Georgian holiday nightmares

Published: Mon 2 Jul 2018, 8:30 PM

Last updated: Mon 2 Jul 2018, 10:31 PM

I am writing in response to the article 'Dream holiday in Georgia ends at airport for some residents' (KT, July 1). My wife and I are Indian passport holders, and have UAE residence visas. We recently went to Georgia via Armenia on road, and we were greeted more with suspicion than respect.
We had all documentation in place: hotel bookings, insurance, return flight tickets. Despite that my wife had to face rigorous questioning at the immigration. She was asked the reason behind the visit; whether she was travelling alone; how long is the visit; bookings for accommodation. She was also asked to stand aside for further vetting.
Meanwhile, entry visas were stamped for a whole lot of other visitors. After good 15 minutes, the officer took another look at our papers, and then stamped our passports. We were surprised at the treatment meted to us. Our tour guide, in fact, said that the attitude is sometimes worse, especially towards Indians.
Hope authorities in the UAE will take up this matter at the highest levels.
- Ganesh, Dubai
Similar incident happened with us. Four friends and I, all Indian passport holders and UAE residents with valid visas, flew to Georgia last month. As soon as we reached Tbilisi airport at 5am on June 22, we were called aside and interrogated. We were asked about the places we planned to visit, employment in Dubai, cash we're carrying, etc. That's despite having all these necessary papers in place. The officials were least bothered to listen to us or verify our documents.
Within minutes we were accompanied by a cop and asked to return to Dubai on the next flight. No one informed us the reason for denial of visa. It was a very humiliating and horrific experience. We could collect our passports only after reaching Dubai. Hope we get some valid response from their official authorities.
- Pramodh, Dubai