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Human Rights Center Addresses to the Government of Georgia with Regard to Legal Problems of Aliens in Georgia

October 9, 2014
 
Nino Akhobadze

On Oktober 7 Human Rights Center held a press-conference to address to the government of Georgia to resolve legal problems of aliens in Georgia. 

Human Rights Center called on the Government of Georgia to get interested in the legal status of aliens and make the ground of non-granted residence documents available for them. 

From September 1, 2014, for the regulation of immigration process, new Law on Legal Status of Aliens and State Less Citizens went in force. The Law regulates entry, stay in, transit and leave Georgia. 

The main principles of the law are: family unity, inadmissibility of discrimination, principle of non-expulsion, protection of best interests of a child. Nevertheless, on the one hand we have principles ensured by the law and on the other hand conditions of their implementation.

Lawyer of Human Rights Center Nestan Londaridze said a lot of aliens have applied to Human Rights Center for help lately, who were refused to receive residence permit in Georgia. Mostly the ground of refusal is conclusion issued by the authoritative agency which states that a person cannot stay in Georgia due to state and/or public security interests. The authoritative agency is the Counter-Intelligence Department of MIA, whose conclusion usually consists of only several sentences and ends with the verdict: “Counter-Intelligence Department [CID] believes it is not reasonable to grant residence permit to the applicant person.”

Nestan Londaridze, lawyer: “Even State Services Development Agency at the Ministry of Justice get interested in to the real grounds of refusal and relies on the conclusion without any evidence; as a result to refuse the applicant to get residence permit. Neither court queries about real grounds. Courts rely on the Law of Georgia on the Activities of CID, which states that activities of the CID are secret. Here we encounter with collision between laws – administrative act must be well-grounded and an applicant shall know real grounds of the refusal. Administrative act shall not have a ground, which was not well-studied by administrative body.”

The parties are not informed about the “arguments” which were mentioned in the conclusion of the Counter Intelligence Department (CID). hough the State Service Development Agency at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia does not pay attention to this fact and refuses aliens to temporarily live in Georgia. Neither court queries about the arguments.

In the old edition of the law, aliens were refused to stay in Georgia based on the Article 23 but now it is changed into Article 18.

Several foreign citizens, who are married to Georgian citizens, applied to Human Rights Center for help. They have children, who go to Georgian schools and wish to live in Georgia. Consequently, when Ministry of Justice refuses them to stay in Georgia, the families have to choose – either divorce or migrate to another country. 

Executive director of Human Rights Center Aleko Tskitishvili said the government claims the new reality is caused by the new responsibilities taken under EU-Georgia Association Agreement. Unfortunately, the state, namely the State Services Development Agency at the Ministry of Justice, does not consider important circumstances when studying the applications of foreign citizens. For example, they do not pay attention to the contracts with the Georgian universities, when they deny foreign students to stay in Georgia.

Aleko Tskitishvili, executive director of Human Rights Center: 

“Problems are more complicated and complex, than they seem from the first sight and the government must timely resolve them. Namely, on the one side there are technical problems – there are no embassies and consulates in different countries, for what visas are not timely issued and on the other side state policy towards aliens is also obvious – particularly towards citizens of Asian and African states.

I had an opportunity to talk with the Minister Thea Tsulukiani about this problem, who said the CID is responsible for the issue and based on their conclusion the State Services Development Agency of the Ministry refuses applicants to live in Georgia temporarily, who are married to Georgian citizens. In fact, as a result of similar approach of the Agency, mixed families break up. I think similar attitude to the problem by the Minister of Justice can be assessed as irresponsibility and even professional negligence, when her subordinate agency groundlessly refuses applicants to stay in Georgia, where he has wife and children. Interests of children require particular attention, because if the state deports foreign citizens from the country, children will stay without their fathers.

Human Rights Center made special statement about the issue; you can read full text       

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