The FINANCIAL — As part of the strategy to gradually open the country, the Georgian Government has decided to allow foreign citizens to enter Georgia under a special regime. Economy Minister of Georgia Natia Turnava and Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaniani signed the document and after Government’s approval, foreigners aiming to work remotely from Georgia are officially eligible to fill out the electronic form and their applications will be reviewed within 10 working days. Foreigners should upload information about the job position and income (that should be at least $2,000 per month) with other needed documents.
Economy Minister of Georgia Natia Turnava announced on 16 July that the new project which encourages international citizens to work from Georgia remotely would start very soon. This project is focused on self-employed foreigners and freelancers who can work remotely and an online platform for applications is already developed and accessible. Turnava added that Georgia has the image of an epidemiologically safe country in the world and she wants to use this opportunity and that she is talking about opening the border in a way to protect the health of the citizens, but on the other hand, to bring Georgia citizens of all countries who can work remotely.
A citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter Georgia long-term will have to fill out a mandatory application form and obtain preliminary confirmation required for border crossing. Turnava added that so-called long-term visitors will have to go into 14-day quarantine at their own expense. On top of that, they will also need to obtain travel insurance valid for six months, agenda.ge reported
The document was signed by the Economy Minister Natia Turnava and Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani and foreigners are officially eligible to fill out the electronic form. While filling out the forms, foreigner should upload documents such as a copy of passport, personal information, contact details of a foreign employer, consent on entering mandatory 14-day quarantine as well as consent on undergoing PCR testing at their own expense and mandatory health insurance, valid for at least six months. Foreigners should also upload information about the job position and income that should be at least $2,000 per month, according to Georgian Public Broadcasting.
About 2,700 applications of foreign citizens looking to travel to Georgia and work remotely from the country have already been registered on the programme’s online platform developed specially for the purpose. Natia Turnava said that applications were registered from neighboring countries of Georgia as well as from European countries.
British Insider also reported this exciting news. “The country of Georgia is filled with everything from medieval castles to mountains and rocky beaches — and its diverse landscapes could be your new office.” – Insider stated.
It should be noted that it is recommended to avoid all nonessential international travel during this time and to follow all of the recommendations about safety if you still decide to travel abroad. Georgia is welcoming long-term visitors who would like to work remotely from an epidemiologically safe country. You can fill out an application on Ministry of Economy and sustainable development of Georgia’s website.
Since Georgia’s inclusion on the list of safe countries, and the issuance of the recommendation on the possible reopening of borders to these countries, the Georgian Government has been engaged in active bilateral negotiations with several EU member states Agreements on the unconditional bilateral reopening of borders have already been achieved with Germany, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia.
On 16 March 2020, the European Commission adopted a communication recommending a temporary restriction of all non-essential travel from third countries into the EU. On 30 June the Council adopted a recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, including an initial list of countries for which member states should start lifting the travel restrictions at the external borders.
On July 31st, following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. As stipulated in the Council recommendation, this list will continue to be reviewed regularly and, as the case may be, updated. Georgia’s still on the updated list, while Algeria has been dropped after removing Serbia and Montenegro. Read more.
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