BMMAG

Sustaining Border Management and Migration Governance in Georgia (SBMMG) – Secure Borders, Safe Migration

From 2014 onwards, IOM has been assisting the Georgian Government in upholding and improving its compliance with the benchmarks of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan under a series of EU-funded projects. These projects focus on building the capacities of relevant ministries and agencies to enhance the security of the country’s borders and develop migration governance standards.

In March 2017, Georgia gained the right to visa-free travel to the Schengen Area (subject to certain requirements), thanks to which the international mobility of citizens of Georgia and opportunities to travel to EU Member States for short-term purposes has been considerably boosted. At the same time, the EU has urged the Georgian Government to tackle the increase in the numbers of unfounded asylum applications lodged by citizens of Georgia in EU countries and combat manifestations of organized crime. IOM has been supporting the Ministry of Internal Affairs in implementing pre-departure controls on Schengen-bound flights, while at the same time raising the awareness of citizens of Georgia about the opportunities as well as responsibilities of making use of visa-free travel under its "Informed Migration, Boundless Opportunities" – Safe Migration Campaign.

Since January 2021, IOM has been implementing the BMMAG project, which focuses on a vast range of capacity building efforts assisting the Government of Georgia in enhancing standards of border management, migration governance and protection of migrants’ rights. IOM implements this project together with its partner UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency, which focuses on advancing the standards of Georgia’s asylum system and promote the integration of refugees and temporary protection status holders.

To learn more about IOM's activities in the field of border management and promotion of safe migration or to receive online consultation regarding all migration-related questions, please visit the website Informed Migration.

Unified Migration Analytical System

In the years 2018-2021, a project called “Capacity Building of Georgian Authorities in Migration Data Analysis” was completed through the IOM Development Fund. The main objective of the project was to contribute to building the migration data governance framework of Georgia and the development of the Unified Migration Analytical System (UMAS) and its support for having an up-to-date national infrastructure for migration data analysis.

The project aimed to address challenges at the strategic and executive levels and achieve the objective through specific outcomes and related outputs. The expected outcome of the project was "the Georgian migration authorities have advanced their capacity to develop sound migration policies based on advanced data analysis in line with modern methodologies and standards." The project was undertaken in close coordination with State Commission for Migration Issues (SCMI) and Public Service Development Agency (PSDA). As a result of the project, we have in place the new country strategy with its new Plan of Action, trained staff in various data management fields needed to better process data received and shared among participant governmental agencies.

Per Migration Strategy 2021-2030 facilitation of evidence-based decision-making in the field of migration is one of the key objectives.