Georgia Issues Residence Permits to 107,307 Foreigners – Kobakhidze Pu...

Kobakhidze highlighted that over 70% of foreigners in Georgia come from post-Soviet countries, the EU, the U.S., or Israel, with the remaining 30% originating from other nations.Regarding residence permits, 107,307 permits have been issued to citizens from 164 countries. Key countries include: Russia: 32,129 permits (29.9%), with roughly 30% being ethnic Georgians or former Georgian citizens. India: 23,930, mostly students. Azerbaijan: 6.3%, largely ethnic Azerbaijanis who left and later returned. Ukraine: 6,290 with residence permits; an additional 25,000 Ukrainians reside in Georgia under refugee status, totaling around 30,000. Armenia: over 5,000, mainly returnees with Armenian citizenship. Belarus: 3,738. Turkey: 3,645 (3.4%). Iran: 3,331 (3.1%). Sudan: 2%, mostly medical students. China: over 2,000 (1.9%), mainly labor for infrastructure projects. Jordan: over 2,000 (1.9%), mainly medical students. Pakistan: 1,618 (1.5%), mainly medical students. Egypt: 1,341 (1.2%), mostly medical students. USA: over 1,000 (1%). Kobakhidze noted that residence permit data provides a clear picture of the presence and origins of foreigners in Georgia, offering insight into migration patterns and the composition of the foreign population.

Kobakhidze Plans to Deport 20% of Illegal Migrants from Georgia

Kobakhidze emphasized that recent legislative changes, including amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners and the criminal and administrative codes, have significantly strengthened immigration control.In 2025, more illegal migrants were deported from Georgia than in the previous ten years combined, the Prime Minister said. For 2026, the government plans to deport approximately 4,000 individuals, representing around 20% of the country’s illegal migrant population.He also provided a country breakdown of deported migrants: India – 20.5%, Turkey – 12.9%, Iran – 12%, China – 7.5%, and Russia – 5.6%. Kobakhidze stressed that enhancing enforcement is feasible due to ongoing reforms in the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Migration Department.

You can’t stop Putin with your kisses - Zelenskyy on Georgia, Chechnya...

“This is a big mistake to allow the aggressor to take something. It was a big mistake at the very beginning, starting with 2014. And even before that, during the attack and occupation of parts of Georgia. And even before that, when Chechnya was occupied, with total destruction and one million casualties – both killed and wounded,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the X Platform.According to the Ukrainian President, other whould not commit the same mistake, since Putin will not stop with “kisses or flowers,” but become stronger and attack them.“Many mistakes were made. That’s why now I don’t want to be the President who will repeat the mistakes made by my predecessors or other people. I’m not just speaking about Ukraine. I’m speaking about the leaders of different countries that allowed an aggressive country like Russia to come onto their territory.Because you can’t stop Putin with your kisses or flowers. I never did it and that’s why I don’t feel that it’s the right way. My advice to everybody – don’t do that with Putin.Otherwise, there will be a first step, then in five years, he will rebuild his military, increase the number of soldiers, his army will be well trained. Because he has lost a lot of well-trained people. He is losing 30–35 thousand people per month now.Can you imagine this in the 21st century? Can you imagine – he’s losing 35,000 each month? I’m not sure that he knows about it,” he said.

Government tightens migration policy: Labor market for foreigners to b...

According to Irakli Kobakhidze, 70% of foreigners living in Georgia are citizens of post-Soviet countries, the European Union, the United States and Israel, while the total share of countries in the region, such as Turkey and Iran, is only 0.7% of the Georgian population. The Prime Minister paid special attention to the legislative changes planned from March 1, according to which the labor activity of foreigners in Georgia will be significantly restricted. According to him, this step serves to protect the interests of the country's economy and local citizens, for which the government takes full responsibility.In addition, the Prime Minister noted that the government is strengthening the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He explained that over the past year, more illegal migrants have been expelled from the country than in the previous 10 years combined. According to Kobakhidze, there are currently more than 20 thousand illegal migrants in the country and the goal is to completely rid Georgia of them in a few years. The Prime Minister also reminded the public of the 2017 constitutional amendment that prohibited the alienation of agricultural land to foreigners, which he said is another proof of the protection of national interests.

“GD” Reduces Ilia State University’s Admission Quota by 92%

Against this backdrop, the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, framed the situation as politically motivated and accused protesting ISU representatives of aligning with former president Mikheil Saakashvili. According to Papuashvili, the interests of Saakashvili’s political team stand behind the ongoing resistance to the reforms.Papuashvili also described the current higher education system as “problematic” and defended the government’s new “one city, one faculty” model. He argued that the reform is “so logical” that only those with “subjective interests” would oppose it.The new quota decision significantly reshapes Ilia State University, which currently enrolls more than 17,000 students and offers 36 academic programs. As of next year, only 16 programs will remain, most of them with symbolic quotas of 10–30 students, raising doubts about their operational viability.The government has entirely removed the university’s right to accept students into many of its most popular and strategically important fields, including: Social Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, International Relations Business & Law: All business administration programs (management, tourism, finance) and the Faculty of Law Humanities & Arts: Philosophy, Archaeology, Architecture, Film Studies, Music Technology: English-language Computer Science program These cancellations affect some of ISU’s strongest and highest-demand programs, prompting concern from academics and policy observers.Education experts warn that the sweeping cuts appear to undermine the university’s academic autonomy and could be part of a political effort to weaken one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions. With most major programs abolished and only narrow specialties remaining, critics say the reforms could destabilize the entire institution.Some analysts argue that the scale and speed of the quota reductions effectively amount to a restructuring that threatens Ilia State University’s long-term sustainability.