Georgia
Agreement Migration
Germany signed a migration agreement with Georgia in December 2023. Georgia has also been defined as a safe country of origin. The shared objective: to reduce irregular migration and increase regular migration.
Facts about the country
Initially independent from 1918 to 1921, Georgia regained its independence in 1991. A constitutional amendment in 2013 changed the government into a parliamentary democracy from a presidential republic. Georgia applied for EU membership on 3 March 2022. It was given the status of candidate for accession to the EU by decision of the European Council of 14 December 2023.
57.215 km² Fläche
3,7 Mio. Einwohner
Germany and Georgia sign migration agreement
Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community, and Dr Joachim Stamp, Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, visited the Georgian capital Tbilisi in December 2023, where on 19 December Federal Minister Faeser and her Georgian counterpart, Vakhtang Gomelauri, Minister of Internal Affairs, signed a joint migration agreement. The migration agreement provides the basis for permanently reducing irregular migration in the interest of both countries. Georgia is especially important in this regard, because in 2023 alone, 15 per cent of all unsuccessful asylum applications came from nationals of Georgia or the Republic of Moldova. The agreement also aims at attracting seasonal workers in particular to work in Germany.
Image: unsplash/Henning Witzel
Georgia is a safe country of origin
As a rule, people in Georgia do not face political persecution. The recognition rate for asylum applications from Georgian nationals in Germany is only 0.3%. That is why Georgia – together with the Republic of Moldova – was officially designated as a safe country of origin by decision of the German Bundestag on 16 November 2023 and of the Bundesrat on 15 December 2023.
Of all the asylum applications in Germany that were denied in 2023, 15% came from nationals of Georgia and Moldova.
Area: 57.215 km2
Population: 3,7 Mio.
Safe countries of origin are those in which the authorities generally assume that there is no need for citizens to fear government persecution and where the government is in principle capable of protecting its citizens against persecution by non-state agents. Asylum applicants may dispute this assumption during the asylum procedure. Every application is still examined individually.
Designating Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin makes faster processing of asylum applications from nationals of those countries possible and means that Germany can more quickly terminate the stay of those whose applications for asylum have been denied. This designation is also the basis for Georgia’s migration agreement with Germany.
Since the conclusion of the migration agreement and Georgia’s designation as a safe country of origin, the number of asylum applications submitted by Georgian nationals between January and May 2024 fell by 68% compared with the same period in 2023. Cooperation with Georgia on returns is consistently very good.
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
Source: BMI/ Jens Oellermann
In its coalition agreement, the Federal Government set out comprehensive reforms intended to bring about a paradigm shift to reduce irregular migration and increase legal migration. These reforms comprise a variety of measures. One of these measures is the negotiating of migration agreements by the Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, Dr Joachim Stamp, which is intended to build lasting and comprehensive cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin. Alongside this approach of developing extensive migration partnerships, the responsible bodies in the federal and state governments are continuing their existing cooperation on returns with countries of origin.
Travel and safety information
The Federal Foreign Office is a ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany and a supreme federal authority. Its main office is located in Berlin, and it has another office in Bonn. It is the headquarters of Germany’s Foreign Service and is responsible for Germany’s foreign and European policy.
More information on migration agreements and partnerships
