As per the decision of the Coordination Council Georgia’s borders will open for the 5 states

• As you are aware, after the EU listed Georgia among 15 safe travel destinations on the 30th of June, providing recommendations regarding the possible opening of borders, the Government of Georgia began bilateral negotiations with individual EU member states with that same aim.

• It must be taken into account that globally as well as on the European continent the epidemiological situation does not allow for all EU member states to open their borders, including with other EU member states, whereas several countries still impose a 14-day mandatory quarantine upon entry, as a personal out-of-pocket expense for travellers.

• Georgia too closely monitors the existing situation, taking careful steps in order to ensure health and safety of our citizens.

• As of today, from the list of those countries that have unconditionally opened their borders for Georgia, as per the decision of the Coordination Council, Georgia’s borders will also open for the following 5 states:

1. Germany
2. France
3. Latvia
4. Lithuania
5. Estonia

• In terms of other countries, the Coordination Council took into consideration the fact that several of said states opened their borders for countries that did not make it on the EU ‘green’ list.
• The citizens/residents of these 5 states will have the opportunity to entre Georgia only via means of a direct air travel for any type of visit.
• Prior to crossing the physical border, they will be asked to fill out a preformulated, special form, an electronic blank, where they must provide information regarding their travel history over the last fortnight before entry, along with the address of stay in Georgia, contact information, etc.
• If any inbound individual fails to pass the thermo-screening (registering a temperature of 37°C or higher), or as per their wish, they will be subjected to a PCR test directly at the airport.
• Additionally, testing will also be mandatory for those individuals, who have a history of travel in non-EU, high-risk states (with said list being determined by the World Health Organisation) or they can undergo the appropriate quarantine procedures.

• An especially created call-centre group will be in proactive communication with each individual foreign national entering Georgia for the duration of their entire stay, ensuring appropriate care.
• For EU member states that have not provided unconditional free travel to Georgia, the existing regime will also remain from the Georgian side. On the other hand, citizens of the countries that have placed Georgia in the ‘green’ list (except the aforementioned 5 EU members), or otherwise putting in place restrictions, will have the opportunity to entre Georgia after completing a 14-day mandatory quarantine, as a personal out-of-pocket expense.
• Apart from the above-listed 5 states, further negotiations are underway with states that have unconditionally opened their borders for Georgia, regarding the appropriate procedures.
• At this point in time the following states have not yet allowed their citizens to travel to Georgia for the purposes of tourism: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Finland, Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary. It is noteworthy that an appropriate joint commission has been set up with Hungary, working on issues associated with the restauration of travel.

• A number of states (Italy, Cyprus, Iceland, Slovenia) have expressed readiness to open borders with conditions, including testing for COVID-19, as well as a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
• Additionally, it is noteworthy that the aforementioned list, published by the EU, along with the relevant recommendations, will be renewed once a fortnight.

• It is noteworthy, that with the aim of boosting Georgia’s economy, business visits to Georgia will be unhindered upon gaining a permit from the relevant institutions and filling out the appropriate documentation. Individuals entering Georgia for a working visit will be obligated to get a PCR test every 72 hours (as a personal out-of-pocket expense), or undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine (also a personal out-of-pocket expense). This, of course, does not apply to the citizens/residents of the aforementioned 5 EU member states with unconditional free travel rights to Georgia.
• The appropriate online blanks that must be filled out prior to the visit will be available for both the citizens of the above-mentioned EU member states, as well as anyone planning a working visit to Georgia, at the special web-page set up by the Government of Georgia: www.StopCoV.ge.

• Similarly, any Georgian citizen re-entering Georgia from any EU member state will also be subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine. It is also important that our citizens take into consideration the aforementioned approaches of individual EU member states regarding the opening of borders.
• Additionally, there are talks underway with the following international airlines in order to ensure regular flights to and from the 5 states that have reciprocally unconditional free travel with Georgia: an agreement has been negotiated with Lufthansa regarding 2 weekly flights starting from August of 2020, with further negotiations underway with AirBaltic and Air France.

• Also, it must, once again, be underscored that with the aim of organised repatriation of Georgian citizens currently abroad, in July the Wizz air and Myway Airlines will conduct the following charter flights:

13 July – Warsaw,
15 July – Barcelona,
17 July – Rome,
22 July – Paris,
28 July – Athens.

• The aforementioned flights will cost no more than €200 for any Georgian national.
• Moreover, as you are well aware, commercial charter flights are also conducted by the Georgian Airways airline company to and from the following capitals: Vienna, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv.
• Additionally, we bring to your attention that within the next several days a one-time commercial charter flight of the Qatar Airlines will take place from the capital Doha, repatriating 105 Georgian citizens.

• It is noteworthy that regulation for ground border crossing will remain unchanged.
• The Government of Georgia continues active cooperation with our partner EU member states regarding the aforementioned recommendations, reviewing the conditions for entry and leaving of Georgia for our citizens every fortnight.

• Our main priority is the health and safety of our citizens. Thus, every decision will be based on this principle. We are ready to do our utmost, in order to provide maximum protection for both our nationals as well as our guests.

Source: https://mfa.gov.ge