1 DEVELOPING GEORGIA’S MIGRATION POLICY: LESSONS FROM POLAND Tbilisi, December 2011 2 Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development/CIPDD European and Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Program The publication was prepared under the Improving Mechanisms of Migration Control and Coordination of Migration Policy in Georgia by Reference to the Polish Experi- ence project The project was co-financed by the Polish Development Cooperation Programme 2011 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland The views expressed in this publication are exclusively those of the authors and are not meant to represent the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Project coordinator: Justyna Frelak Proofreader: George Lisowski, Marcin Grabski Editor: Piotr Kamierkiewicz The publication is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Poland Certain rights are reserved to the authors and the Institute of Public Affairs. The publication was prepared under the Polish Development Cooperation Programme 2011 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Any use of the pub- lication is permitted on condition that the above mentioned information (on the licence used, the holders of rights and the Polish Development Cooperation Programme) is included. ISBN 978-99928-37-35-1 Published by Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development 72 Tsereteli Avenue, 0154 Tbilisi Georgia 3 Table of contents Preface by Ghia Nodia ..................................................................................5 Introduction by Piotr Kamierkiewicz .......................................................... 9 The Relevance of Polish Experience in Migration Policy Development for Eastern Partners by Piotr Kamierkiewicz .................. 11 The Development of Migration Policy in Georgia by Tamara Pataraia ..... 35 Recommendations: How to Improve Migration Management in Georgia by Tamara Pataraia and Piotr Kamierkiewicz .................. 74 Notes about the Authors ............................................................................... 79 4 5 Ghia Nodia Applying Polish experience to the development of migration policy in Georgia In the 21st century, the development of an appropriate migration policy is an increasingly important issue for every country. In the last twenty years, due to political turmoil and economic shortages, a large chunk of Georgias population has left for other countries, temporarily or for good. On the other hand, as Georgias situation improves, it is gradually becom- ing an attractive destination for migrants from countries to the east and south. In Georgias case, the imperative to develop a comprehensive migra- tion policy is strengthened by its closer relations with the European Union. Relations with the EU have intensified since Georgia joined the European Neighborhood Policy in 2004, and became a member of the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) in 2009. In this context, in summer 2010, negotiations on an Association Agreement between Georgia and EU were launched. Liberalization of the visa regime for Georgians who want to travel to countries of the EU is one of the most important benefits Georgia seeks from its closer ties with Europe. However, this requires harmonization of Georgias migration policies with European regulations and practices. Hence, when we talk about the development of migration policy in Georgia, this is usually in the context of relations with the European Union. In 2010, Georgia established a Governmental Commission on Migra- tion; in recent years, it has introduced a number of legislative changes and effective reforms in relevant government agencies for improving migration management and control. This illustrates that the Georgian government takes these issues seriously. In response, Schengen countries have already eased visa regulations for some categories of Georgian citizens. However, these are only first steps: Georgias ambition is to achieve much more. This also requires further progress in developing Georgias institutions and practices. 6 Ghia Nodia Georgias rapprochement with Europe is greatly helped by a group of countries that are supportive of Georgias ambitions, largely due to a sense of solidarity stemming from commonalities in their historical experience. Poland with its growing economic and political weight within the European Union is an especially important friend and ally. While greatly appreciating its political support, Georgia also hopes to benefit from studying Polands experience. Unlike Poland ten years ago, todays Georgia has no clear prospect of membership in the European Union though this is what it ultimately aspires to. At the same time, Poland is an appropriate role model for Georgia, being a formerly Communist country that has success- fully harmonized its state institutions and practices with the EU in the quite recent past. This has not been an easy process but the country has done its job well as it is now a successful member of the Union. Reforms necessary for drawing closer to the EU are somewhat con- troversial in Georgia as well. Having prioritized fast economic growth, Georgia has introduced rather liberal economic policies, and this includes fairly open attitudes to migration. Harmonization with European practices, however, requires greater regulation, which tends to be contrary to the instincts of some Georgian policymakers. Still, the imperative of Europe- anization is much stronger than those reservations hence the consider- able progress that has been achieved in relations between Georgia and Europe so far. Not long ago, similar political dilemmas existed in the case of Poland. Some Poles were concerned that stricter controls on the eastern border of the country would harm the economy in neighboring areas. These concerns were fully rational, but Poland managed to overcome the difficulties. Apart from political problems, there are also lots of technicalities that may seem boring, but if they are not taken care of, may be an obstacle to the success of reforms. Strengthening administrative capacity is an impor- tant component of Europeanization as well. Direct relations with Polish agencies that have gone through drastic reforms relatively recently but have now become a successful part of the European system are extremely useful for their Georgian counterparts. This is what the joint project between the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD), and its Polish partner the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has been about. These two indepen- dent think tanks took the initiative to facilitate cooperation between state agencies of the two countries aimed at speeding up progress in harmo- nization of Georgian migration policies and practices with those of Eu- ropean countries. While the project had a practical component of en- Preface 7 couraging actual learning experience through direct contacts between Georgian and Polish civil servants, this publication also includes policy studies, written from Georgian and Polish perspectives. These studies sum up the current state of affairs in the development of Georgias migration policies and practices, discuss Polish experience in this area and its relevance for Georgia, and make specific policy recommenda- tions addressed to appropriate actors. In taking this initiative, CIPDD and IPA wanted to serve as partners of government agencies, but also to directly serve their societies to make people better informed on the important issues of Georgian reforms in a vitally important area, and on Georgian-Polish cooperation in this area. We hope that through our efforts we have made a valuable if modest contri- bution but this is for others to judge. In any case, we want to extend our appreciation to the Polish Foreign Ministry, whose generous support made this project possible. Ghia Nodia Chairman Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development/CIPDD December 2011 8 9 Piotr Kamierkiewicz Introduction This publication is a collection of findings and recommendations, drawn up under the Improving mechanisms of migration control and coordination of migration policy in Georgia by reference to the Polish experience project, financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the 2011 PolishAid program. The project targeted officials of key Georgian institutions working to implement the countrys international commitments (in particular, the readmission and visa facilitation agreement) and to de- velop national policy in the field of migration. Between March and De- cember 2011, the project helped identify areas where legal and institu- tional reforms are needed as well as those aspects of migration control that could benefit from Polish experience. The assessment of the Georgian institutions needs was carried out through a combination of an analysis done by a team comprising a Geor- gian and Polish expert and a series of consultations with officials and representatives of non-governmental and international organizations. Atten- tion was paid at all stages of the project to ensuring that the Georgian officials had an opportunity to raise questions of key relevance to the execution of national reforms. Preliminary answers were provided through presentations made by institutions at project seminars, comments to expert assessments and also active participation in a study visit to Poland in September 2011. The study visit helped provide the officials with relevant experience of Polish institutions in developing capacity for effective mi-