SOME JAVAKHK ARMENIANS WILL HAVE TO PAY $50 AND HAVE 5,000 LARI IN THE BANK TO GET HOME
Kristine Aghalaryan
12:47, December 10, 2014
Citizens of Armenia may now enter Georgia without a visa for a
short-term stay not exceeding 90 days (in any 180 day period) but
will have to pay US$50 in consular fees to get a visa for more 90 days.
This is according to the new Georgian visa policy as of September
1, 2014.
The list of required documents isn’t too complicated for a short-term
visa. To stay more than 90 days, however, one must have 5,000
Georgian Lari in a bank account. This translates to 1.238 million
AMD or US$2,706.
The cash requirement is a real problem for many Javakhk Armenians
with foreign citizenship
“First off, we village residents have no bank account, let alone 5,000
Lari. Whatever money we earn we send back to our families, wither money
to buy wood for fuel, school items, for New Years,” says Harutyun,
a resident of the village Diliska in Georgia’s Javakhk region who has
a Republic of Armenia passport and recently returned from work abroad.
Harutyun was planning to stay at home until April but under the new
law he must now return to Russia earlier.
It should be pointed out that most Armenians of Javakhk applied for
Armenian citizenship in order to go to Russia for seasonal work. Now
they are regarded as foreigners who must enter and leave Georgia with
a visa when their three months are up.
After Georgia signed the European Union Association Agreement, visa
regulations got stricter as of September 1 of this year. Prior to
this, foreign citizens could remain in Georgia for up to ninety days
in any 390 day period without a visa.
In October, Georgian Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani announced
that foreigners would be granted a grace period (until March 1, 2015)
to get their documents in order.
Despite her pronouncement, Georgian border guards have been enforcing
the new law as of December 1 and have been prohibiting Javakhk
Armenians with Armenian citizenship whose ninety days are up from
entering Georgia by fining them 180 Lari.
Georgia’s consular general in Armenia, Zhorena Tziklaouri told Hetq
that the March 1 deadline refers to those who are still in Georgia,
despite the deadline having expired. They have the right to apply
for a residency certificate and will not be fined.
The consular general confirmed that those applying for long-term
visas must have 5,000 Georgian Lari in the bank.
When this reporter noted that such a large amount was particularly
beyond the reach of village residents, Tziklaouri responded, “I have
received documents from many people who don’t have 5,000 Lari in the
bank, but we haven’t rejected their applications.”
The consular general couldn’t say how many visa applications his
office has received to date, but it’s been more than one hundred.
“I send all the documents to Georgia and receive an answer in less
than a month. So far, there haven’t been any rejections,” he said.
$50-and-have-5000-lari-in-the-bank-to-get-home.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress