Interior Ministry Proposes Tougher Migration Rules, New Requirements for Foreign Students
By Messenger Staff
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Georgia's Interior Ministry has proposed legislative amendments aimed at tightening migration regulations, introducing new requirements for foreign students, criminalizing fictitious marriages for residency purposes, and strengthening measures against illegal migration.
According to the ministry, the initiative "responds to modern migration challenges and aims to establish a more efficient, transparent, and secure system for regulating the presence of foreign nationals in Georgia."
The proposed amendments would require foreign students seeking admission to higher and vocational education institutions to submit an international language certificate or pass a foreign language or Georgian language examination. The legislation would also introduce "maximum quotas" for foreign student admissions and require educational institutions to enter information on foreign students into a unified database accessible to relevant state agencies.
The ministry said educational institutions could face administrative sanctions, including fines, restrictions on admitting foreign students, or the revocation of authorization for violating student-recording requirements.
The amendments would also regulate student residence permits and establish grounds for revoking them, including when a student "fails to meet academic requirements, violates conditions of employment, or is not actually present on the territory of Georgia for the period defined by law."
The legislative package would introduce a new residence permit for foreign spouses of Georgian citizens, with a special commission responsible for verifying the authenticity of marriages before permits are granted.
In addition, the amendments would criminalize "fictitious marriages" entered into for the purpose of obtaining Georgian citizenship, residency, or another legal basis for lawful stay. The ministry said penalties could include deportation and reentry bans of two to ten years for foreign nationals, as well as fines, house arrest, or imprisonment of up to two years.
The package also provides for replacing the unserved portion of a foreign convict's sentence with deportation and an entry ban. To combat illegal migration, the ministry said the amendments would grant its Migration Department authority to conduct operational-search activities.
The proposed changes would also introduce what the ministry described as "significant changes" to court proceedings, including shorter appeal deadlines, expedited hearings, and, in some cases, proceedings conducted without oral hearings.
