PM: migration policy needs improvement, Gov’t to tighten controls

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said that although the migration situation was not as some politicians portrayed it, significant improvements were still needed in the field.

The official said that the government was strengthening the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

He said that over the past year the department had expelled more irregular migrants than were expelled in total over the previous ten years combined. 

Strengthening the agency, he added, will make it possible to fully eliminate irregular migration within the next few years. He estimated that more than 20,000 irregular migrants were currently in the country.

The Prime Minister also noted that, starting March 1, foreign nationals’ labor activities in Georgia will be significantly restricted under new legal regulations. 

He said this will allow the government to better protect both the national economy and the interests of Georgian citizens, and that the government assumed full responsibility for the effective enforcement of the law.

Kobakhidze further recalled that in 2017 the ruling authorities introduced a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of agricultural land to foreign nationals.

He stressed that protecting and preserving Georgia’s national and religious identity remains one of the government’s primary national objectives.