Slovakian FM: Georgia Deserved Visa-liberalization
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs to Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak, posted on Twitter about Georgia’s new visa liberalization policy with the European Union (EU).
“From 28 March Georgians can travel to Schengen without a visa for a period of 90 days. Thumbs up! Well deserved & long overdue!” Lajcak tweeted.
From 28 March Georgians can travel to Schengen w/out a visa for a period of 90 days. Thumbs up! Well deserved & long overdue!
— Miroslav Lajčák (@MiroslavLajcak) March 26, 2017
After the visa-free policy is enacted, all Georgians holding biometric passports will be able to enter the Schengen Area for 90 days within any 180-day period for vacation, business, or any other purpose except work.
Georgians will be able to travel without visas to the following 22 EU member states: Belgium, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Greece, France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.
Georgians will also be able to travel without visas to four non-EU-member states (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) as well as four Schengen candidate countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia).
Exceptions for visa-free travel include Ireland and the United Kingdom.
In order to travel freely, the citizens of Georgia will need to present a biometric passport. Georgians will lose the freedom to travel if they:
- Suddenly start making numerous asylum requests
- Stay in the Schengen Zone for more than 90 days at a time
- Cause an increase in risk and internal security
If such problems persist, the suspension can be extended up to 18 months, followed by the intervention of the European Parliament.
By Thea Morrison