Visa to Georgia is not required

At the end of the winter of 2012 came good news for travelers: a visa for Georgia will not be required for Russians. Another country abolished visa entry. Under the decree of the President of Georgia, all Russian citizens can freely enter and stay in the country without visas for exactly 90 days.

In connection with the disagreement between Russia and Georgia on certain political issues in 2000, all diplomatic relations between the countries were terminated and a visa regime was introduced. This led to the fact that the strong thread, which once connected the two former republics of the Soviet Union, was almost completely cut off.

Our tourists stopped to go to the country massively, famous not only for their shish kebabs and "Kindzmarauli", but also for beach rest in Batumi, treatment in Borjomi, old churches and rock monasteries in Tbilisi and many others. The visa to Georgia has become a big obstacle to maintaining the ties of ordinary Russians with an ancient, hospitable, proud and free-willed edge. We stopped drinking Borjom, basking in the beaches of the Black Sea, walking around Batumi, blooming all year round, and breathing in the beauty of the Caucasus Mountains. For us, medical institutions, balneological resorts, mountain skiing routes of Georgia have ceased to exist, and we, by the way, for them, too. And the maintenance of kinship ties for many has become a real problem.

But now everything has changed and the visa to Georgia will no longer be an obstacle to establishing ties between the two peoples. True, for its part, Russia is not in a hurry to meet halfway, and the Georgians only hope that the visa regime on the part of our country will also be facilitated. In the meantime, if a Russian gets a Georgian visa right when crossing the border, it is very difficult for a Georgian citizen to go to Russia. In official circles, it is planned to raise the issue of the possibility of regular communications between the countries at the forthcoming talks.

After officially canceling all kinds of visas, Russian citizens traveling to the neighbor country should have only a foreign passport with them. It is necessary to observe one formality: the validity of the passport must be at least three months from the end of the trip. Of course, even with this official document, a Russian can not stay in Georgia for a long time. The term of visa-free stay is only 90 days and not more!

But what to do if the case could not be completed or the hospitable relatives did not want to say goodbye to you even after three months? A visa to Georgia can be extended directly in the country. If you have forgotten that it's time for you to return home and was not prolonged, then on departure for any foreigner, whether you are a Russian, a German or a Lithuanian, a fine is imposed for violation. Next time, when you try again, you will not be allowed to enter the country.

The law still remains in force, indicating, for one more reason to deny a visa: if your passport has marks indicating a visit South Ossetia or Abkhazia. Even if you try to penetrate Georgia from these states, your arrival will be regarded by the Georgian authorities as illegal. And for this they can either deport from the country or even be taken into custody.

After the visa to Georgia became unnecessary, the flow of tourists and holidaymakers became much stronger. By the way, some Russians go to the neighboring country even for shopping tours. From there you can bring homespun carpets, national daggers and good gold and silver ornaments, even old ones, but with semi-precious stones. Well, Georgian wines and cognacs deserve the closest attention of all guests.

And on the question of whether a visa is necessary to Georgia, any Russian will respond negatively. After all, you know what everyone should do when they are in the country:

• try at least a dozen varieties of excellent home-made wine and eat until the kebab-mivadi dump;

• it is obligatory to learn a few "pas" of the national lezginka;

• take a walk on the embankments of Batumi in the shadow of quietly rustling palms;

• assess the infrastructure of the ski resorts of Gudauri ;

• to improve health and much, much more.

So why do we need it if we have many common causes?