On 11 February, IOM hosted a live session on the IOM Georgia Facebook page and Facebook Group “Visa-Free to Europe” to provide the public with information on the latest developments on the visa-free travel for citizens of Georgia to the EU/Schengen  countries. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs introduced the recent legal amendments in force since 1 January 2021 on the checks that are implemented at Georgia’s border crossing points to ensure that all Georgians travelling to the EU through visa free regime comply with the Schengen regulation requirements.  

The members of the FB page took this opportunity to ask questions on many issues, such as specific requirements of the documents that are checked before departure, the impact of COVID-19 on travel opportunities to the EU/Schengen countries and the perspectives of Georgia opening its land borders to neighbouring countries.

IOM’s safe migration awareness raising campaign on visa-free travel is part of the project Sustaining Border Management and Migration Governance funded by the European Union.