C1 — Within the Ordinary Visa Framework
The visa for coming to Georgia for tourist purposes is the C1 ordinary visa. Under subparagraph „ga“ of Article 7 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, this category is intended for persons coming to Georgia for tourist purposes. Georgian visas are divided into categories — diplomatic, special, ordinary, immigration and transit — and may be short-term or long-term; C1 is the tourist form of the ordinary visa.
Precision matters: the tourist C1 is a national category of Georgia. Comparison with the visas of the Schengen area is appropriate by contrast only — Schengen is a different system with its own rules, and the conditions of the Georgian C1 are determined by law not through Schengen but through Georgia's own norms.
The Application Procedure and Deadlines
Under Article 8 of the law, to obtain a Georgian visa the alien fills in a visa application of the form established by a normative act of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the issuance of an electronic visa the application is filled in on the ministry's special website. The circumstances to be confirmed and the documents to be attached are determined by a decree of the Government of Georgia. Where necessary, the issuing organ may invite the applicant for an interview, and in cases provided by legislation the submission of an invitation is required.
The deadlines are set by law: a decision on a short-term Georgian visa is taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a diplomatic representation or a consular post within 10 calendar days of the submission of the application; a short-term electronic visa is issued no later than 5 working days. Where further verification is needed, the period may be extended by 30 calendar days. The law also allows reduction: in cases determined by government decree the decision period may be shortened to 5 working days or less.