Georgian citizenship: exceptional acquisition and retention of citizenship
- Exceptional Acquisition of Citizenship
- Retention of citizenship
- Practice
- Contact our legal team to learn more
Recently, obtaining Georgian citizenship has become relevant. Visa-free travel with the Schengen countries and the possibility of obtaining a tourist visa to the United States for a period of 10 years make this citizenship more and more attractive. There is information on the Internet about the acquisition of Georgian citizenship by "retention", but this has nothing to do with obtaining Georgian citizenship. REVERA's lawyers considered the main differences between the acquisition of citizenship in an exceptional manner and the procedure for maintaining citizenship.
We will focus on these two grounds for the following reasons:
- Most often, persons use these two grounds for obtaining/maintaining a Georgian passport;
- Lack of understanding of the differences between these two bases;
- Confusion in the procedure for obtaining a passport during the procedures.
The acquisition of Georgian citizenship can be divided into two main categories:
- By birth;
- By naturalization.
According to Article 9 of the Law of Georgia "On Citizenship", naturalization is divided into the following types:
- The usual order;
- Simplified procedure;
- Exceptional procedure;
- Restoration procedure.
In Georgia, there is no norm for the issuance of citizenship on the basis of nationality, unlike, for example, Armenia, where citizenship can be obtained by roots.
Exceptional Acquisition of Citizenship
The largest number of foreign citizens permanently residing outside Georgia acquire citizenship on an exceptional basis. The candidate must pass a test on knowledge of the Georgian language, history and law. The exam consists of three blocks of 10 questions, in each block it is allowed to make no more than three mistakes. Without successfully passing the test, the candidate will not be allowed to be interviewed by the commission. After passing the test, an interview with the citizenship commission will be scheduled, during which the candidate will need to prove the existence of a stable connection between him and Georgia. Upon successful completion of all stages, the candidate will be able to become a citizen of Georgia, while retaining his first citizenship.
Retention of citizenship
The retention of citizenship in its meaning does not refer to the forms of acquisition of citizenship, and the application of this term is carried out exclusively to citizens of Georgia. According to paragraph "c" of Article 21 of the Law of Georgia "On Citizenship": a person loses the citizenship of Georgia if he/she acquires the citizenship of another state, except for the cases provided for in Article 211 of this Law.
Before acquiring citizenship of a foreign state, a citizen of Georgia must undergo the procedure of retaining Georgian citizenship and obtain the official consent of the Georgian state to acquire another citizenship. Consent can be obtained by passing an interview at the citizenship commission, where it will be necessary to prove the preservation of a stable connection with Georgia, even with permanent or temporary residence outside its borders.
Practice
Most persons with Georgian citizenship go through the procedure of retaining citizenship after acquiring a second citizenship, but in practice, many of them are denied Georgian citizenship. For example, such cases are possible when a person wants Georgian citizenship being born in another state and having lived there all his life. At the same time, if one of the parents was a citizen of Georgia at the time of the candidate's birth, then the child is automatically recognized by Georgia as its citizen. Therefore, when undergoing the procedure of retaining citizenship, the person proves the existence of a stable connection with Georgia and asks for the preservation of citizenship, and not its acquisition. At this point, the main failure in the understanding of these terms occurs.
The retention of citizenship applies to persons who, despite objective factors, are citizens of Georgia.
Exceptional Acquisition of Citizenship is the procedure for the acquisition and acquisition of Georgian citizenship.
Authors: Yaroslavna Zadesenskaya, Levan Pogosov
Contact our legal team to learn more
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