Asylum - Granting of asylum is based on the UN 1951 Convention relating to the Status of refugees. according to this Convention, the term refugee applies to the person who “owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” aiming at minimizing the cases of misusing the system of asylum the EU countries try to consider the applications in more limited timeframes in order to cut down on time for making the decision.

International Protection in Georgia - The issues related to obtaining asylum in Georgia are regulated by the Law of Georgia on International Protection. The Law provides for the following forms of international protection:

• Refugee status;

• Humanitarian status;

• Status of a person under temporary protection.

The decision to grant any of the above-mentioned statuses is made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

Refugee status - shall be granted to an alien or stateless person, who is outside the country of origin due to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of the country of origin.

Humanitarian status - shall be granted to an alien or stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom there are reasons to believe that upon return to the country of origin he/she will face a risk of suffering serious harm. Georgian legislation defines serious harm as:

a) the death penalty or threat to execution;

b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the country of origin;

c) serious individual threat to life by reason of indiscriminate violence, international or internal armed conflict, or mass violation of human rights.

Status of a person under temporary protection - The Ministry registers persons who arrive to Georgia in the event of a mass influx and makes a decision to grant them a status of persons under temporary protection if they are in need of international protection and are unable to return to the country of origin on account of indiscriminate violence, aggression, international or internal armed conflict or mass violation of human rights.

Request for international protection is a direct or indirect, verbal or written expression of a wish of a foreigner or stateless person to seek international protection in Georgia. The foreigner or stateless person may submit a request for international protection at the border while entering Georgia, or while being on the territory of Georgia.

In case of illegal entry or stay in Georgia, a person shall apply for international protection from any state agency without delay.

International protection applications shall be made in written form with the assistance of a competent interpreter when needed. The application submitted to the Ministry is registered immediately and an asylum-seeker certificate is issued.

An asylum-seeker shall submit all information (including information on the country of origin) and proof in support of his/her application for international protection and cooperate with the competent official. The asylum-seeker is also obliged to credibly explain the reasons for any lack of supporting information or proof.

Applications for seeking international protection in Georgia are processed according to the set procedures and regulations. Accordingly, in case the provisions defined by the 1951 UN Convention on Status of Refugees and those prescribed by the Law on International Protection of Georgia are not established, the applicant shall be refused the requested status. The applicant may also be refused the status in case there are reasonable grounds to consider that the person represents a threat to state security or territorial integrity of Georgia or its public order, or is convicted of a serious crime in Georgia.

A person registered as an asylum-seeker in Georgia shall be issued a temporary identification card for the period of one year. This document entitles its holder to enjoy different rights according to the law.

Note: Asylum-seeker or person under international protection shall not be returned or expelled to the border of the country where his/her life or freedom would be threatened on account of the race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group or political opinion. This principle is known as the “principle of non-refoulment”

Under the regular procedure, an international protection application shall be considered within 6 months of its registration. This term can be extended for up to 9 months.

Upon granting the status of asylum-seeker, the person shall be issued a temporary residence card. In addition, the person with a refugee status shall be issued a travel document as prescribed by the 1951 UN Convention, while the person with a humanitarian status shall be issued a travel passport. In order to get a temporary residence car or a travel document/passport, a person under international protection shall apply to the territorial office of the Public Service Development Agency, branch of a Public Service Hall, or a Community Centre.

A temporary residence card shall be issued free of charge to the person with a humanitarian status for the period of validity of the humanitarian status, and to the person with refugee status – for the period of 3 years.

Travel documents/passport of the person with a refugee/humanitarian status shall be issued free of charge within the period of 10 working days, for the period of 2 years in case of the refugee and for 1 year in case of the humanitarian status holder.

Note: The person with a refugee or humanitarian status is obliged to obey the Constitution of Georgia and other legislative and normative acts of Georgia, as well as respect local culture, traditions, and customs. He/she is also obliged to notify the Ministry of changing the factual residential address and/or other contact information.

The person with refugee or humanitarian status has the right to:

a) Choose a place of residence and move freely on the territory of Georgia;

b) Receive monthly allowance as determined by Georgian legislation;

c) Travel to another country except for his country of origin or the countries where his family members are not considered to be safe;

d) Receive pre-school and general education as provided for Georgian citizens, benefit from state healthcare and social programs (except for exceptional cases) and have access to vocational and higher education according to the procedures established by Georgian legislation;

I want international protection. what am I doing?

Ukrainian citizens can stay in Georgia for 1 year without a visa.

Ukrainians, as well as other foreigners or stateless persons, have the right to request international protection both at the moment of entry into Georgia, at the state border, and on the territory of Georgia.

