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Russian visa center opens in Georgia’s capital

There are all the necessary conditions for filing applications in the center

Russian Embassy in Tbilisi Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

Russian Embassy in Tbilisi

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

TBILISI, August 17. /TASS/. Russia’s visa center has opened in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi on Friday. Sources in the Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi said that the center will accept visa applications from citizens of Georgia and other countries, as well as from stateless persons.

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The center’s personnel are authorized to accept and process visa applications from individuals and companies, submitting them for consideration to the Russian Interests Section. The center will operate Monday to Friday.

"There are all the necessary conditions for filing applications here, we have 16 windows for receiving documents. After information is processed, the Center will send the documents to the Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi," visa center staff told reporters.

Applicants will also have a chance to pay consular and service fees at the visa center.

The Russian Interests Section said earlier that the visa center could influence neither decisions on visas nor the visa application processing time as assessing visa applications and making decisions on visa issuance was the exclusive prerogative of the Section.

Russian Interests Section

On September 2, 2008, Tbilisi severed diplomatic relations with Moscow "over Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region." However, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time that it would "maintain consular relations with Russia." The Russian Interests Section, where Russian diplomatic and technical staff work, has been operating at the Embassy of Switzerland in Tbilisi since March 2009, while the Georgian Interests Section operates at the Swiss Embassy in Moscow.

Russia introduced visas for Georgian citizens in 2000, Georgia responded in kind later. In 2004, Tbilisi eased visa restrictions for Russians, who were provided with the opportunity to obtain visas on arrival. In March 2012, Georgia waived visas for Russian nationals, and Moscow eased visa rules for Georgians in 2015-2017.

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