Georgia - Safe Country of Origin

Belgium has granted the status of Safe Country of Origin to Georgia, which means the country meets all relevant legal requirements to be considered as such.

The criteria necessary for obtaining the status were the legal situation in the country of origin, the application of the law, the general political circumstances and the extent to which protection is provided against persecution and abuse.

The Safe of Origin designation has been prescribed in Belgium since 2012 and it is one of the key aspects for the country in the process of granting asylum to foreign nationals.

Every year, Belgium reviews the list of countries which can be potentially added to the list, but Georgia was the only one deemed to fit the criteria.

Developing countries considered safe for Belgium as of 2016 are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, India and Georgia.

Since Georgia is now on the list, it will be hard for asylum seekers to obtain shelter in the country, as Georgia is now regarded as a nation where people are not persecuted with law enforcement bodies largely free of corruption.

The fact that Georgia gains such status is the result of years of work by consecutive governments. Given the unpopularity of Mikheil Saakashvili’s latter period in office, it is often ignored that he and his UNM party were responsible for freeing Georgia from the stranglehold of organized crime.

The current Georgian Government also does its best to fight crime. For this, the police is de-politicized and at the same time intolerant to every type of crime.

There is a tendency now - and people are becoming increasingly vocal about this on social networks - that the patrol police have become “quite soft” to some violations on the roads and streets, which is counterproductive, as Georgia requires a very strong, fair and reliable police force.