Syrian Passport Holder / UAE Resident visiting Georgia

Question

Can a Syrian Passport holder with a UAE residency visit Georgia - Country (Tbilisi, Batumi) without a visa/eVisa?

Answer 1

Yes, but warnings apply.

Wikipedia tells us:

Holders of valid visas or residence permits of following countries may stay in Georgia for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period:

(...)

• All Gulf Cooperation Council member states

However it also warns that:

There have been many cases where those holding valid residency of GCC countries have been denied access without assigning any reason, especially if they are citizens of India, Pakistan and Palestine.

This may not be exhaustive, though it is probably more likely to be related to people (suspected of) coming to work in Georgia rather than actual visitors.

The Georgian official text on the topic (via Google Translate) is available here.

Also, while Traveldoc and the IATA Travel Centre both says you are clear to board with those documents:

• Some interfaces to Timatic (like the simplified interface on the Emirates website) say you need a visa. I think it's just a problem with that interface, and airline check-in/gate personnel should be able to get the correct response, but remember that some of them are not very good at handling or interpreting Timatic.
• The Traveldoc info says "Clear to board" and "Visa is not required for Georgia. Maximum stay of 90 days" but says below you "may apply for an e-visa", "must hold a printed copy of their e-visa on arrival", which may likewise confuse some agents.

Note that Traveldoc also says (and here it's probably true):

Passengers must hold the following documents on arrival:

1. Document proving purpose of travel (invitation, letter from nominating institute or organisation, or other document proving a purpose of visit);
2. Proof of accommodation (hotel booking or copy of a rental agreement for the duration of stay, or document proving real estate);
3. Travel and health insurance covering the cost of any condition and death; and
4. Proof of sufficient financial funds (bank statement of the past 3 months, reference from employer including position and income, document proving possession of real estate, a dated and signed letter from a sponsor including address and contact details, relationship between passenger and sponsor, place of destination and duration, list of costs covered by a sponsor).

The site of the Embassy of Georgia in the UAE likewise tells us:

Residents of the UAE - for the purpose of entering and staying in Georgia without visa, a residence permit (visa or the UAE Resident ID) of a respective country shall be valid on the day of entry into and departure from Georgia, which must be evidenced by the valid National Passport or other valid appropriate travel document.

You must be able to present the following documents at the Georgian State border, if it is requested by the MIA Border Police of Georgia:

• Travel Document: valid passport or other valid appropriate travel document and valid residence permit (visa or the UAE Resident ID);
• Document proving purpose of travel;
• Proof of accommodation;
• Travel and health insurance;
• ​Document proving sufficient financial means;
• Print out of the COVID-19 vaccination Certificate with QR Code.

(I suppose the last one is no longer required)