“Georgia could lose its visa-free status entirely,” reads the European Commission’s eighth annual report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism, monitoring the EU’s visa-free regimes, published on December 19.

Mentioning Georgia, the report says that Georgia’s visa policy in particular diverges significantly from the EU’s, and Georgia has further backtracked in 2024-2025, despite repeated recommendations.

“The Commission has raised concerns about serious breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms in Georgia, including violations of non-discrimination principles, and has repeatedly called on the Georgian authorities to take immediate action to address these issues and implement the Commission’s recommendations. Despite this, Georgia has violated numerous commitments undertaken during the visa liberalisation dialogue and failed to implement the recommendations of the Seventh Visa Suspension Mechanism report,” the document says.

Based on the report, “given the systemic and deliberate nature of this backsliding, the Commission will consider appropriate measures under the revised Visa Suspension Mechanism,” which will enter into force on 30 December 2025.

“According to the new rules, in the first phase, the visa suspension could target holders of diplomatic, service and official passports issued by the Georgian authorities, who are primarily responsible for not taking action to address the Commission’s recommendations.

Differently from the currently applicable rules, the new ones ensure a uniform application of the suspension in all Member States, as bilateral visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic, service and official passports will no longer be possible, once the visa requirement is reimposed for these groups at EU level.

In the second stage, the suspension could be extended to the entire population if issues are not addressed by the Georgian authorities. Ultimately, Georgia could lose its visa-free status entirely and be transferred to the EU list of visa-required third countries,” reads the report.

The report notes that while most partner countries have taken steps to address the recommendations issued under previous Visa Suspension Mechanism reports, significant challenges persist.

The report says that security concerns in Georgia “are linked to Russian influence.”

“While most partners meet anti-corruption commitments, Georgia has reversed earlier reforms. Several countries still face vulnerabilities in document security, including forged or fraudulently obtained passports and identity changes used to evade EU security checks. These issues must be addressed to safeguard the integrity of visa-free travel,” it says.

The Commission said it will continue monitoring the fulfilment of the visa liberalisation requirements and recommendations by partner countries and will continue to report to the European Parliament and the Council once a year.