CORONAVIRUS IN CIS: GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN, UZBEKISTAN, TAJIKISTAN UPDATES

GEORGIA

The Government of Georgia has decided to close the borders for the entry of foreigners from March 18. The corresponding message of Prime Minister George Gaharii was published on the website of the Georgian government. The duration of the restrictive measures is declared as two weeks.

Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the list of exceptions:

1. Representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited to Georgia and their family members;
2. Mixed families where one of the spouses or their under-age child is a citizen of Georgia;
3. Persons arriving in Georgia as part of humanitarian mission – if trip of such mission (doctors, volunteers) to Georgia becomes a necessity;
4. Individuals who have been granted the status of stateless person by respective authorities of Georgia.
5. Individuals holding status-neutral travel documents1;
6. Individuals having a refugee status in Georgia;
7. The issue of official delegations will be decided on a case-to-case basis.

Speaking at a briefing for the Georgian media, Prime Minister’s spokesperson Irakli Chikovane said that citizens who have visited China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark over the past two weeks will be quarantined or self-isolated after arriving into Georgia.

AZERBAIJAN

Starting from March 18, 2020, the Governments of Azerbaijan and Russia decided to temporarily suspend mutual travel for citizens of both countries. The exception is made for truck drivers. For Azerbaijani citizens wishing to return to the country, charter flights will be organized. The duration of this measure is not defined.

Earlier, the Government of Azerbaijan made a decision to close the border between Azerbaijan and Georgia from March 14. The duration of the restrictive measure is designated as 10 days.

Visa registration service ASAN has temporarily stopped issuance of electronic visas. The duration of this suspension is not defined.

Based on the WHO recommendations, when applying for Azerbaijan visa at the Consulate nationals of the countries most affected by coronavirus will be required to submit a medical certificate to prove they are not infected with COVID-19. This will also apply to non-residents that have visited the most affected countries in the past 14 days.

Citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan traveling from the People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Italy, Spain, France and Germany will be subject to quarantine for a period of 14, or if needed, 21 days.

In addition to the above measures, the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan announced the restriction of entry to the capital of Baku, as well as to the city of Sumgait and the Absheron region since March 19. The entry of cars, railway and air traffic is suspended.

UZBEKISTAN

On March 15, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, head of the Special Republican Commission for the Prevention of Distribution of COVID-19, at the conference with members of the government announced that starting from March 16,Uzbekistan is to suspend air and rail traffic with all foreign countries.

For Uzbekistani citizens abroad, charter flights can be arranged. Those who decide to return to their homeland will be placed in 14-day quarantine. Special flights will be organized for foreigners who need to leave Uzbekistan.

The duration of the restrictive measures is not indicated.

TAJIKISTAN

At the moment government of Tajikistan has not introduced measures to restrict entry into the country.

As published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in accordance to the decree of the Chief Sanitary Officer, citizens of Tajikistan and foreign states who were recently in China, Iran, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Afghanistan, France, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, The USA, will be placed in 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Tajikistan.

Best regards,

INTERMARK IMMIGRATION TEAM

Tel.: +7 495 502 95 53

e-mail: [email protected]