16 July 2020

At an event at Tbilisi Airport hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the EU together with project implementer International Organization for Migration (IOM) have donated 60 pieces of advanced border management equipment to the MIA. This included document inspection equipment, enabling passport control officers at key border crossing points in Georgia to do a quick check of the security features of passports and other travel documents. In case of doubt, they can refer passengers to a more thorough second-line inspection and examination.

The document inspection equipment produced in the United Kingdom is a triple function document examination instrument, with an ultraviolet lamp mounted above the working area for checking UV security features, a white lamp mounted behind a diffusing window for the examination of transmissive features, and a halogen lamp mounted at the rear of the working area for the examination of dry stamps and indented or erased writing. 

These instruments are part of an EU funded support programme which includes equipment valued at EUR 10 million (GEL 34 Million) to Georgian authorities for use in areas of migration and border management. Second-line inspection capacities of the MIA have been upgraded over the past years with EU support, to the extent that all major border checkpoints in Georgia possess sophisticated equipment that allows MIA officials to check the veracity of travel documents and take adequate measures if fraud has been detected.

“Improving border security is an area of close cooperation between the EU and Georgia. The equipment handed over today will enable Georgian authorities to more effectively fight irregular migration, and crime.  This is crucial in view of the visa free travel to the EU , and is part of the EU's wider support to ensure modern and well managed borders in Georgia and the safety and security of Georgians”, said Monika Csaki, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Georgia.