The European Commission recommended in December 2015 that visa restrictions for Georgians be lifted but negotiations among EU member states initially proved difficult. BRUSSELS -- Georgian nationals with biometric passports will be able to travel to most European Union member states without visas as of March 28. The visa-liberalization deal for Georgia will apply to all EU countries except Britain and Ireland, and will also not be honored in the non-EU Schengen Area countries of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. The day has been eagerly anticipated by Tbilisi, which has long sought closer ties with the EU while facing persistent efforts by Russia to increase Moscow's influence following a brief war with Georgia in 2008. The talks between the European Parliament and the European Council on a visa-suspension mechanism that took place in parallel with the visa liberalization talks also slowed the process. That mechanism, which also enters into force on March 28, allows for visa-free regimes for Georgians to be halted under certain circumstances once they are in place.
Georgia's visa-free regime, which allows travel to most member states of the European Union, with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom, enters into force.