An Overview of Georgian Nationality Law
The Law of Nationality in Georgia is regulated primarily by the Georgian Constitution, the Law on Georgian Citizenship, and various secondary legislative acts. The cornerstone of this framework is Article 14 of the Constitution, which states that the provisions set out in the Georgian Nationality Law are applicable to all citizens of Georgia irrespective of when the relevant provisions were enacted.
According to Article 14, there is a presumption of dual nationality for Georgian nationals. Georgian law also recognizes stateless persons as citizens of Georgia. This protection is in line with Georgia’s participation in the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
The general principle in Georgian nationality law is that citizenship is acquired at birth. This principle covers:
Historically, there have been instances in the 1990s and early 2000s where the citizenship of persons born after April 25, 1990 (the date on which Georgian citizenship was re-established following independence) was subject to the discretion of state authorities .
In addition to citizenship acquired at birth, Georgian nationality law also provides for citizenship to be acquired by place of birth. A person born in Georgia to a stateless parent or to a foreign national with no citizenship of any other country may obtain citizenship by place of birth.
Stateless children born in Georgia who are discovered – so-called "foundlings" – are entitled to Georgian legal identity and passport in their names. However, the passport is not issued before the child turns 18 years of age.
Georgian nationality law has seen some controversies but generally has been remarkably stable since the tragic independence conflicts of the 1990s. The Georgian Constitution ensures a broad interpretation of the nationality law, and the recent history of the country, and indeed its geographic position, suggests that an increasing number of persons will be able to take advantage of this stable framework in the future.
Methods for Obtaining Georgian Citizenship
Citizenship of Georgia is obtained according to their Constitution, International Law and the Law of Georgia on Georgian Citizenship as a result of:
• the place of birth (ius solis) if the parents were stateless citizens or if the birth is otherwise not regulated by the respective laws of any country (e.g. a child born in Georgia, whose parents are confined to a hospital and cannot provide the relevant information to the Georgian authorities for reasons of force majeure, may be granted a citizenship of Georgia);
• the bloodline (ius sanguinis) if the parents are citizens of Georgia, or if the person is born in the territory of Georgia and did not obtain citizenship based on any other grounds;
• grant of citizenship based on naturalization;
• recognition of citizenship. The following requirements apply to persons intending to acquire the citizenship of Georgia:
• To possess basic knowledge of the Georgian language
• To have spent no less than 5 years (10 years for individuals who have only oral knowledge of the Georgian language) continuously living in Georgia legally and continuously.
• To have clear criminal record, except the cases envisaged in law for restoration of citizenship.
• To possess an assured means of subsistence.
• Persons married to citizens of Georgia have the right to apply for citizenship 5 years after their marriage.
• Persons living in Georgian regions traditionally settled by ethnic Georgians living outside the Republic of Georgia would be eligible to obtain the citizenship of Georgia.
Dual Citizenship under Georgia’s Law
Dual citizenship is generally prohibited in Georgia. As a consequence, Georgian nationals who become foreign citizens automatically lose their Georgian citizenship. In some circumstances Georgian authorities may allow a Georgian citizen to retain his/her Georgian citizenship if he/she takes up the nationality of another country.
However, the new Law on Nationality of Georgia, dated 26 December 2011, which came into force on 1 January 2012, significantly liberalised the rules concerning dual citizenship. Under Article 3 of the new Law, dual citizenship is permitted in certain exceptional cases. Under this Article, Georgian citizens aged under 27 are allowed to retain their Georgian citizenship after they gain any foreign nationality, provided that they have been residing in Georgia for at least 10 years since the age of 18, and that they have resided in Georgia for the past two years.
Article 3 further provides for an opportunity for electronic submission of an application for retention of Georgian citizenship within one year of acceptance of the foreign citizenship. This process will have to be regulated by a decree of the President of Georgia within six months of the enactment of the Law.
Termination of Georgian Citizenship
In accordance with Article 11 of the Law of Georgia on Citizenship of March 26, 1993, the fact of loss of Georgian citizenship arises if: The citizenship of Georgia also may be revoked in accordance with the Article 18 of the Law of Georgia on Citizenship in case of voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship without pre-approval from the President of Georgia. However, revocation of Georgian citizenship in such cases applies only to citizens without any kind of special ties with Georgia , such as being required to perform military service or being accused of a crime. Persons who are considered stateless or have unclear status under the laws of the country where they reside or have been living legally for at least five years and have otherwise permanent residence permit in such country, or persons who do not have any citizenship, or persons who are children of parents with unknown citizenship or stateless persons cannot be deprived of a citizenship of Georgia. Citizenship may also be revoked on grounds of false documents, bribery, fictitious marriages or marriages of convenance, withholding of facts or misrepresentation and/or lies about minor offences by non-citizens at the time of naturalization.