If a person does not want to apply for international protection at the border or for various reasons fails to do so, he/she can go through this procedure at the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. * (In exceptional cases, in the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia and in the penitentiary institution as well)

The address of the agency is st. Tbilisi, Gakhokidze st. №16 ; Hotline: Hotline: International Security Issues (+995 32) 2 418 730 ; Illegal Migration Issues (+995 32) 2 419 607.

An application for international protection must be made in writing, with the assistance of an appropriate translator if necessary. Translator services are free. By law, an application must be considered individually, objectively, and impartially.

In addition, an asylum seeker or person with international protection can receive free legal aid from the Legal Aid Service for refusal, termination, revocation, or deprivation of status.

The address of the agency is 140a Davit Agmashenebeli Ave., Tbilisi . Phone: (+995 32) 2 932 090; (+995 32) 2 988 493

The relevant agency for international protection must consider the application within 6 months of its submission. This period can be extended up to 9 months. One of the reasons for this may be the simultaneous appeal of several persons to the Ministry in the said application.

While the application is under consideration, the person is considered an asylum seeker. He will be issued a temporary identification card for a period of 1 year. Based on this document, the asylum seeker will enjoy education, medical or social assistance, employment, and other rights.

During the application period, a person has the right to remain in the reception center, unless he/she is in a penitentiary institution or temporary detention isolator.


What does international protection give me?

According to Georgian law, there are the following forms of international protection:

A) Refugee status - granted to a person outside the country of origin who has a reasonable fear that he or she may be persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, certain social group or political views, and may or may not, due to fear, return to his or her home. In the country of origin or to enjoy the patronage of that country.

B) Humanitarian status - granted to a person who fails to meet the conditions for granting refugee status, but there is a real risk that he or she will face serious harm upon returning to the country of origin.

C) Status of a person under temporary protection - the Ministry registers mass immigrants and decides to grant this status to those who need international protection and are unable to return to their country of origin due to indiscriminate violence, aggression, international or internal armed conflict or mass human rights violations...

Giorgi Antadze, a lawyer with the Young Lawyers' Association, thinks that given the current situation, the status of a refugee or a person under temporary protection will be the most relevant for Ukrainian citizens seeking international protection.

"First of all, there is a state of war in Ukraine. "We know that airstrikes are taking place in almost all of Ukraine, and some areas are directly controlled by the Russian military. In these circumstances, it is clear that   the lives and health of Ukrainians are in particular danger."

"It should also be borne in mind that systematic bombing [of Ukrainian territory] is not only a blow to military facilities but also to civilian infrastructures, such as residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, etc.", - he notes.

Antadze also emphasizes that the legislation in force in this area in Georgia, including the principles of the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, provides a person/asylum seeker with a number of rights.

In each individual case, the individual must decide which form of international protection to use. Along the way, it is also important to get qualified advice from a lawyer by an asylum seeker. He said refugee status, compared to the other two, includes more guarantees for the citizen.

If humanitarian status and temporary protection status are granted to a person for 1 year (it can be extended for the same period, several times), in the case of refugee status, the legislation does not set a specific period.

The rights of a refugee or a person with humanitarian status include:

• Obtain a temporary residence permit and a certificate of refugee or humanitarian status;

• Choose a place of residence and move freely on the territory of Georgia;

• To receive the monthly allowance defined by the legislation of Georgia;

• Travel to a country other than the country of origin and to a country where the presence of him or her and his or her family members is not considered safe;

• To enjoy the right to pre-school and general education, state health care, and social programs (except in exceptional cases), as well as the right to vocational and higher education in accordance with the rules established by the legislation of Georgia;

• Apply to the authorized body for the granting of Georgian citizenship;

• To enjoy the right to work as a citizen of Georgia, in particular, to be employed independently or through another employer.

However, the law states that within 1 month of being granted refugee or humanitarian status, a person has the right to remain in the reception center and, in exceptional cases, in other temporary accommodation provided by the Ministry. In case of refusal to accept the status, he/she can appeal within the timeframe established by law.

The rights of a person under temporary protection include:

• Obtain a certificate of the status of a person under temporary protection and a temporary residence permit issued for the period of validity of the status of a person under temporary protection;

• To receive medical services in cases provided by law;

• Enjoy the right to pre-school, general, and higher education, as well as the recognition of education and qualification documents obtained in another country in accordance with the law;

• To be provided with food and shelter or appropriate financial assistance in accordance with the rules established by the order of the Minister.

A residence permit for a person with humanitarian status is issued free of charge for a period of validity of a humanitarian status, and for a person with refugee status - for a period of 3 years.

A travel document/passport will be issued to a refugee and a person with humanitarian status within 10 working days free of charge. The document is issued to a person with refugee status for a period of 2 years, and to a person with humanitarian status for a period of up to 1 year.

Useful links:

Georgian Law on International Protection - Georgian version, English version, Russian version.

Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons - Georgian version, English version, Russian version. Visit Site Here.