Without an account, without work, without documents. How a Belarusian has been living in Georgia for a year under threat of deportation

Brest native Roman Kislyak has been living in Georgia since 2021. He last left the country four years ago and has been living without valid documents for almost a year. Roman's bank account is blocked, he can no longer operate as a sole proprietor, and he doesn't go to doctors.

Despite everyday inconveniences and even the potential risk of deportation to Belarus, Roman is not leaving Georgia yet. He says he wants to go all the way, exhausting all attempts at legalization in this country. If he succeeds in any way, Roman will be the first. As far as is known, no Belarusian has yet received international protection in Georgia.

Police

After moving to Georgia in 2021, Roman first lived in Batumi, now in Tbilisi. Almost a year ago, his Belarusian passport expired. The residence permit, which the Belarusian had previously been issued in Georgia, has also lost its validity.

This March, Roman was denied refugee status in Georgia for the second time. And two years ago, he was recognized as a "threat to national security" of that country.

Last year, Kislyak received interim protection measures from the UN Human Rights Committee, according to which he cannot be deported to Belarus, as the human rights activist faces political persecution there. The UN documents are valid until August of this year.

The human rights activist points out that the Georgian authorities do not recognize them. Roman applied for a new residence permit in Georgia last October. There is no answer to his request yet.

On July 17, three border police officers rang the doorbell of the Tbilisi apartment where Roman lives. He is convinced that the officers stumbled upon him by accident.

"They were not looking for me, but for other people, neighbors. They rang the doorbell and asked about them. At some point, one of the police officers wanted to enter the apartment. It was an unpleasant moment. I said: "I object." He: "Come on" — and entered. I said: "I object" and repeated it several more times. He stopped. Then they asked to see a document. I gave it to them, they saw it was expired, and started to figure it out," the interlocutor recalls.

Павялічыць

Roman explains that the police were looking for people living in Georgia illegally. They had lists of hundreds of "problematic" individuals, including Belarusians. But, according to law enforcement officers, more than 15,000 people live in Georgia illegally — they did not provide an exact figure.

"I'm not on the lists. They said: "We will now inform the Migration Department. If they tell us to bring you in, we will put handcuffs on you and take you there," the Belarusian recounts the conversation.

According to Kislyak, the border police officers were in plain clothes with concealed pistols. They spoke calmly and behaved carefully, Roman notes. He did not let them into the apartment for an hour and a half while he was being "checked" against databases.

Finally, the officers said that Kislyak should come to the Migration Department on July 21, because, in the opinion of law enforcement, he is in the country illegally.

Roman disagrees with this, as he has interim protection measures from the UN Human Rights Committee. He decided to go to the Department voluntarily — not to leave or hide.

Kislyak notes that previously, when he wanted to get into the Migration Department in Tbilisi, he was unable to. Therefore, an official summons is also a chance to find out what is happening with his application for a new residence permit.

"They can ignore the norms of law, interim measures. One scenario is: I come, and they start the deportation process. Lawyers told me that in such a case, they don't detain the person. Then the person gets some status. Let's see what happens this time," the human rights activist comments.

Kislyak does not rule out the option of deportation not to Belarus, but to a third country. Last year, a new law on international protection and a law on the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons came into force in Georgia.

"They canceled the practice of issuing residence permits. What they will do now is difficult to say. The law has changed, and the practice is changing. They themselves may not know what to do. Department employees even meet me in the city or on a marshrutka and ask: "Well, did they issue you a residence permit?" I say: "No, they didn't." They are surprised," Roman smiles.

Legal vacuum

Kislyak notes that even before the UN Human Rights Committee issued him interim protection measures, the Georgian authorities recognized that his situation met the criteria for refugee status. However, Roman was not granted refugee status because he is considered a "threat to national security" in Georgia.

"There is nothing further in the law. A void. This is a gap in the law. In practice, previously such people (whose situation met refugee criteria and who were simultaneously recognized as a "threat to national security") were legalized, given residence permits. They lived for years, more than ten years," he comments.

Kislyak intends to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court of Georgia regarding the fact that Georgia does not recognize the document with interim measures from the UN Human Rights Committee.

Kislyak's situation is worsened by his invalid Belarusian passport. Georgia does not issue an analogue similar to the travel document in Poland and other countries. It has been impossible to obtain a new Belarusian passport outside Belarus since 2023.

