Georgia Opens Borders Unconditionally to 5 Countries

The Georgian government's administration released a statement made by the Prime Minister's Adviser Irakli Chikovani regarding the decision to open borders to 5 EU countries.

The statement reads: "The European Union, on June 30, included Georgia on the list of safe countries and issued a recommendation on the possible reopening of borders to these countries. Based on said recommendation, the Government is holding bilateral negotiations on opening borders with relevant EU member states.

Notably, based on the epidemiological situation in the world and Europe, some EU member states have, at this point, opted against opening borders to foreign citizens, including from the EU. And a 14-day quarantine at one's own expense is still mandatory upon arrival in a number of countries.

Georgia is also monitoring the global picture and takes cautious steps to protect the health of its citizens.

As of today, of the countries who have opened their borders to Georgia without reservation, Georgia, on the decision of the Interagency Coordination Council, will unconditionally open its borders to the following 5 countries:

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

As for other countries, in making this decision, the Council considered the fact that several countries have opened their borders, among others, to states not listed by the EU as safe countries.

The citizens/residents of the 5 countries above can only use direct flights to Georgia for any type of visit.

Before crossing Georgia's border, they must fill in a special e-form and list their travel history in the course of the previous 14 days, as well as the location of their stay in Georgia, contact information, etc.

With their consent, or in case thermal screening at the border reveals a temperature higher than 37.0, a PCR test will be performed at the airport.

Testing and quarantine will be mandatory for those with a history of traveling to high-risk non-EU member states in the course of the previous 14 days.

All persons arriving in Georgia will, throughout their stay, maintain proactive communication with and receive care from a special call center group.

As for other EU member states who have not opened borders to Georgia, the status quo will be maintained by Georgia as well. Besides the 5 countries above, in the case of countries listing Georgia as a safe country or imposing various types of restrictions, their citizens will be able to enter Georgia as long as they complete a 14-day quarantine period at their own expense.

Besides the 5 countries above, work on relevant procedures continues with the countries that have unconditionally opened their borders to Georgia.

At this point, the following countries have not opened their borders to Georgia: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Finland, Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. Notably, a joint commission with Hungary has been established to work on the issue of movement reopening.

Some countries (Italy, Cyprus, Iceland, and Slovenia) are ready to open their borders with certain restrictions, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for arrivals.

The recommendations and the list of safe countries published by the EU will be reviewed every other week.

Importantly, to encourage economic activities in Georgia, business trips from all countries will be allowed without reservation, based on a completed special form and coordination with relevant sectoral agencies. Business visitors to Georgia are obligated to carry out a PCR test for COVID-19 at their own expense every 72 hours, or complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine, also at their own expense. Of course, that does not apply to the citizens/residents of the 5 countries enjoying unconditional border reopening with Georgia.

Relevant e-forms mandatory for the citizens of the EU member states listed above, as well as for business visitors from any country, will be available on the Georgian Government's special website www.StopCoV.ge.

Georgian citizens, upon their return from any type of visit to EU member states, will be obligated to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Importantly, our citizens must also consider the approaches to reopening borders taken by the EU member states listed above.

Negotiations are underway with international airlines to resume air travel and regular flights with the 5 EU member states who have unconditionally reopened their borders to Georgia. In particular, an agreement has been reached with Lufthansa to carry out two flights a week to Munich starting in August. We are also negotiating with Air Baltic and Air France.

To ensure the orderly repatriation of Georgian citizens abroad, Wizz Air and MyWay Airlines will carry out flights from the following destinations in July:

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

The flights above will not cost Georgian citizens more than 200 Euro.

Georgian Airways, formerly Airzena, is carrying out commercial charter flights to the following capitals: Vienna, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv, while Qatar Airways will, in the next few days, carry out a one-off commercial charter flight from the capital city of Doha, to repatriate 105 Georgian citizens.

The presently applicable regulations will remain enforced on Georgia's land borders.

The Government of Georgia continues active cooperation with partner EU member states. Based on the relevant recommendation, the rules for entering Georgia and for Georgian citizens entering various EU states will be reviewed jointly once every other week.

The health and safety of citizens is our top priority, and each decision is made with this priority in mind. We will do everything to ensure the maximal protection of the health of our citizens and the country's guests in Georgia."

Related Story: Georgia to Open Borders to Germany, France, Latvia, Lietuva and Estonia