President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili Criticizes Amendments to Citizenship Law
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, November 23, 2023
President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili criticized the amendments to the 'Law on Citizenship' and stated that the presented modifications do not genuinely ease the process of acquiring citizenship.
Speaking at the Orbeliani Palace on November 21, she highlighted the key request for simplified exams, particularly advocating for a less difficult Georgian language test, especially for young Georgians living abroad.
"The fee should be zero because we are restoring citizenship to these individuals, and all this was not taken into account. The only significant change is that you can now take the exams as many times as needed and pay the fee at any time. This is the main change," said Salome Zourabichvili.
The president also emphasized that Georgian citizenship should be automatically granted to individuals born in the occupied territories.
"If we had a bit of strategy and a vision for our future relationship with the occupied territories, we should have announced the automatic restoration of citizenship to all those born on the territory of Georgia, without considering any procedures. This was a request that I believe, the state should have fulfilled," said Zourabichili.
Salome Zourabichvili called on political parties to submit a relevant legislative initiative to the parliament, which will simplify the procedures for obtaining Georgian citizenship. Despite the criticism, the president signed the mentioned legislative changes.
Parliament adopted the amendment to the Law 'On Georgian Citizenship' on November 1st. The changes aim to improve and simplify the citizenship procedure.
According to the amendment, non-Georgian individuals who have been residing in the country for 5 years or more will now have the opportunity to obtain Georgian citizenship if they meet other conditions. Previously, it was required to live in Georgia for 10 years to qualify for citizenship.
