Georgian Dream Grants Interior Ministry Authority to Inspect Foreigners’ Homes, Workplaces
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has been granted authority to inspect foreigners’ homes and workplaces and enter private property, as the ruling Georgian Dream government tightens immigration rules and escalates rhetoric against illegal migration.
Legislative amendments to the country’s Law on Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, adopted on July 2 after accelerated deliberations during two days of extraordinary sessions in the GD parliament, empower a MIA–authorized body to carry out such inspections “with the aim to expose foreigners residing in Georgia without legal grounds or/and to check the living place of foreigners or their travel documents.”
Over the past week, the Interior Ministry reported detaining 20 foreigners in two “special immigration control activities.” All have been slated for expulsion from the country. GD MP Tornike Cheishvili said before the vote that, according to the latest Interior Ministry data, 525 foreigners were expelled from Georgia in the first six months of 2025 for living in the country illegally. He claimed the figure is about three times higher than during the same period last year.
Under the new rules, inspections may be conducted based on a city court order or with the consent of the property owner or employer. However, in “urgent cases,” when “a delay may result in a foreigner hiding away or destroying or hiding a travel document,” inspections may proceed without a court order, provided one is obtained within 24 hours afterward.
The authorized body is permitted to “question individuals, verify their identities, conduct superficial inspections, and carry out other preventive and coercive measures provided under Georgian legislation,” the bill states. At workplaces, inspectors may request documents proving a foreigner’s legal right to work in Georgia.
“The fight against illegal migration and its prevention are important challenges related to the country’s security, public order, and regulation of the job market,” the bill’s explanatory note states, citing the need to “refine procedures” for identifying illegal migrants as the reason for the changes.
Earlier on June 26, the GD parliament adopted a legislative package that introduced expulsion and reentry bans for criminal and administrative offenses and increased fines for immigration-related violations, among other changes.
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