The Administration of the President of Georgia is withholding public information from the online publication Georgian News on how many Russian citizens were granted Georgian citizenship by the president from 2012 to April 2023, and how many citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ethnic Georgians) were denied.
News
Trending stories
- 1 Eter Turadze to Shalva Papuashvili: This Law is Leading Our Country to Russia, It’s a Treason!
- 2 "All and Sundry on Rustaveli": Mobilization of Civil Servants for Georgian Dream’s Counter Rally
- 3 Bidzina Ivanishvili's Anti-Western Messages
- 4 Kaladze's Anti-Western Messages: More Than 90% of Funds Used to Strengthen Agency
- 5 Why We Will Not Allow Adoption of Russian Law - Gela Mtivlishvili, Journalist
- 6 Georgian Government Declares May 7, 8, and 10 as Public Holidays
Georgian News is also requesting information from the Administration on how many positive clearances for granting Georgian citizenship to the citizens of the Russian Federation the president received from the Commission of Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice, how many were approved, and how many were denied.
Georgian News submitted a written request for the public records on May 5, and today, filed an administrative complaint demanding the persons concerned be ordered to provide the data in question immediately.
Georgian News also requested the said records from the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice, which also did not provide the data.
For several years, ethnic Georgians from the Saingilo region are being denied the granting of Georgian citizenship en masse. Due to the lack of citizenship, those who come from Saingilo to Tbilisi or other cities for studies or work are not covered by the universal healthcare program even in cases of emergency and are required to leave the country once a year and request a new residence permit upon return. They also cannot get employment in state services without citizenship. A young man, Nikoloz Kikishvili, spoke publicly about these issues at the onset of May.
On May 11, the President wrote on social media: “If we are so concerned about the fate of our compatriots, I wonder why I couldn’t achieve any result in four years of negotiations with the Ministry of Justice regarding the simplification of granting of citizenship, and for us not to artificially complicate the process of restoring or receiving Georgian citizenship with nonsensical tests. I am sure this issue is more acute and relevant for our compatriots in Russia (and not just Russia), especially today when many of them are considering returning for good.
Maybe we should also concern ourselves with the fact that for three years now, our fellow citizens have been unable to return from Hereti, because the Lagodekhi-Belakani border, which was closed due to Covid, never reopened. People have to travel a long way to Baku and take a flight from there, which is beyond the capabilities of most of them.
We should take care of our active and former citizens. We should set this as a state priority and devise a complex strategy for our diaspora.”
By the Legislation of Georgia, the President has the final say on the granting of citizenship, regardless of whether the Public Service Development Agency gives a positive clearance to the applicant or not.
According to data provided to MP Paata Manjgaladze by the Ministry of Justice,
3297 Russian and 78 Ukrainian citizens were granted Georgian citizenship between February 24, 2022, and February 8, 2023.
In this period, 8333 citizens of the Russian Federation applied for Georgian citizenship. The ministry rejected 2638 applications, 1765 are under review, 326 are pending, and 69 have been suspended.
