Kelly Degnan assessed the possibility of simplifying the US visa regime with Georgia
Washington is monitoring Georgia's visa-free travel program with Europe to see how much the country is ready to simplify the visa regime with the United States. This was stated by the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan in an interview with the Georgian service of the Voice of America.
Answering the question about the possibility of any simplification of the visa regime for Georgian citizens, the diplomat stressed that for this, "Georgia must meet these very strict requirements."
"The simplification of the visa regime has very strict requirements that each country must meet. We are watching the progress of the visa-free regime with the EU, as an indicator of how Georgia is ready for our visa-free regime, which has similar requirements. Georgia must meet these very strict requirements," the US Ambassador to Georgia said.
As part of the liberalization of the visa regime with the EU, from March 28, 2017, Georgian citizens with biometric passports can carry out tourist and business trips to EU countries for up to 90 days no more than once every six months.
The media has repeatedly reported that some EU member states insist on suspending the visa-free regime with Georgia. They call the reason for the increase in the facts of illegal stay on the territory of the European Union and unjustified asylum applications from Georgian citizens.
After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, these trends have changed. In particular, in 2020, the number of applications for international protection in the EU Member States from Georgian citizens decreased by 60% compared to 2019. In general, more than 8.8 thousand applications were submitted by Georgian citizens in 2020. The number of Georgian citizens illegally staying in the EU decreased by 13%, from 11.9 thousand in 2019 to 10.3 thousand in 2020.
apsny.ge
Tags:
Kelly Degnan assessed the possibility of simplifying the US visa regime with Georgia
Washington is monitoring Georgia's visa-free travel program with Europe to see how much the country is ready to simplify the visa regime with the United States. This was stated by the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan in an interview with the Georgian service of the Voice of America.
Answering the question about the possibility of any simplification of the visa regime for Georgian citizens, the diplomat stressed that for this, "Georgia must meet these very strict requirements."
"The simplification of the visa regime has very strict requirements that each country must meet. We are watching the progress of the visa-free regime with the EU, as an indicator of how Georgia is ready for our visa-free regime, which has similar requirements. Georgia must meet these very strict requirements," the US Ambassador to Georgia said.
As part of the liberalization of the visa regime with the EU, from March 28, 2017, Georgian citizens with biometric passports can carry out tourist and business trips to EU countries for up to 90 days no more than once every six months.
The media has repeatedly reported that some EU member states insist on suspending the visa-free regime with Georgia. They call the reason for the increase in the facts of illegal stay on the territory of the European Union and unjustified asylum applications from Georgian citizens.
After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, these trends have changed. In particular, in 2020, the number of applications for international protection in the EU Member States from Georgian citizens decreased by 60% compared to 2019. In general, more than 8.8 thousand applications were submitted by Georgian citizens in 2020. The number of Georgian citizens illegally staying in the EU decreased by 13%, from 11.9 thousand in 2019 to 10.3 thousand in 2020.
apsny.ge
Tags:
