Georgia expelled 109 Russian citizens for migration-law violations in July–September 2026, nearly 1.5 times the 73 Russians expelled during all of 2025. The figures show how quickly the number of Russian nationals removed has grown, even as the country’s enforcement drive covers foreign nationals more broadly.

A rising total across the year

Russian citizens were the second-largest group among 1,134 foreigners expelled in the third quarter, after 306 Turkish citizens. From January through September, Georgia expelled 3,170 foreign nationals — nearly 2.5 times the 1,311 expelled during the whole of 2025.

The quarterly totals also rose over the first half of 2026: 904 people were expelled in January–March, 1,132 in April–June and 1,134 in July–September. The nine-month count included 254 Russian citizens, nearly 3.5 times the 2025 figure of 73.

How Georgia expanded migration checks

The Georgian government stepped up its campaign against illegal migration in early 2025. The measures included tighter migration laws, simpler expulsion procedures and expanded checks of foreigners’ homes and workplaces, according to accounts of Interior Ministry data.

Rules changed further in 2026. From spring, foreign nationals were barred from working without a special permit, and the rules governing foreign students’ stays became stricter. In August, criminal and patrol police joined migration checks; patrol officers began checking foreigners’ documents on the street and inspecting businesses.

A discrepancy in the nationality figures

The reported breakdown of expulsions by nationality for January–September is not consistent. Russian outlets News.ru and Fontanka list 791 Turkish citizens, 306 Indian citizens, 274 Iranian citizens and 254 Russian citizens. Armenian news site News.am gives the same Turkish, Indian and Russian figures, but lists 274 citizens of Turkmenistan and 180 Iranians.

The reports do not explain the difference between the Iranian and Turkmenistani figures. They also do not identify the 109 Russian citizens expelled in the third quarter or give details of the individual circumstances behind their cases; the stated basis is migration-law violations.