Georgian Nationality Law’s Impact on Relations with the EU
Georgian nationality law and its effects on relations between Georgia and the European Union (EU) is a fairly new chapter in the legal development of this former Soviet Republic. However, the EU has clearly been a driving force behind many of the recent changes in Georgian law. The Treaty on European Union, signed by Georgia in April 2014, served as a basis for the idea of signing an Association Agreement (AA) with the organization. The first layers of the AA were signed in June 2014, and the Agreement was subsequently signed on June 27, 2014. Since, both Georgia and its EU partners have been striving toward ratification of this document and following its requirements as an Eastern Partnership (EaP) country.
Conflicts are bound to arise wherever two sets of laws and their tradition collide in the process of forming new solutions. The AA brought several significant developments for the citizens of Georgia, but at the same time, it deprived them of certain privileges which they might have had previously. One such revision relates to immigration rights on the territory of Georgia, which was based on mutual recognition of citizenship laws between Georgia and the EU. This understanding of immigration was relevant for both "old" and "new" residents, i.e. citizens who enjoyed Russian citizenship before the disintegration of the Soviet Union and those who received citizenship of Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan afterward.
Georgian law originally did not include an explicit provision that would grant these former residents dual citizenship if they have left the former Soviet Union and got rid of their Russian nationality. Every category of immigrants was supposed to get citizenship on the same basis, but some exceptions were granted "to the high-level officials or eminent persons" (Article 22, Section 2). Thus, every other applicant was considered under the same provisions of citizenship legislation i.e. based on ethnic origin, investment in the country, residence status, etc.
The AA suggested that the issue of dual citizenship be resolved also by granting visa-free travel to the citizens of both the EU and Georgia. This approach seemed well-founded because the above-mentioned categories of nationals did not usually exceed the number of 5,000 individuals, which Georgia could easily process under certain simplified procedures applied under current immigration law. A particular category of people who found their own opportunities to acquire foreign citizenship were Georgians residing in Georgia, but originated from regions such as Ossetia and Abkhazia, where citizenship is issued based on residency of the individual in these territories.
Georgia started implementing some of the requirements of the AA even though the document was not yet ratified. To facilitate movement between Georgia and the EU, the country started issuing biometric passports to its citizens according to the model agreed with the international community. It also opened consulates in the EU member states, and prepared for the ratification of the agreement with the EU.
Both Georgian and EU officials noted the complexity of the nationality issues, specifically regarding the status of IDPs – Internally Displaced Persons. The country saw an outbreak of civil war, which led to many people being displaced due to the change in the administration, and their inability to return to their homes. For instance, when distributing citizenship to IDPs, the Georgian government faced numerous challenges regarding issues such as ethnic origin or language barrier.
The benefits brought by establishing the conditions for free movement for Georgian citizens are undoubtedly significant; however, clarifications must come with respect to the above-mentioned challenges. There is also an understanding that the citizens who had dual citizenship before the signing of the AA will be granted the opportunity to maintain both.
Recent Changes in the Law and Legal Updates
In recent years, the jurisdiction of Georgian nationality law has come under increased legal examination, in particular regarding the provisions relating to the potential retroactive loss of the citizenship of Georgia for persons having undergone criminal prosecution and/or convicted of a serious crime.
The Organic Law of Georgia on the Citizenship of Georgia (the "Citizenship Law") regulates the automatic loss of the citizenship of Georgia in two separate instances.
First, Article 15 of the Citizenship Law sets out that the citizenship of Georgia shall be lost in the event that a Georgian citizen voluntarily acquires citizenship or identity document of another country. The loss of the citizenship of Georgia occurs from the time such a procedure is completed. An exception to this provision is made for a Georgian citizen who is an employee of a diplomatic institution or consulate of Georgia or an international organization and who is performing duties outside of Georgia.
Second, in accordance with Article 27 of the Citizenship Law, the citizenship of Georgia shall be lost if a Georgian citizen becomes employed by the government of a foreign state, a foreign military, or a foreign military unit providing assistance to a foreign military. In this case, the citizenship of Georgia is lost as of the date of commencement of the employment or service.
Following a Constitutional Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of the provisions regarding the voluntary loss of the citizenship of Georgia for Georgian citizens having acquired citizenship or identity document of another country , Article 27 of the Citizenship Law was amended in 2013 to set out that the provision of loss of the citizenship of Georgia in the event of service in a foreign military or government applies only to individuals born or naturalized in Georgia, and does not apply to persons who are descendants of Georgian citizens.
Despite the amendments made to the Citizenship Law, the issue of loss of the citizenship of Georgia without the intention of the citizen remains open, since the current Article 27 of the Citizenship Law does not regulate this situation (i.e., the instance of involuntary loss of the citizenship of Georgia upon employment to foreign government or military service). In this regard, it is important that a prospective employee is informed by prospective employer on the necessity of passing the permission procedure under the Citizenship Law of Georgia. Otherwise, the prospective employee will receive the foreign citizenship after submission of request to pass the necessary procedures before employment but after commencing employment.
It is also noteworthy that the rule in question has both prospectively and retroactively been applied in the course of law enforcement practice, intervening in cases when a Georgian citizen did not intend to lose the citizenship of Georgia at the time of employment, but nonetheless the Georgian courts had declared the citizenship of Georgia as lost by virtue of the provision in question.