Political analyst, Soso Tsintsadze disseminated misinformation in the interview with Alia newspaper when he said that non-visa rules will grant no privileges to Georgian citizens other than they will no more have to stand in long queues as well as have fewer rights than Syrian and Iraqi refugees do have in Europe.
The real situation looks quite different: presently Georgian citizens have to pass through seven stages to arrive in the Schengen area. After successful finalization of the visa liberalization process with the European Union, Georgian citizens, holding biometric passports, will be able to enter the Schengen area without visas and they will have to pass only through two compulsory stages.
It is absolutely incorrect to compare Georgian citizens with Syrian and Iraqi refugees who have fled to Europe. In case of Georgia, we deal with free movement, whereas in the second case – with the refugees, who arrived in European countries illegally and have now special statuses.
The below infographics shows the stages Georgian citizens have to pass through to obtain Schengen visas, as well as how the procedures will be simplified in case of non-visa rules. Besides the fact that in case of visa liberalization, Georgian citizens will no more have to pay a visa fee of EUR 35, they will not have to fill in an application, to set a date for a visa interview, to come to an interview and return later to get an answer. It takes 10 working days or sometimes even up to 30 days after submitting the documents to get an answer on visas.
In case of visa liberalization, Georgian citizens will have to pass only through two stages. Georgian citizens should hold biometric passports and also have those documents at hand, which they may be requested to produce upon crossing the border; these documents may be: proof of financial sustainability; travel insurance; return ticket; hotel reservation; in case of visiting relatives or friends – contact information of the inviting person; in case of a business visa – a program of events.
After successful completion of the visa liberalisation process with the European Union, Georgian citizens will be able to travel to the following 22 Schengen countries without visas:
Member states: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Greece, France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
Moreover, visa-free regime will apply to travels to four non-EU member states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
It will also apply to those EU-member states, which are not yet part of the Schengen area: Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Visa liberalisation allows Georgian citizens to arrive in European countries bypassing Schengen visas.
Infographics is available here
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