The Nature of the Consular Fee and How It Is Charged
The consular fee is an amount established by law that reflects the political significance and the economic value of a consular action, and it is charged by Georgian diplomatic representations or consular posts abroad for performing a consular action and/or providing a service. Where, in a case provided for by the Georgian law on diplomatic service, a section of interests of Georgia has been created within a diplomatic representation of a third state, the consular fee is likewise charged by that section, in the manner established by Georgian legislation. The fee is charged on the basis of Georgian legislation, including this law, of Georgia's international treaties and agreements, and also on the basis of reciprocity. Reciprocity applies where the respective state applies to a Georgian citizen a rule different from the general one, except in cases directly provided for by the legislation.
The General Principle for Setting Rates and the Currency of Payment
As a rule, the consular fee is paid in advance, at the rates established by the law, both in cash and in cashless settlement. The amount of the fee is determined in US dollars; it is paid in US dollars and/or in the currency of the country of residence, in the manner established by a subordinate normative act of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. As the fixed conversion rate of the local currency against the US dollar, the maximum market exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar prevailing before December 1 of the previous financial year is used. The National Bank of Georgia, no later than December 10 of each financial year, supplies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the exchange rate to be applied for the following year. The amount payable, obtained as a result of conversion, is rounded up to the nearest whole unit.
Types of Consular Fees and Rates
For performing consular actions and/or providing services by Georgian diplomatic representations and consular posts abroad, the fee is charged at the following rates:
- consideration of the issue of issuing a return-to-Georgia certificate — 35 US dollars;
- consideration of the issue of issuing a Georgian visa — not less than 20 and not more than 500 US dollars; the specific amount chargeable, as well as the amount for expedited service, are determined by a normative act of the Government of Georgia;
- consular legalization of a document — 15 US dollars per document;
- sending, on the petition of a citizen of Georgia, an application for requesting documentation or information from competent Georgian bodies — 10 US dollars per document;
- issuance of various types of certificates — 25 US dollars;
- confirmation of the fact of issuance of a document by a Georgian administrative body — 25 US dollars;
- translation of a decision or conclusion concerning a certificate, a civil-act registration record, a diploma, a transcript, an attestation, a certificate of completion, an identification document, a driving licence, citizenship or a residence permit, and/or confirmation of the correctness of such a translation — 10 US dollars per page.
For the performance of notarial acts the consular fee is set as follows:
- certification of a will — 10 US dollars;
- cancellation of a will — 5 US dollars;
- certification of the authenticity of a signature on a document — 5 US dollars for each person and each signature;
- certification of a power of attorney — 10 US dollars;
- cancellation of a power of attorney — 5 US dollars;
- certification of the correctness of a translation of a document from one language into another — 5 US dollars per page;
- certification of a copy of a document and/or an extract from it, and/or issuance of a copy of a document kept after the notarial act — 3 US dollars per page;
- confirmation of the fact that a person is alive, of a person's presence at a specified place, of identity with the person depicted in a photograph, and of the time of presentation of a document — 15 US dollars;
- execution of a marine protest — 150 US dollars.
Who Is Exempt from Paying the Consular Fee
The law exhaustively lists the persons who are exempt from paying the consular fee:
- persons, in the cases provided for by Georgia's international treaties and agreements;
- employees of charitable organizations defined in accordance with the Georgian Tax Code, as well as employees of organizations implementing assistance within the framework of humanitarian and/or technical assistance agreements concluded in the name of Georgia or the Government of Georgia — in the course of their activities;
- foreign family members of Georgian citizens, when visas are issued;
- members of official delegations, when Georgian visas are issued;
- persons, when Georgian diplomatic and special visas are issued;
- honorary citizens of Georgia and honorary consuls of Georgia, when Georgian visas are issued;
- persons, when actions related to repatriation are performed;
- participants of the Second World War;
- persons with disabilities (citizens of Georgia) whose capability was restricted as a result of the hostilities conducted for the territorial integrity, freedom and independence of Georgia;
- persons under 18 years of age, in the case of issuing a return-to-Georgia certificate;
- persons, when documents needed for the repatriation of remains to Georgia are legalized and translated;
- persons, when a return-to-Georgia certificate is issued during emergency situations in the country of residence that endanger life or health;
- persons, when a return-to-Georgia certificate is issued upon the petition of the respective Georgian body;
- diplomatic officers, administrative personnel and their family members sent on a work assignment by rotation to Georgian diplomatic representations, consular posts and the section of interests abroad — when consular functions are performed in respect of them;
- persons, when an error made through the fault of a consular officer in acts issued during the performance of consular functions is corrected;
- citizens of Georgia and stateless persons holding status in Georgia, when certificates of criminal record are obtained at Georgian diplomatic representations and consular posts abroad;
- persons to whom a return-to-Georgia certificate is issued on the basis of an application submitted through the electronic readmission management system of the respective foreign body.
The 50 Percent Reduction and Exceptional Cases
The following citizens of Georgia are exempt from paying 50 percent of the consular fee: persons recognized as internally displaced persons; persons with sharply and significantly expressed disabilities; and veterans of the war and defense forces, except for Second World War participants and persons whose disability resulted from hostilities, who enjoy a full exemption. In exceptional cases a person may be fully exempted from paying the fee by decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia or of the head of the Georgian diplomatic representation or consular post abroad. The system of exemptions is therefore flexible and allows an individual decision in concrete circumstances.
Refund of the Consular Fee
The procedure and cases for the refund of the consular fee are determined by an order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. This means that the concrete conditions under which a paid amount may be returned do not follow from the law in the form of an extract, but are laid down in an individual legal act of the minister. If you face the question of refunding a paid amount, it is best to approach the respective diplomatic representation or consular post that provided the service.