President Urges Simplified Granting of Citizenship to Compatriots

According to the president, not much has changed with the amendments introduced by the parliament to the organic law on citizenship a few days ago.

‘‘The main requests of our compatriots are to simplify the testing, especially for young people who were born abroad, and for things to go quicker and easier. The fee must be stripped because we are returning citizenship to these people, which is not taken into account. The only meaningful change is that you can take the test as many times as you want and pay the fee at any time. The demand from people who left due to geopolitical circumstances to live in our occupied territories or abroad to return and obtain Georgian citizenship has risen significantly, which is very important for the country.

If we had a shred of strategic thinking and a vision of what our future relationship with the occupied territories should be, we should be announcing that we will automatically reinstate citizenship to all people who were born in the territory of Georgia.

Regardless of anything and without any procedures. This was a request that I think the state should meet. I did not even veto the amendments. The main thing is that we drive real, essential changes,’’ said Salome Zourabichvili.

The president called on the political parties to submit an initiative regarding this to the parliament. ‘‘This is an issue that affects everyone. We should show that we consider them a part of our country and want them to be fully involved in the life of this country, be it political, economic, or cultural. We must take this first step, and show them we recognize and welcome their desire to become citizens of Georgia or to regain their citizenship. This is our duty and our joint future,’’ said Zourabichvili.

On November 1, the Parliament unanimously adopted amendments to the Organic Law "On Georgian Citizenship," which will come into force on January 1, 2024. After the changes enter force, a person wishing to obtain Georgian citizenship will pass the exam before submitting an application for granting citizenship to the Public Service Development Agency. In case of an unsatisfactory result, the agency will no longer proceed with the formal procedures for granting citizenship, thus saving the time and resources of both the citizens and the agency. In case of failure in the exam, the person will have the right to retake the exam without restriction. If the exam is passed, its results will be valid for a year. In case of a negative final decision on the application for obtaining citizenship of Georgia, the period of re-starting the procedure will be reduced from one year to six months. According to the Ministry of Justice, the ten-year period of residence in Georgia established for the acquisition of citizenship by stateless persons will be reduced to five years, thus, according to the Ministry, the commitment made to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will be completely fulfilled.

‘‘It is generally wrong for Salome Zourabichvili to interfere with the competencies of the legislative body,’’ Shalva Papuashvili, Chairman of the Parliament, addressed the president’s statement, ‘‘It is important that this time Salome Zourabichvili does not violate the constitution and does not interfere in the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Georgia. Mrs. Zourabichvili signed this bill, but apparently, she did not grasp what the amendment was all about. This change concerned stateless persons in Georgia, who do not have citizenship of any country, including Georgia. They’ve been here for decades, and this change was meant to make them into our fellow citizens and part of our society. The purpose of the change was not to establish some procedures for Georgians or former Georgian citizens outside the territory of the country.’’