State Commission on Migration Issues Gathered

On 31st August, the Tbilisi Public Service hall hosted the 13th sitting of the State Commission on Migration Issues chaired by the Justice Minister Ms. Thea Tsulukiani. As said the Minister, this sitting was essential as it preceded the visit of the VLAP assessment mission expected to visit Georgia by the end of September.

“Our sitting today is very important as it is held before the new expert mission will come to Georgia from Brussels to assess the implementation of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan. The processes following the Riga Summit imply fulfilling commitments undertaken by Georgia in full, including those concerning migration so that the positive decision is made in Brussels in December regarding opening borders for visa-free travel for Georgian citizens”, stated the Minister.

Ms. Tsulukiani discussed as well the other issues included in the agenda; namely, the migration risk analysis and a unified analytical system in the field of migration. In Minister’s words, any country willing to open borders with EU member states should analyze the risks that migration processes can include. “This document defines the risks that can be brought by both inward and outward migration flows so that the countries with their borders open for Georgian citizens won’t have any problems as a result”, said the Minister.

As far as the unified migration analytical system is concerned, it will work effectively by involving all concerned state bodies. As said the Minister, “Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Services, Justice and other ministries will work jointly to effectively exchange information about migration flows between them and process the data accordingly in order to develop right decisions.”

The participants have also discussed the 2016-2020 Migration Strategy, the law of Georgia on Labour Migration, and involvement of interested non-governmental organizations in the work of the State Commission.

The State Commission on Migration Issues was created in October 2010. It is a consultative governmental body to discuss and decide upon different issues related to migration management. The Commission consists of 12 state bodies and is chaired by the Justice Minister.

Guidebook on legal immigration