Georgia is not going to introduce a partial visa regime for citizens of Armenia beginning in September, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday, denying a report made earlier by a Russian news agency.
Citing its sources at the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Regnum reported that the current visa-free regime between Georgia and Armenia will remain in force only for those Armenian citizens who will visit the neighboring country for a short period of time as tourists. Meanwhile, it said, the visa regime will apply to Armenian citizens who intend to stay in Georgia for a longer period, such as for education or business purposes.
According to the report, similar visa regimes will also be introduced for a number of other counties as well in accordance with the changes envisaged by the new Georgian law dealing with the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons that will become effective on September 1, 2014.
Georgia signed an association agreement with the European Union in June and, according to the report, the new changes supposedly reflect the country’s immigration policies in this context.
“In response to an inquiry from the Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia said that Georgia does not intend to introduce a visa regime with Armenia,” Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan said in a Twitter post.