Roman cannot return to his homeland due to the threat of political persecution. At the same time, the interlocutor believes that his situation is not the worst, as he managed to enter the asylum seeker procedure, even though it is being denied.

The human rights activist knows families who are seeking asylum under an accelerated procedure, but the authorities do not consider them asylum seekers – such people can be detained and expelled from the country at any moment.

Kislyak notes that so far, Georgia has not extradited political refugees to Belarus, but has deported some other Belarusians to their homeland who do not face political persecution at home.

"Perhaps I will be the first. But I hope not," Kislyak reflects on the possibility of being deported to Belarus as a political refugee.

Roman is not hiding from law enforcement to continue living secretly in Georgia. On the contrary, he has repeatedly held solo pickets to draw attention to the problems of legalization for Belarusians.

"My documents are checked. One out of ten police officers notices that the document is expired. Why should I hide? Have I violated anything? They artificially made me an "illegal." They should resolve this issue. I followed Georgian laws. It's another matter that now there are no laws provided for this situation. I don't consider myself an "illegal." It's Georgia's problem that it hasn't regulated this issue," Roman believes.

Without an account, work, and medicine

Living in Georgia without documents recognized by local authorities is inconvenient for Roman. His bank accounts have been blocked since last August; he cannot receive money into them or make money transfers himself. Kislyak had to cease his individual entrepreneur activity. The interlocutor says he has been living on savings for the past year because he cannot work officially.

"I have to ask someone (to make a transfer if needed). This complicates life a lot. I thought this issue would be resolved quickly, but it has dragged on. You can live here. In a taxi, in a restaurant, no one asks me for documents," he notes.

Without documents, Roman Kislyak, as a human rights activist, was unable to visit Belarusians in the detention center – he was denied. However, he recounts that he flew by plane within Georgia with his expired Georgian ID (a temporary asylum seeker document).

Павялічыць

Roman has not left the country for the last four years. He cannot leave because he is in the asylum application procedure. Previously, many Belarusians who left the country for "visa-run" – to reset the term of their stay in Georgia – were not allowed back without explanation.

Roman has not been to the hospital recently. He says he "just doesn't get sick." What will happen if he suddenly needs urgent medical attention, he doesn't know, but he hopes he will be helped, although the conditions are unknown.

"I think they are creating such conditions so that people leave. To live like this for a month is still okay, but a year is much worse. It's impossible to live like this for ten years. People leave on their own. Why do we need scandals, deportations, extraditions? We will create such conditions that people will leave on their own," he muses about the possible logic of the Georgian authorities.

France and Lithuania

Despite domestic inconveniences and even the threat of deportation, Roman remains living in Georgia. He calls himself a "guinea pig" who is testing the legalization procedure on himself.

"I want to iron out these processes (with legalization. — RS). There are Belarusians who want to stay here and want to understand how it generally works here. It's easier for me as a lawyer to go through this path myself. I entered this river and I'm walking along it. I will reach some state of legalization — and they will either legalize me, or there will be no possibility to stay," he says.

Roman adds that he really likes Georgia as a country. He lived in Batumi for three years, in Tbilisi for two, and traveled to various regions. He has no problems finding accommodation without documents. He says he rented an apartment in Batumi for two years without a rental agreement.

"Climate, atmosphere. People want to live where they like it. This is an important aspect of identity and free human choice. Some of my colleagues say: everyone go to Poland. Excuse me, don't decide for people," the interlocutor reflects.

Павялічыць

Roman says that at first, he didn't understand how to legalize in Georgia and wanted to move from there. But now he believes in a positive resolution of his case and those of other Belarusians.

If he still has to leave Georgia, Roman is considering moving to Lithuania or France. The embassies of these countries issue entry documents, similar to a return certificate with a visa. He cannot go to Poland now because his Belarusian passport has expired, and Poland does not issue an entry document.

Roman also places hope on the passport of New Belarus, which, in his opinion, may help Belarusians with legalization in the future. But it is currently impossible to obtain it in Georgia. Roman does not intend to go live in neighboring Turkey or Armenia, because, in his opinion, the legal situation there is worse than in Georgia. The Belarusian political activist Anatol Kotau disappeared in Turkey, and there were attempts to abduct Russian activists in Armenia.

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