Controversy
The issuing of passports in the Gali District is a priority for the government in order to better integrate its inhabitants into the rest of Abkhazia, but it has been controversial for various reasons. It has been criticised by the Abkhazian opposition on the grounds that the large majority of inhabitants of the Gali District are Georgians who possess Georgian citizenship. The Abkhazian government has responded to this by pointing out that Abkhazian citizenship law does not allow for dual citizenship (except for dual Abkhazian-Russian citizenship) and that therefore, Georgian citizens first have to renounce their Georgian citizenship before obtaining Abkhazian passports. Georgia in turn has accused Abkhazia of forcing its citizens in the Gali District to renounce their citizenship and take up Abkhazian passports, but this is denied by the Abkhazian government.
The Abkhazian government has declared that as of 12 October 2009, 3522 residents of the Gali District had acquired an Abkhazian passport. In April 2013, Head of the Interior Ministry's Passport and Visa Service Beslan Bigvava declared that 16,096 Georgians had received an Abkhazian passport in Gali District, 6217 in Ochamchira District and 2453 in Tquarchal District.
Read more about this topic: Abkhazian Passport
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