The Georgian border authorities are reportedly denying entry to minors whose passport photos were taken several years ago. Border guards claim difficulty in identifying children from such outdated pictures.
Reports indicate that Russian citizens traveling with children are being widely turned back at the border crossing between Georgia and Turkey. According to the Russian Consulate General in Trabzon, complaints are primarily coming from individuals attempting to enter Georgia via the “Sarp” checkpoint.
Georgian officials are allegedly refusing entry to young children if their foreign passport photographs are several years old. Border guards justify this by stating it is difficult for them to identify the child from such images.
Sofia Defosse-Aksyutina, Director of International Projects at the immigration and visa agency “Euroresident – Easy-Visa,” comments on the situation:
— Yes, indeed, there is such a problem that Russian children, whose appearance has changed due to passports being issued some time ago, are not allowed to cross. However, from the perspective of Russian and international law, children are issued passports valid for five or ten years, and this does not constitute a violation.
— Are we talking about, for example, infants in photos who are now four years old?
— Yes, for instance. The point is that in Russia, you can get a five-year passport, and you can get a ten-year biometric passport. In the latter case, if an infant was issued a ten-year passport, naturally, over ten years, the child grows and develops different features, but their passport remains legally valid. In this situation, it might be advisable to obtain a more recent foreign passport.
— Is this a common occurrence, does it happen often?
— No, because Russian passports are recognized, and it hasn`t been common for a border guard to arbitrarily decide not to admit a child because they deem the photo outdated. It`s not a widespread event.
— Under what conditions does Georgia issue passports for children?
— I assume ten-year passports are for adults. And if they are, shall we say, integrating with European Union norms, then for children under 18, they should be issuing five-year passports. Georgian children also grow and change with age; this is a global situation. No country issues a child a new passport every year.
— Could we hypothesize a possible political undertone?
— Certainly, some countries now don`t even accept five-year passports, which leads to this problem with children`s entry. I believe this might also have a political implication, as globally, children, even if they don`t receive ten-year passports, definitely get five-year ones, and birth certificates worldwide do not require photos. There are also identity cards, but again, they are rarely issued for very young children. For international travel, a foreign passport is required.
— Are biometric data insufficient at the border crossing? They are there for that purpose, aren`t they – fingerprints, digital facial images?
— I`m not sure how fingerprints are taken from young children; I believe they are not taken until age 12. And, in theory, this is an official document that all countries should accept. The database of valid or lost passports, etc., is only available to the border guards of the Russian Federation.
The Russian Consulate General also noted that a new foreign passport for a child can be obtained at Russian diplomatic missions, though the process usually takes about two weeks. Diplomats strongly recommend, if possible, temporarily refraining from traveling with children through this checkpoint to avoid potential problems and delays.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth