Georgia to review e-visa system after many Indians were refused entry

A series of diplomatic exchanges were held between authorities of India and Georgia after 200 travellers from India holding e-visas were sent back from the country straddling Eastern Europe and Asia in the last six months.

 

Following an admission by the Georgian authorities of problems in their system, they said they would review it. They suggested that Indians travelling to Georgia take a normal visa until the e-visa problem is resolved. Although centralised data is not available, as per several estimates, the number of those had sent back from Georgia in the last six months was 200.

 

About 29,000 visas were issued by Georgia to Indians between January and June 2017. Out of those, 590 people were refused entry into the country, the Georgian authorities told Indian authorities.

 

An official who is aware of the conversation between the two nations on this issue was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying that out of 590 Indian nationals who were refused entry, many of them were e-visa holders. Since the Georgian authorities admitted to having issues with their e-visa system and as they were reviewing it, they suggested Indians apply for normal visas. In some cases, the Georgian authorities said that people were sent back owing to incorrect documentation.

 

Armenia’s Indian embassy, where Georgian issues are supervised, will pursue the matter with the foreign office of Georgia and the external affairs ministry also spoke to the country’s embassy.

 

Archil Dzuliashvili, the Georgian ambassador to India, told the news daily that he would get in touch with the Ministry of foreign affairs of Georgia as the embassy does not handle e-visas.

 

Many Indians who were sent back lodged a complaint with Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister, and other officials of the ministry in addition to sharing their experiences on the social media. Khushbu Kaushal, a professional in advertising, who was among the ones sent back, shared her unfortunate travails on Facebook.

 

If you are looking to travel to Georgia, get in touch with Y-Axis, a premier consultancy for immigration services, to apply for a tourist visa.