From January 1, 2018, all residents of the occupied region will be deprived of any document. There are two ways to live in the so called Abkhazian republic. Those who want to live in Abkhazia have to take either the so-called Abkhazian Passports, or a residence permit. Residence permit eliminates the participation of the document holder in political life and restricts property rights in the occupied region.
Representatives of the so called administration say that their legislation prohibits dual citizenship, unless the person is a Russian citizen.
"This is a passport of a citizen of the Republic of Abkhazia and the second document that I have in my hand is a residence permit on the territory of Abkhazia. Due to the fact that 96% of Gali district are Georgian citizen they are facing a dilemma. These people can not be citizens of Abkhazia and Georgia simultaneously. The Abkhazian legislation does not permit dual citizenship, but have exclusive conditions for Russian citizens, "says the head of Gali administration, Temur Nadaraia.
"There is a pressure on people to change their identity," Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, said regarding the demand to take new documents on the occupied territories.
"Those documents used by the population for the possibility ofmoving around can be abolished in order to force them to take the new so-called" Temporary certificates or residence permits that further restrict their rights. In fact, we take a picture of when people are pressured to change their identity, which naturally can not be successful.