Georgian, Ukraine Start Bilateral Travel with ID cards in March
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, February 11
The citizens of Georgia and Ukraine will be able to travel between the two countries without a passport, only with ID cards starting from March 1. 2019, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote on Facebook.
“The renewed visa-free agreement between Georgia and Ukraine comes into play on March 1, 2019. The possibility to travel with only ID cards is included in the renewed document,” Ukraine says.
Currently, Georgian and Ukrainian citizens do not need a visa to visit each other for a 90-day stay during any 180-day period, but they do need a passport to cross the border.
Negotiations to allow the travel only with the cards kicked off in 2017.
Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine Gela Dumbadze told the media about the possible in December 2017.
"When the Ukrainian Prime Minister visited Georgia, he voiced his desire to launch a simplified movement regime between Georgia and Ukraine only with ID cards, just like between Georgia and Turkey. The initiative has been adopted, relevant instructions have been issued and the process is ongoing”, said the ambassador.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman visited Georgia on November 27, when he voiced his initiative regarding the passport-free movement between Georgia and Ukraine as he met with his Georgian counterpart, former PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
New Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated in the summer of 2018 that the initiative was going to support tourism development and deepening economic relations between the two countries.
“It is important to us to pursue the new potential for the development of tourism and find the best use of Georgia’s geographical advantages.
“Accordingly, we made a decision and based on our bilateral relations with our Ukrainian partners, citizens in possession of ID cards will be able to travel between the two countries freely. This is a very important step for strengthening our bilateral cooperation,” Bakhtadze added.
He said that a similar approach is going to be applied to other countries in the future as well but did not specify to which ones.
