A Minor's Application Is Submitted by the Legal Representative
The distinguishing feature of a minor's residence permit procedure is the manner of submission: under paragraph 2 of Article 17 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, a minor's application for a residence permit in Georgia is submitted by his legal representative. A legal act in the child's name is thus carried out by the parent or guardian, and the documentation must likewise be arranged in that person's name. The consistency of names across the documents of parent and child is checked in advance, because discrepancies delay the review.
This detail is often overlooked: an application submitted directly by the child or by a third person without proper authority counts as a procedural defect. The application of a recipient of support may be submitted only with the assistance of a supporter, unless a court has determined otherwise. The circle of those counted as family members is defined by the law, and borderline cases are resolved before the basis is chosen.
A Minor as a Family Member
The second foothold is conceptual: subparagraph „t“ of Article 2 defines family membership. A family member is the spouse of an alien or of a stateless person with status in Georgia, the minor child, a minor under guardianship or curatorship or fully maintained, a recipient of support or an incapacitated person; also the parent of a minor alien. For a citizen of Georgia, family members are the foreign spouse, the minor child and the parent of a minor citizen of Georgia. Where both parents hold different statuses, the stronger basis for the child is selected deliberately, not by default.
This definition determines who belongs to the family reunification status: an adult child or a parent of an adult child does not fall within this circle and needs a different basis. The right basis is therefore the first decision of the whole procedure, and the documentation is built upon it.
The Family Reunification Permit — Tied to the Parent's Status
Subparagraph „g“ of Article 15 of the law provides for a residence permit for the purpose of family reunification, issued to the family members of an alien holding a residence permit. The child's status under this permit accordingly follows the status of the parent who holds the permit. Timing the extensions of both statuses together spares the family repeated applications.
Other routes also exist: a permanent residence permit is issued to the minor child of a Georgian citizen and to the parent of a minor citizen — in that case the status is more solid and is not limited in time.