On April 24, information about a government decision regarding visa-free travel with 17 countries was spread on social media (1;2;3;4;5;6;7) According to the authors of Facebook posts, citizens of the following additional 17 countries will be able to enter Georgia without a visa: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Additionally, Facebook users are sharing a social media card from Mtavari Arkhi with the same claim in their personal accounts and Facebook groups (1;2).
The information being circulated on social media about visa-free travel with 17 countries is misleading. Citizens who already held visas or residence permits from Gulf countries were already allowed to enter Georgia without a visa. The April 2025 resolution does not grant the right to enter Georgia to all citizens of the listed countries (e.g., Afghanistan, Syria, etc.). The requirement to hold a visa/residence permit from a Gulf country remains in effect. However, a new clause has been added regarding the validity of the document – it must have a validity period of at least one year.
According to the April 17, 2025, resolution of the Government of Georgia, amendments were made to Resolution No. 256 of June 5, 2015, titled “On Approval of the List of Countries Whose Visa or Residence Permit Holders Are Allowed to Enter Georgia Without a Visa for a Corresponding Period and Under Corresponding Conditions.”
A new third paragraph was added to the 2015 resolution, which defines which visa/residence permit holders can enter Georgia without a visa. It reads:
“Citizens of the countries listed in Annex No. 1 of this resolution, who hold a multiple-entry visa or residence permit from the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, or the Sultanate of Oman, shall be allowed to enter and stay in Georgia without a visa, provided that on the date of entry into Georgia (border crossing), their multiple-entry visa or residence permit is valid for no less than one year, as confirmed by a travel or other relevant document.”
Therefore, a new condition has been introduced: holders of visas or residence permits from Gulf countries may enter Georgia without a visa only if the validity of their document is at least one year on the date of crossing the border. Such a clause did not exist in the June 5, 2015, resolution.
According to the 2015 resolution, individuals holding a visa or residence permit from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (i.e., Gulf countries) were already allowed to enter Georgia without a visa. These countries were included in the list of 50 countries outlined in the resolution. The period and conditions of entry were defined as follows:
- Foreigners holding a visa or residence permit from one of the countries listed in the annex may enter and stay in Georgia without a visa for up to 90 calendar days in any 180-day period.
- In order to enter and stay in Georgia without a visa, the visa or residence permit must be valid on the day of entry (border crossing), as confirmed by a travel or other relevant document.
Thus, the new resolution does not allow all citizens of the listed 17 countries to enter Georgia visa-free. The novelty in the April 2025 resolution is the specific list of 17 countries whose citizens may enter Georgia without a visa if they hold a Gulf country visa/residence permit. Another novelty is the requirement on document validity, which the Ministry of Internal Affairs describes as a tightening of regulations – visa-free entry is only allowed if the visa/residence permit is valid for at least one year. Previously, no such requirement existed regarding document validity at the time of border crossing.
Facebook users circulated Mtavari Arkhi’s social media card, which the media outlet has already deleted. Without any further explanation, the statement on the card, “17 more countries’ citizens are allowed to enter Georgia without a visa, including Afghanistan, Syria, and Congo,” is misleading.
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
