In total, the EU says, there could be up to eight million illegal immigrants in the 27-nation bloc. However, IOM says it is difficult to estimate how many illegal migrants from Georgia are now residing in Europe.

IOM says judging from the statistical data of the Georgian asylum-seekers would not be right, since it is hard to track the mobility of the rejected seekers from one country to another, and it is equally hard to know whether they return home or go to third countries after being denied asylum. Another source of illegal migrants are those who slip over the borders illegally. Georgians who want to enter the EU illegally mostly cross from Turkey into Greece and from Ukraine into Slovakia.

That Georgia receives a considerable amount of bank remittances from European countries, suggests that there should be a large community of Georgians living and working illegally in Europe. Greece, among EU member countries, is most popular for Georgians immigrants and it ranks third after Russia and the US in the size of its remittances to Georgia. According to the most recent research from IOM, the average amount of monthly remittances to Georgia range from $100 to 250 a month and mainly come from Greece, Russia, Germany, and the United States.

Another IOM survey found that those who these migrants left behind would also like to work abroad. The survey, carried out between July 2006 and September 2007, found that almost a third of citizens aged 20-50 are eager to work abroad. Nearly 30% of those would like to work in nursing, while 24% say they will take any job they can get. Most said they do not care where they go, while 21% say they would prefer the Unites States and 16% have their eye on Greece. Substantial numbers also spoke of moving to Germany, Turkey, Britain, or Canada.

Marc Hulst, program officer from IOM Tbilisi office, says that the bank remittances really have an important macroeconomic factor for the country but it is regrettable that “Georgia does not have any policy or legislation to address the legal migration and the issue has remained unregulated for many years.” According to him, people continue leaving, while the government is making few efforts to address the problem.

Nevertheless, a solution is already in sight. At a recent meeting of the European Council in Luxemburg, ministers urged the European Commission to discuss these issues with Georgia and Senegal and to open dialogue with these countries, with a view to launching additional pilot mobility partnerships. According to Council, “Mobility partnerships will facilitate the migration of nationals of the third country to interested EU Member States. They could cover economic migration exclusively or extend to other forms of legal migration, such as migration for studies or other forms of training. Mechanisms to facilitate economic migration should be based on the labor needs of interested Member States, as assessed by them, while fully respecting the principle of Community preference for EU citizens.”