Georgia Could Lose Visa Free ‘Entirely’, EU Commission’s Visa Report Warns
Citing “backsliding” on key commitments, the European Commission warned of “appropriate measures” against Georgia in its eighth visa-free suspension report, first to target holders of diplomatic, service, and official passports, with potential eventual suspension of visa-free travel for the entire population.
The Commission published its annual report under the visa suspension mechanism on December 19, a month after Brussels approved new rules making it easier to suspend visa-free travel for citizens of third countries, which also foresees a targeted approach to ending visa exemptions. The new mechanism will take effect on December 30, 2025.
“Georgia has regressed significantly on key governance and rule-of-law benchmarks that formed the basis for the granting of visa-free travel. Similarly, Georgia regressed also in the domains of visa-alignment and fight against corruption,” the Commission said in a 16-page document. “Given the systemic and deliberate nature of this backsliding, the Commission will consider appropriate measures under the revised Visa Suspension Mechanism.”
“In the first phase, the visa suspension could target holders of diplomatic, service and official passports issued by the Georgian authorities, who are primarily responsible for not taking action to address the Commission’s recommendations,” the report said.
Brussels has introduced similar measures against diplomatic passport holders earlier in 2025, and top Georgian officials have acknowledged they required visa to travel to some European countries since. The new report, however, clarified that the new regulations would ensure “a uniform application” in all member states, which means that no bilateral exemptions will be possible for holders of such passports.
“In the second stage, the suspension could be extended to the entire population if issues are not addressed by the Georgian authorities,” the report said, warning that “ultimately, Georgia could lose its visa free status entirely.”
Human Rights, Russian Influence, Asylum Applications
The document highlighted a range of issues that countries enjoying visa-free travel are expected to address, including human rights concerns, progress in implementing recommendations from previous visa reports, and migration- and security-related risks.
Georgia has “violated numerous commitments undertaken during the visa liberalisation dialogue, failed to implement nearly all recommendations of the 7th Visa Suspension Mechanism report, and despite repeated requests over the past years to advance on visa policy alignment and on prevention of corruption has even further backtracked in 2024- 2025 including in relation to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the Commission said.
- Human rights and past recommendations
Noting that “respect for fundamental rights constitutes one of the key benchmarks agreed by Georgia duringthe visa liberalisation dialogue,” the Commission said in the report that Georgia failed to implement relevant recommendations issued in the previous suspension report, and “has instead regressed further in key areas of governance and fundamental rights.”
According to the report, a series of lesgislative amendments, including Georgia’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), amendments to the Law on Grants, Law on Political Associations, Administrative Offence Code, and the Law on Broadcasting “have collectively curtailed civic space and restricted dissenting voices, including those of protestors, opposition representatives, civil society organisations, and independent media.”
The Commission said that this “particularly affected civil society associations and human rights defenders, multiplying various obstacles to make their activities more difficult and as result limit their ability to function.”
“Rather than taking remedial steps, the Georgian authorities have openly defended these measures, invoking national sovereignty and disregarding the commitments undertaken during the visa liberalisation dialogue,” the Commission noted.
The report also recalled the Commission’s July letter to Tbilisi requesting a progress update on the implementation of recommendations on the 7th suspension report, including on repealing repressive laws. Georgia in its response “did not inform of any meaningful progress in addressing the recommendations related to fundamental rights,” the report says. “In most areas, no corrective measures were reported and in several others the situation has further deteriorated.“
- Migration
The report notes that Georgia has 26 visa-free deals with countries subject to the EU visa
requirements and “has not taken any steps towards further alignment since 2022,” but “on the contrary,” backtracked by granting visa-free entry to citizens of China in 2024.
“Georgia also continues to pursue a visa policy that diverges substantially from the EU acquis, particularly by allowing entry to nationals of 17 countries that are visa-required both in the EU and in Georgia, solely on the basis of a visa or residence permit issued by one of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries,” the report states, recommending to terminate the practice “immediately.”
The report also says that “the significant influx into Georgia of nationals from India and to a lesser extent from other Asian and Middle East countries, raises concerns about the potential illegal migration towards the EU, whether by land or by sea.”
- Russian Influence
“Security concerns persist in Georgia due to Russian influence, especially in light of the rapid growth of the resident Russian diaspora,” the report says, noting that “approximately 160,000 Russian citizens have emigrated to Georgia” since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “There is a growing apprehension that the Russian presence in Georgia could be exploited for foreign influence operations,” it adds.
The report also raised concerns about Georgia’s liberal investor citizenship schemes and naturalisation procedures. “Although numbers are very limited compared to the normal track for acquisition of citizenship, simplified naturalisation procedures could be used by Russian nationals to acquire citizenship,” the report says, noting that Serbian and Georgian cases in this regard “warrant further scrutiny to determine whether those practices are abusive.”
The report added that “compliance with EU law requires that candidate countries abolish existing investor citizenship schemes and repeal their legal basis.”
- Asylum applications
The Commission’s report said that unfounded asylum applications “lodged by nationals of visa-exempt partners continue to pose a significant challenge for some EU Member States.”
Noting that the number of such applications from EU-neighboring countries “has generally declined,” including in the Georgian case, where the numbers in 2024 (14,530) “decreased considerably” compared to 2023, “they nevertheless remained at considerable levels.”
- Other concerns
The report also raised concerns over Georgia’s regress on anti-corruption reforms and legislation regarding the possibility for individuals to change their names.
“Georgia not only has failed to adequately follow up on the recommendations on anti-corruption set out in the 7 th Visa Suspension Mechanism report but backtracked by cancelling some earlier reforms in this field,” the report said.
Georgia, alongside Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine, was among the countries where, according to the report, “the possibility for individuals to change their names and obtain new identity documents, sometimes repeatedly, remains problematic.” According to the Commission, the procedure “may be used to evade Schengen Information System (SIS) alerts and circumvent EU return or entry bans,” with the report noting that “this vulnerability should be addressed.”
Brussels started warning that Georgia may lose visa-free travel with the EU, one of the main achievements on Georgia’s long integration process, amid the country’s anti-democratic and anti-Western turn. The suspension of visa-free travel was also considered as it, unlike many EU sanctions, requires only a qualified majority of member states, meaning it is less likely to be vetoed by Georgian Dream–friendly countries such as Hungary.
While initial discussions centered on suspending visa-free travel for all Georgians, EU officials later shifted the focus to a targeted approach against a certain group of officials.
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