A new category of residence is being introduced, this is the residence of the spouse of a Georgian citizen, which will no longer be permanent from the very beginning, - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze stated at the plenary session of the Parliament during the discussion of amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, developed by the Government of Georgia through a legislative initiative.

According to Darakhvelidze, the goal of the aforementioned legislative initiative is to effectively manage migration flows and strengthen the fight against illegal migration.

“The presented package of draft laws is a continuation of the legislative amendments that we implemented last year. We analyzed the shortcomings and challenges in various areas that led to the accumulation of foreigners in the country, misuse of legislative records by them and their long-term stay in the country.

The presented package of amendments aims to revise the existing regulations in the field of residence. Here we touched on two types of residence - study and permanent residence. These two residences are the most issued residences. As of today, more than 35 thousand foreigners have valid study residence, as for permanent residence, this is a residence that is issued in the event of marriage with a Georgian citizen, and approximately 30 thousand such residences have been issued. Permanent residence is issued for life, as long as the marriage is valid.

In the first quarter of 2026, the demand for this type of residence tripled, which suggested that the basis for obtaining this residence permit may be a fictitious marriage. Therefore, the aforementioned package of amendments envisages the proposal of specific legal mechanisms in the case of granting permanent residence, in particular, a new category of residence is introduced, this is the residence permit of the spouse of a citizen of Georgia, which will be issued if a foreigner applies for residence after marriage and this residence permit will no longer be issued for life at the very first time. It will be issued for a period of one year and then with the possibility of extension for two or three years.

Before granting residence permit, the foreigner and his Georgian spouse will have to undergo an interview before the commission and if as a result of this interview it is revealed that a fictitious marriage has taken place, according to the Criminal Code, this is already a punishable act and will entail criminal liability. The case materials will be sent to the investigative body for further investigation. If it is confirmed that a fictitious marriage took place, this marriage will be declared invalid, and the perpetrators will be held accountable.

In the event that a fictitious marriage is not confirmed, a one-year residence permit will be issued, which will be extended for 2-2 years, and if this marriage is maintained for five years, then it will be possible to issue permanent residence," said Aleksandre Darakhvelidze.