GUIDEBOOK on LEGAL EMIGRATION GUIDEBOOK on LEGAL EMIGRATION 2017 2Nd Edition
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GUIDEBOOK ON LEGAL EMIGRATION GUIDEBOOK ON LEGAL EMIGRATION 2017 2nd Edition 1 Author: Secretariat of the State Commission on Migration Issues Address: 67a, A. Tsereteli ave., Tbilisi 0154 Georgia Tel: +995 322 401 010 Email: [email protected] Website: www.migration.commission.ge STATE COMMISSION ON MIGRATION ISSUES Ministry of Internally Displaced Ministry of Justice Ministry of Internal Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees State Security Service Ministry of Labour, Health and Office of the State Minister for Ministry of Economy and Social Affairs European and Euro-Atlantic Sustainable Development Integration Ministry of Finance Ministry of Education and Science National Statistics Office Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure The Guidebook has been developed by the Secretariat of the State Commission on Migration Issues. Translated and published within the framework of the EU-funded project “Enhancing Georgia’s Migration Management” (ENIGMMA) TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Guidebook ....................................................................................................................... 4 Passport of citizen of Georgia ......................................................................................................... 5 Issuing a passport to Georgian citizen abroad ................................................................................ 7 Consular registration of Georgian citizens....................................................................................... 9 Travel document for return to Georgia .......................................................................................... 10 Permit to emigrate from Georgia ................................................................................................... 12 Withdrawal from Georgian citizenship .......................................................................................... 13 Termination of Georgian citizenship ....................................................................................... 13 Loss of Georgian citizenship ................................................................................................... 14 Visa-free countries for Georgian citizens ...................................................................................... 16 Legal migration to EU .................................................................................................................... 17 Visa-free travel to EU .............................................................................................................. 17 Terms of visa free travel ......................................................................................................... 18 Documents required for visa free travel ................................................................................. 20 Applying for asylum in EU without good reason .................................................................. 21 Long-term visa and resident permit ........................................................................................ 22 Irregular migration to EU ........................................................................................................ 23 Threats of irregular migration ........................................................................................................ 25 Websites of the migration services in countries of destination ...................................................... 29 Migration management in Georgia – State Commission on Migration Issues ............................... 30 Georgian border checkpoints ........................................................................................................ 35 Territorial offices of administrative bodies providing public services in the field of migration ........ 38 Georgia’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad .......................................................... 39 Diplomatic missions of foreign countries accredited to Georgia ................................................... 58 Migrant’s glossary......................................................................................................................... 64 3 ABOUT THE GUIDEBOOK Migration has a significant impact on the social and economic development of the country, its security and stability. Today Georgia is a country of origin, destination and transit for migrants. Therefore, one of the priorities of Georgian state is to confine migratory processes to a legal framework and develop relevant policies and institutions. Raising public awareness on the opportunities of legal migration and on the risks and threats associated with illegal migration is the key to expanding and supporting legal migration opportunities created by the growing integration with the European Union. Over the past few years, much has been done with support of the European Union to raise migrants’ awareness. Activities implemented in the framework of the Migration Strategy for 2013-2015 are noteworthy to this end, as well as the new Migration Strategy for 2016-2020 that includes the chapter on public awareness comprising a wide range of the most versatile and complex objectives. These tasks are being implemented by the state agencies – members of the State Commission on Migration Issues, and the international and non-governmental organizations. In 2015, the SCMI Secretariat developed a Guidebook on Legal Emigration aimed at providing actual and potential migrants with useful practical information. Since its publishing on the websites of the involved state, international and local non-governmental organizations, the Guidebook has soon become one of the principal information resources for migrants and other persons interested in the field. This publication is a second (revised) edition of the Guidebook providing practical information for migrants on required documents, terms of visa-free travel to EU as well as on the legal ways for temporary or permanent departure from Georgia and return to the country. We believe that the guidebook will be a useful tool for emigrants and other interested persons to learn about the norms regulating legal emigration and the services available. Finally, we hope that informing emigrants on their rights and responsibilities will have a positive effect on the dynamics of legal migration in Georgia. 4 PASSPORT OF CITIZEN OF GEORGIA To travel abroad legally, a citizen of Georgia should have a valid passport of the citizen of Georgia. Passport of citizen of Georgia is a document certifying the identity and citizenship of a Georgian citizen both inside and outside Georgia. Passport is a property of Georgia and is issued to citizens of Georgia of any age, thus enabling them to leave Georgia, travel abroad, and enter Georgia. When leaving Georgia and crossing the border, citizens of Georgia have to go through the passport control, at which point the date when the border was crossed is stamped into the passport or equivalent document. The owner of the passport Biometric passport, which is a highest NOTE: is responsible for keeping it technology and counterfeit-protected travel safe and using for the purpose it is intended. document, has been issued in Georgia since 2010. The use of biometric passport aims at ensuring complete identification of a person and excluding the facts of forgery of official document. Compared to an ordinary passport, a biometric passport additionally has an electronic microchip containing personal data, an electronic photo and fingerprints of a holder. From autumn 2016, Georgia has been issuing the III generation biometric passport equipped with even stronger security features then II generation passports issued since 2010. Shifting to biometrics has significantly enhanced the level of reliability of the documents issued in Georgia. In order to obtain a biometric passport of a citizen of Georgia one shall apply to any territorial office of the Public Service Development Agency,1 branch of the Public Service Hall,2 or a Community Centre.3 1 Public Service Development Agency is a Legal Entity of Public Law operating under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. See the contact information on PSDA territorial offices on page 38. 2 Public Service Hall is a Legal Entity of Public Law operating under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. See the contact information on branch offices of PSH on page 38. 3 See the contact information on Community Centres on page 38. 5 Issuing a passport For obtaining a passport, Georgian citizens are required to submit different documents depending on the age: • ID card Person of full legal age • A marriage certificate, if a person between (including person between 16 and 16 and 18 years is in registered marriage 18 years in registered marriage) • One colour biometric photo • Birth certificate Person between 16 and 18 years • ID card (except for the person in • Consent of one of the parents on issuing registered marriage) passport • One colour biometric photo • Birth certificate Minor under age 16 • ID card (from the age of 14); (parent or other legal • Consent of both parents on issuing of representative) passport • ID cards of both parents A passport of a citizen of Georgia is issued for 10 years to an adult person and for 3 years to a minor. Authorized entities of Georgia may accept a consent or NOTE: other document having a representative authority (power of attorney) certified by a notary or other competent entity