A Pakistani national with UAE residency has opened up about his ordeal at Georgia’s Kutaisi airport, claiming he and his friend were refused entry, locked in a prison-like room and humiliated by airport authorities.
In his Reddit post warning other Pakistanis to not visit Georgia, the man said: “We were excited for a short, peaceful vacation. But the moment we landed, things turned into a nightmare.”
What happened at Kutaisi?
Georgia allows visa-free entry to citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Individuals who hold a visa or residence permit of the UAE can also enter the country and stay for up to 90 days.
Since the Pakistani man had a UAE residence permit, he assumed he would be allowed to enter Georgia without any problem. That was not the case.
According to his Reddit post, when immigration officials at Georgia pulled him and his friend aside as soon as they heard they were from Pakistan.
“As soon as we landed, even before immigration counter they asked where are we from. We told them we are UAE residents and Pakistani nationals,” the man wrote on Reddit.
{{/usCountry}}“As soon as we landed, even before immigration counter they asked where are we from. We told them we are UAE residents and Pakistani nationals,” the man wrote on Reddit.
{{/usCountry}}“They heard ‘Pakistan’ and a guy from the police asked us to come on the side, took our passports, took our pictures in front of all people, which was very humiliating,” he claimed.
Not allowed to enter Georgia
The man said that he and his friend were taken into a room where authorities refused to answer their questions. Instead, they were treated with disdain and asked to stand in a corner. All their queries fell on deaf ears.
After 20 minutes, a woman came out and told them they would not be allowed to enter Georgia. “When we asked why, they simply said: We cannot tell you.”
The Pakistani man was taken aback by this refusal. In his post, he explained: “No reason. No proof. No violation. Just a vague statement. We requested clarification, even politely asked for some justification. They kept refusing and misbehaving like we are some criminals.”
He also clarified that he and his friend were not misbehaving or missing any paperwork.
“We were detained for over 12+ hours, locked in a prison-like room with no access to food or proper water. The bathroom was filthy,” he revealed.
Mental distress, anxiety over ordeal
The unnamed man claimed that he works “at a senior position” in Abu Dhabi and has good travel history. As such, there was no reason for Georgia airport authorities to detain him and refuse entry.
In fact, the ordeal did not end with detention alone. The man even claimed that authorities tried to snatch his phone when they realised he was trying to call the Pakistan Embassy for help.
He said his loss was not financial alone, although he had already paid for flights, hotels, insurance, car rental and more. “But that’s nothing compared to the mental distress, anxiety, and psychological damage we experienced,” he wrote.
“The officers were rude, racist, and unjust, plain and simple,” the Pakistani man said. “We feel humiliated. We feel angry. We feel dehumanized. And we’ll never forget this experience.”
You can read the Reddit post here.
Similar experiences in Georgia
The comments section of the Reddit post was filled with people revealing similar experiences in Georgia. Many people from the subcontinent – including Indian nationals – said they had been denied entry to Georgia and attributed it to racism.
“My cousins who live in Kuwait most of their life but are Indians were sent back without any reason. This is very normal with Georgia visa on arrival. They can reject anyone if they're not in the mood to give visa,” wrote one person.
“They target many Indians too... very risky to go to Georgia due to that reason, best to avoid it,” another said.
“This happened to my friend from India, he was sent back from the Georgia airport with absolutely no reason whatsoever. They are messed up racists!!” a third person confirmed.