Georgian police gain new powers to combat illegal immigration

The Georgian Parliament has passed amendments to the law ‘On the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons’ in its third and final reading, significantly enhancing the powers of the Migration Department within the Interior Ministry.

The new legislation grants police officers the authority to verify the residence and workplaces of foreign nationals to identify and address cases of illegal immigration, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

Under the revised law, migration officers will also be empowered to enter private properties—either with the consent of the property owner or employer, or through a court order—to carry out their duties more effectively.

“It is important that the Migration Department of the Interior Ministry has even stronger legal guarantees so that they can effectively exercise their powers in this direction,” stated Tornike Cheishvili, Deputy Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee and one of the amendment’s authors.

Highlighting the urgency of tightening migration controls, Cheishvili revealed that in the first six months of 2025, Georgian authorities expelled 525 foreign nationals for illegal stay, marking a staggering 280 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

By Vafa Guliyeva