Consulates Indirectly Represented Consulates
1 Bulgaria
2 Germany Spain Portugal Finland
3 Estonia Denmark
4 Italy Malta
5 Latvia Sweden Hungary
6 Lithuania
7 Netherlands Belgium Luxemburg
8 Poland Slovenia
9 Romania
10 Greece
11 France
12 Czech Republic
23

24. EU Consulates
EU Member States' Consulates represented by Non-EU
Countries
Switzerland Austria
EU Member States‘ Consulates abroad Issuing Visas to Georgian
Citizens
EU Member States Accredited Consulates
1 Ireland Bulgaria, Sofia
2 Slovakia Turkey, Ankara Ukraine, Kiev
3 Cyprus Greece, Athens Ukraine, Kiev
24

25. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
Web pages (11 Consulates) 6 – only in foreign language
Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia
Visa Application Forms 4 - only in foreign language
Most of them are to be filled in in English
Information on the agreement/ 3 – Full information on web-pages
visa documents 2 – Full information on the notice boards
3 – No information on web-pages
2 - No information on the notice boards
7 - Provide no information by phone
Information on the right to appeal 2 - No information on web-pages
Queues (Seasonal) Challenge in all 14 consulates
5 consulates - live queues
8 consulates - from 3 to 8 weeks (first
observation; improved during the second
observation)
Infrastructure None of the consulates ensure fully apt
infrastructure (at places where the visa
applicants happen to wait longest)
25

26. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
Challenges - EU Visa Code Regulations:
-Access to Information (Code, Article 27; Article 47; Joint Declaration of the
Agreement)
- List of minimum requirements (Code, Article 14)
-Service infrastructure and quality (Code, Article 38; Article 39)
-Service on official language of host country (Code, Article 11)
-Waiting period for visa appointments (Code, Article 9)
- Visa refusal and right to appeal (Code, Article 34; Article 47)
- Visa Statistics (VIS )
26

27. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
Challenges – the provisions of the Agreement:
– Categories:
the procedures have been more legalized rather than additionally facilitated for the listed
categories; Does not include the most requested tourism visas.
– Documentary evidence proving the purpose of journey :
Single documentary evidence - yet same list of additional supporting documents beyond the
list of minimum requirements, which are not harmonized among the member states
(possibility provision by Code, Article 14). Full and precise information not always available.
– 10 days for consideration of visa applications:
(Code, Article 21 from 30 to 15 days)
Mostly similar to earlier practice;
Long waiting queues for submitting visa applications;
– Visa fees 35 Euro or No fees: (Code, Article 15, down from 60 to 35 )
Cases of non-application; high transportation costs.
27

28. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
– Duration:
Cases of non-application; 22.5% of total C type visas are multiple entry in 2011
– Diplomatic Passports visa free:
Some cases reporting difficulties at EU Border Points
– High Refusal Rates:
• Problem identification
• Joint efforts to cope the challenges
• Better communicated information on visa refusal motivation and right to appeal
E.g. the Balkans: the “Road Maps” identified 3% ‘secure’/acceptable refusal rate
Moldova: the refusal rates decreased from 12-14% to 6.6% after 11 months of enacting
Visa Facilitation Agreement
– Joint Committee
• To exchange visa statistics and other relevant information on regular basis
• To more efficient instrumentalize in terms of problem solving 28

29. Implementation: Visa Facilitation
Georgian side: challenges and need for additional reforms
– Document Security
– Integrating biometric identifiers
– Increasing institutional capacities
– Improving legislative basis
– Ensure the security of new electronic basis
– Migration Strategy and Action Plan
Biometric Documents issued by March 1, 2012:
National Passports - 358 315 (since April, 2010)
IDs - 176 884 (Since August, 2011)
The value merits of Visa Facilitation and Liberalization and significance
for Georgia’s European future, public attitudes, aspirations
29

30. Implementation: Readmission
Readmission Requests by March 1, 2012
Total 758 Germany 230
Approved 687 Austria 160
Netherlands 81
In Review 5
Greece 80
Rejected 66 (8.7%)
Sweden 50
Poland 42
0 Request from Georgia to EU
Belgium 39
Readmission Agreements: Lithuania 24
Germany (2008) 21
Italy (ratified 997)
Hungary
Latvia (2009) Italy 16
Bulgaria (2003)
Romania, Finland, 1-5
Non-EU: Spain, Czech Republic,
Switzerland (2005)
Bulgaria, Cyprus
Norway (2011)
30

31. Deportations
From the EU:
2009 - 780 persons
Years 2009-2011
2010 - 1271
2011 - 768 (vs. Readmission 758) Poland 648
Greece 542
Three states with highest deportation of Germany 452
Georgian citizens (MIA, Georgia):
Austria 191
e.g. in 2007 85% of total deportations
Spain 172
Turkey (5319) France 154
Russia (2047)
Ukraine (823) Czech Republic 127
31

32. Results: Readmission
Process :
• Bilateral implementation protocols
• Special unit for Readmission set up at Patrol Police
• Working Agreement with FRONTEX (2008)
• Border management, border modernization and consulates’ equipment
• Biometric documents and database
Factors:
• Possible impact on labor migration routes
• "Old" and "new" migrants (biometric identifiers introduced)
• The EU approach to illegal labor migration
• No direct border with the EU
32

33. Results: Readmission
Challenges:
• Awareness (perception of threats and risks)
• Migration Strategy and Action Plan
• Readmission agreements with the third countries
• Cooperation within the framework of Partnership for Mobility
• Visa dialogue and Action Plan
• Broader aspects of social and economic policy
33

34. Liberalization Perspectives
Pending two-phased Action Plan (exp. In 2012)
Moldova, Ukraine (2010)
- Document security, including biometrics;
• Biometric passports in full compliance with ICAO standards;
- Irregular immigration, including readmission
• Border Management;
• Migration Management;
• Asylum Policy.
- Public order and security;
• Organized crime, Terrorism and Corruption;
• Judicial co-operation in criminal matters;
• Law enforcement co-operation;
• Data Protection.
- External relations and fundamental rights;
• Freedom of movement;
• Identity documents;
• Citizens’ rights including protection of minorities.
34

35. Liberalization Perspectives
Action Plan (EaP) vs. Road Map (Balkans)
Differences: - Terming
- political connotation
- procedurial
- structural
Relevant experiences for visa liberalization, (Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova):
-EU’s migration and asylum policy dynamics
-decrease in number of asylum seekers
-decease in visa refusals and entry refusals
-controlling irregular migration (incl. dubious tour-companies.etc)
-Wide information campaign
-Political dedication and competence from the government
-informed and active engagement from civil society and media
35

36. Thank you!
36