In 2021, the request for asylum from Georgia in EU member states increased by 69% compared to 2020, this is stated in the report published by the European Commission within the framework of the visa regime suspension mechanism, which was provided to IPN by the EU office in Georgia in response to its interest in the relevant information.

According to the document, 8,650 applications for international protection were submitted by Georgian citizens in EU member states in 2020, and in 2021, their number was 14,600.

In addition, according to the report, in 2021, 30 cases of illegal crossing of the borders of EU member states by Georgians were recorded, which is identical to the data of 2020.

In addition, in 2021, the number of Georgian citizens illegally staying in member states increased by 28%. In particular, in 2021, 13,000 citizens of Georgia were illegally present in the member states, and in 2020, this number was 10,165.

"The number of cases of refusal to enter the member states for Georgian citizens has increased by 50%", the report states. In particular, in 2021, 3,105 citizens of Georgia were refused entry to the member states.

Also, according to the report, the number of decisions to turn back Georgian citizens decreased by 13% in 2021. In particular, in 2021, the decision to turn back citizens to Georgia was made in 10,595 cases, and in 2020, this number was 12,120. The number of citizens returning to Georgia also decreased. Privately, according to the report, 5,495 citizens returned to Georgia in 2021, and 6,330 citizens in 2020.

"However, Frontex reports that the EU readmission agreement in 2021 has been satisfactorily implemented. Several member countries state that they had good cooperation with Georgia, in particular, regarding the use of reverse flights," the report states.

*The quotes in the article have been double-translated from Georgian and wordings may be inaccurate.

source: IPN