In accordance with the 1951 UN Convention on the Rights of Refugees and the Organic Law of Georgia 'On International Protection,' any foreign citizen has the right to apply to the authorities of Georgia for Asylum. This process involves a distinctive mechanism for international protection or humanitarian status UN
Any person who, for political or other reasons, cannot return to their country of citizenship can apply to the authorities of Georgia for refugee status or UN humanitarian status. These reasons may include human rights violations, the risk of political persecution, threat to life, lack of sufficient legal instruments for legal protection in their own country, etc.
How does the procedure for obtaining refugee status (humanitarian status) work?
After filing an application for refugee status (UN humanitarian status), the applicant and their family members will be invited for interviews with representatives of the Georgian migration service (the interview will be conducted twice). The application processing time ranges from 6 months to 1 year and 9 months. If the decision is negative, it can be appealed in court. During the application review, the applicant and all family members will be documented by the Georgian authorities with a temporary identity card for the entire document review period (including court proceedings). Participants in the program are issued Georgian personal identification numbers and enjoy all the rights of Georgian residents, including the right to free medical care. Free integration courses are offered for those who want to learn the Georgian language. Asylum seekers have the same legal status as holders of UN humanitarian status.
In accordance with the Convention on the Free Movement of Refugees within the Council of Europe (distinct from the European Union), Georgia is the only country that has not yet joined the Agreement. This is because Georgia's program only started in 2017, and its legislation has not yet been brought in line with EU standards. This entails two important and unconventional points:
This situation has two significant implications:
Thus, there is currently a real chance of obtaining state protection in Georgia with the prospect that this document will allow visa-free travel to EU countries in the near future.
Risks of obtaining refugee status (UN humanitarian status): When applying for refugee status (UN humanitarian status), it is assumed that the citizen genuinely faces problems in their country of residence and is genuinely seeking asylum, rather than seeking temporary residency in Georgia. Therefore, all asylum seekers must stay in Georgia until an official response to their request is received. Violation of this procedure leads to the annulment of the application for refugee status (UN humanitarian status).
The term of consideration is typically a maximum of 6 months under regular circumstances, but it can be extended to 1 year and 9 months in cases of uncertainty. In a case of the application decline, an asylum seeker can go to court, that can extend the asylum status and application consideration for a term of 4-15 months.
Legal services in this area are always individual and depend on various factors: the need to collect additional documents proving the necessity of obtaining humanitarian protection in Georgia, grounds for application, family composition, the need for notarization or apostille of documents, the number of court hearings, and more. Currently, the conscription campaign in Russia and the impossibility for citizens of the Republic of Belarus to obtain passports at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus are significant reasons for seeking state protection in Georgia.
Usually, the cost of legal services for assisting in obtaining refugee status (UN humanitarian status) ranges from $2,000 (administrative level) to $3,000-$5,000 (if there is a need for appealing decisions in court and analyzing a large amount of material or the complexity of a criminal case from the country of arrival/citizenship).
We can guarantee 3 years of permanent residency in Georgia. However, the final acquisition of a UN international passport (UN humanitarian status or refugee status) is not guaranteed and depends on many factors. Although the positive decision statistics for Russian citizens in 2023 were quite favorable.
Throughout the document processing period, the applicant and their family members have the right to reside in Georgia as full-fledged residents, which, in its legal significance, implies permanent residency in Georgia, including all social guarantees.
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