Belgium Calls on Georgians Not to Request Asylum

Theo Francken, Belgium’s Secretary of State for Asylum, Migration and Administrative Simplification, calls on Georgians not to request asylum in Belgium.

Francken says the number of Georgian asylum-seekers in Belgium has tripled since Georgia was granted visa-free regime with the EU on March 28, 2017.

According to him, Belgium considers Georgia as a safe country, which means that Georgian citizens will not be granted shelter in Belgium.

Francken made the comment during the meeting with Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani on June 13. According to the Ministry of Justice, Tsulukiani informed the Belgian delegation about Georgian government’s steps regarding the regulation of migration.

 Discussions focused on the main directions of immigration policy; Secure documents; Legislative reforms; Information campaign against violations of visa-free regime and asylum requests.

“We have discussed the issue of growing asylum seekers from Georgia in Belgium. The number of Georgian citizens demanding shelter in Belgium has almost tripled, and this negatively affects the results of visa liberalization that Georgia has received. It is therefore very important the Georgians knew that they should not request asylum in Belgium,” Theo Francken stated.

In total 12 countries in the EU/Schengen area to have granted Georgia the status of safe country. 

By Thea Morrison