From May 15, 2023, Russia will cancel the visa regime for citizens of Georgia, with the exception of persons entering the Russian Federation for the purpose of employment. The corresponding decree of the President of the Russian Federation is published on the portal of legal information.
The document establishes that “from May 15, 2023, citizens of Georgia enter the Russian Federation and leave the Russian Federation without issuing visas on the basis of valid identity documents.”
The exception is “citizens entering the Russian Federation in order to carry out labor activities or for a period of more than 90 days, including for the purpose of obtaining education.”
In accordance with the decree, from May 15, citizens of Georgia sent to the Russian Federation as employees of the Georgian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Russia and their family members are issued single-entry visas for three months. After accreditation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, such persons can enter and leave Russia without issuing visas within three months.
The Decree came into force from the date of its signing.
As explained in the Russian Foreign Ministry, from May 15, “Georgian citizens will be able to enter the territory of the Russian Federation through border checkpoints open for international passenger traffic in a visa-free regime for up to 90 days out of every 180 days with diplomatic, service, private, business, tourism, humanitarian purposes, as well as for short-term training.
“At the same time, citizens of Georgia who intend to study in Russian educational organizations for a period of more than 90 days, carry out labor activities, temporarily or permanently reside in the Russian Federation, are required to enter the Russian Federation and leave it on visas,” the official representative of the Foreign Ministry said in a comment. Russian Federation Maria Zakharova, published on the website of the department.
According to Interfax, travel companies reported that Russian tour operators are ready to send Russian tourists back to Georgia, which, before the ban on direct flights, was one of the most popular tourism destinations among all countries of the former USSR.
“Before all the events and the ban on direct flights, Georgia was the most popular tourism destination among all the countries of the Transcaucasus, and possibly the countries of the former USSR. The greatest demand was for city tours in Tbilisi, as well as excursion programs with visits to wine regions, such as Kakheti. Usually these were week-long tours with visits to mountain villages and a rich program, ”the press service of the Intourist tour operator said. The company is ready to put package tours to Georgia on sale again.
“Moreover, relations with Georgian partners have been preserved, they are waiting for Russian tourists. But the volume of tourist traffic and the success of the destination will directly depend on the timing of the restoration of direct flights between Moscow and other Russian cities and Tbilisi, as well as ticket prices,” the company stressed.
Tour operator FUN&SUN is also ready to send tourists to Georgia. They noted that the direction is in demand even now, in the absence of direct flights.
“In the very near future, as soon as airlines form flight programs to Georgia, a tourist product based on direct transportation will appear on our website. In recent years, we have offered tours to Georgia to tourists from the CIS countries – Belarus, Kazakhstan and others. Therefore, there will be no problems with organizing tours for Russians after the ban is lifted,” the press service stressed.
The press service of Intourist reminded that the Georgian side must issue permission for flights to airlines. When exactly this will happen is still unclear.
Source: Rosbalt
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