According to the legislative amendments, a fictitious marriage between a citizen of Georgia and a foreigner becomes punishable under criminal law
In order to create effective mechanisms for managing migration processes and strengthen state security, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has prepared a draft amendment to the Law of Georgia “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” and the legislative amendments arising from it.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the current legal framework does not provide for detailed regulations regarding the study of foreign students. In practice, there are cases when a foreign citizen is formally enrolled in a university, although his or her participation in the educational process is not actually confirmed.
“Considering the above, the amendments define additional prerequisites for the admission of foreign students to higher and vocational educational institutions, such as the submission of an international language certificate and/or passing a foreign language/state language exam organized by NAEC. The aforementioned regulation excludes the enrollment of a student in a foreign language program without actually possessing the relevant language competence. In addition, a maximum quota for the admission of foreign students will be established for educational institutions by a resolution of the Government of Georgia. At the same time, an educational institution will be obliged to reflect information on the acquisition of the right to enroll a foreign student, enrollment, suspension/termination/restoration of student status, mobility, completion of studies, and other information in a unified information system, which will be accessible to relevant state agencies. Educational institutions are administratively responsible for the admission of foreign students For violation of registration rules, and as a sanction, both a fine and a restriction on the admission of foreign students and cancellation of authorization may be used.
The legislative amendments will also regulate issues related to the study residence permit. The named permit will be issued to an adult only in the case of studying at an authorized higher or vocational educational institution.
The package of legislative amendments also determines the grounds for terminating the period of stay of a foreign student in Georgia (cancellation of the residence permit), including in the case of failure to meet academic requirements, violation of labor conditions or failure to actually be on the territory of Georgia for the period specified by law.
The legislative amendments also regulate issues related to the issuance of a residence permit based on marriage between a Georgian citizen and a foreigner. A new type of residence permit is determined - a residence permit for the spouse of a Georgian citizen, which is issued in the form of a permanent residence permit Before obtaining. In addition, before issuing the said residence permit, the validity of the marriage will be verified and a special commission will be established for this purpose.
According to the legislative amendments, a fictitious marriage between a citizen of Georgia and a foreigner for the purpose of obtaining Georgian citizenship, a residence permit in Georgia and/or other legal grounds for legal stay in Georgia will be punishable under criminal law. The punishment will include the expulsion of the foreigner from Georgia and a ban on entering Georgia for a period of two to ten years, or a fine, or house arrest for a period of one to two years, or imprisonment for a period of two years.
The package of legislative amendments also provides for the replacement of the unserved part of the sentence for a convicted foreigner with expulsion from Georgia and a ban on entering the country, in compliance with the conditions established by the legislation of Georgia.
With the aim of combating, preventing and suppressing illegal migration through legislative amendments The Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia will be granted the authority to carry out operational-investigative measures.
In addition, the package of legislative amendments introduces significant changes in the judicial proceedings. In particular, the deadlines for appealing decisions are reduced, tighter deadlines for case consideration are established, and in a number of cases it becomes possible to consider cases without an oral hearing.
The presented legislative amendments, which were prepared under the authorship of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in close coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, respond to modern migration challenges and ensure the establishment of a more effective, transparent and secure system for regulating the stay of foreigners in Georgia,” the MIA information states.