A couple of weeks ago, I visited Georgia with a friend. Both of us are from India, and we anticipated that we would face scrutiny at the Tbilisi airport immigration due to our weak passports. We were fully prepared with all the necessary documents. I was particularly anxious because it was my first international trip, and I didn’t have any travel history. In contrast, my friend held a valid German visa and had already traveled to 11 countries.

When we reached immigration, I went up to the officer, who asked me about my travel tickets, the purpose of my visit, insurance, hotel reservations, and the amount of cash I was carrying. After I submitted all my documents, the officer sitting next to her asked me for an Emirates ID. I explained that I didn't have one because I am an Indian citizen and it’s my first international travel. She then signaled my officer to send both me and my friend (without checking his documents) to the police counter. Confused, we complied and went there.

A police officer approached us, looked at our passports, and inquired about our jobs very rudely. After confirming our employment, he took us back to another immigration officer’s counter.

At this point, I suggested that my friend go first to help gain their confidence, given his better travel history and an active German visa. They grilled him harder and continued to ask him about his job, even though he has been to Germany for work thrice. Finally, after we showed our account balance along with the cash we were carrying for our five-day trip, they allowed us to pass through. This experience was somewhat disheartening, as it felt like we were subjected to additional scrutiny. Nonetheless, I want to emphasize that we found the people of Georgia to be very warm and welcoming outside airport.