{"id":185938,"date":"2026-05-02T13:57:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T10:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/185938\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T15:41:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T12:41:21","slug":"belarusian-expat-community-in-georgia-shrinks-by-9-percent-since-2023","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/185938\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian expat community in Georgia shrinks by 9 percent since 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n Belarusian store in Tbilisi\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

May 2, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The Belarusian expat community in Georgia has been shrinking over the past three years, according to Pozirk<\/em>\u2019s analysis of data by Georgia\u2019s National Statistics Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of early 2026, 12,681 Belarusian expats resided in Georgia, 9 percent fewer than on January 1, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The net outflow since 2023 totaled 1,254 people, with a negative trend slowing down only last year, when 1,938 Belarusian nationals arrived in Georgia and 2,065 left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migration of Belarusians to Georgia surged in 2022, when 13,361 Belarusians arrived, and 852 departed, with a net increase of 12,509 people, according to the official data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, net migration numbers were also remained positive, yet the absolute numbers were more modest: 1,583 new arrivals and 157 departures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, in 2021\u20132025, 22,890 Belarusians arrived in Georgia, while 10,209 left the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia has not granted a single asylum request from Belarusians under the Georgian Dream government of pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. However, Georgia is a visa-free country for Belarusians, who can legally stay in the country for up to one year. Many of the recent migrants fled politically-motivated reprisals after the 2020 political crisis in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that more than 3,700 Belarusians hold Georgian residence permits.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Georgian migration authorities intensified their anti-immigration drive and are conducting raids to identify undocumented migrants, including door-to-door apartment checks, with Belarusians among those targeted. Local media and diaspora activists have reported cases of foreigners being deported on what they describe as trumped-up grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja told Pozirk<\/em> yesterday that it is currently not possible to negotiate with the Georgian authorities on recognizing expired Belarusian passports or issuing temporary identification documents for foreigners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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