Portugal to allow legal employment of Georgians
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, April 24
Portugal will become the second EU member state after France which will sign an agreement with Georgia on the legal employment of Georgians, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported on Tuesday.
It has not been specified which professions will be given priorities, as details have not been agreed so far.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani says that the Georgian delegation will visit Lisbon in the coming months when the details will be discussed.
“The agreement will regulate the migration and increase the qualification of Georgians, who, after several years, will return to Georgia,” Zalkaliani said.
Georgia is trying to sign such a deal with Poland and Israel.
“Negotiations are underway with several of the EU member states,” the Foreign Ministry reports.
The same type of deal was signed with France last year.
The agreement refers to both the employment of Georgians in France and French citizens in Georgia.
Young Georgian specialists, as well as graduates of French educational institutions and their branches, will be able to stay in the country for work experience and then return to Georgia.
France agreed to allocate 150 permits for young specialists annually, and an additional 500 permits for others.
Circular migration, which refers to migration for working purposes, remains a problem for Georgia, as thousands of Georgians are illegally employed abroad.
