Indians in Georgia: Exponential rise in students, visitors, and farmers from Punjab

In fact, as per the MEA, “There is a sizeable Indian community mostly from Punjab”. In recent years, many Indians have brought investment from Gulf countries and started mid-size businesses such as restaurants and hotels, the ministry says. Consequently, this has also led to an increased number of Indian citizens being employed as workers on such establishments.

Among the 12 people who were tragically found dead due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a restaurant in Georgia on Tuesday, 11 were Indian nationals. All of them hailed from the state of Punjab.

In fact, monthly consular camps are organized by the Indian Embassy in Tbilisi to address all the consular issues of Indian nationals; even as the Embassy was operationalised in July, there’s yet to be a full-time ambassador. India’s Ambassador to Armenia is still concurrently accredited to Georgia.

As per statistics, around 2,000 Indian citizens resided in Georgia as of July 2016, with almost half being students at the Tbilisi State Medical University. About 200 citizens were employed by Indian companies involved in the infrastructure sector till the time, while others are businessmen, agricultural farmers and workers.

Interestingly, some years ago, a group of Punjabi farmers who emigrated to Georgia noted that they could purchase 200 hectares of land there from the money made by selling just one hectare of land in Punjab. This led to a rush of sorts from the state, with around 150 of them presently owning about 1,500 hectares of agricultural land.

Agricultural land can be acquired on 99-year lease, which can be extended further, owing to the Georgian government’s policy of encouraging migration of people with agricultural knowledge.

In 2021, when foreign minister S Jaishankar made his visit to Georgia and interacted with the Indian community, the number of Indian students in the country was roughly 8,000. However, there was an explosion post-2022, in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, with thousands of Indian medical students in Ukraine opting for Georgia, which is as economical.

As per the MEA statistics in August 2024, around 16,000 Indian students are studying there. “Georgia hosts more than 16,000 medical students studying in 25 universities (unofficial reports put the figure at 18,000). There are many transfer students from Ukraine as well,” it said.

Most go there for medical studies at various universities including Tbilisi State Medical University, European University, Caucasus International University – with over two-dozen universities in the country now accepting Indian students.

With Georgia presenting itself as a more economically viable but equally picturesque alternative to other European countries, the number of Indian tourists is also gaining. As per statistics by the Georgian Embassy, the number of Indian tourists visiting Georgia has grown 64 per cent in six months of this year compared to last year, which recorded 80,000 Indians visiting Tbilisi and ski resorts around the capital, which became the spot for the Tuesday incident.

Since Georgia is not a member of the European Union, the Schengen Visa doesn’t apply there. But the cheaper and simpler eVisa comes in handy for Indian nationals, despite a relatively high rejection rate, say industry experts. While there has been a direct flight between New Delhi and Tbilisi since August 2023, plans are now afoot for a direct flight service from Mumbai as well.