Expulsion is decided by the competent body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Deadlines are very short, so it pays to contact a lawyer on the very first day.
When a foreigner can be expelled
Under Article 51 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, grounds include a foreigner who:
- Entered Georgia without a lawful basis
- No longer has a lawful basis to stay — for example, their period expired or a residence permit was refused
- Is believed to threaten state or public security
- Systematically breaks the law
- Obtained the right to stay using a false document
- Is serving or has served a sentence for a crime, or has a suspended sentence
- Worked without the right to labour activity — a ground that matters especially since 2026
How the procedure works
- Within 10 working days of discovering the ground, the Ministry considers expulsion.
- You are interviewed — you are notified of the date 2 working days in advance.
- The decision must be translated into a language you understand and must state how to appeal.
- As a rule, you are given a period to leave voluntarily — from 7 to 30 calendar days.
Appeal — only 10 days
The decision can be appealed in court within 10 days of being served. Appealing does not by itself give you a residence permit or postpone your obligation to leave, so a lawyer often looks for other routes at the same time.
The temporary accommodation centre
Before or after the expulsion decision, a detained foreigner can be placed in a temporary accommodation centre for 3 months — a court decides this: the foreigner must be brought before a court within 48 hours of detention, and is released if no decision is made within the next 24 hours. A court can extend this by up to 6 more months — 9 months in total at most.
What a lawyer does
- Checks whether the decision has a lawful basis
- Represents you at the interview and gathers evidence — family, job, property
- Files the appeal in court on time
- Looks for a lawful basis to stay — for example, the right type of residence permit
Legal basis
Official texts (in Georgian) — Legislative Herald of Georgia, matsne.gov.ge.
This article is general information and does not replace advice from a lawyer on your specific case.
Every case is different — don't rely on general information. Contact a lawyer for advice.
Get a consultation
