Georgia Residence Permits in 2026: Routes, Documents, Fees, and Deadlines

A current guide to Georgian residence permits for foreigners, including work, study, family, property, investment, permanent, and IT routes, plus the 2026 right-to-work rules.

Last updated: July 22, 2026

A Georgian residence permit is not one universal product. The correct route depends on why you qualify: work or entrepreneurship, study, family, property, investment, long-term temporary residence, or a specific IT pathway. Each route has its own evidence, thresholds, and timing.

The rules changed materially in 2026, especially for foreign employees and self-employed people. Advice written before March 2026 can now omit the separate right to work requirement or the transitional deadline that applies to some previously registered labour immigrants.

This guide uses the current information published by the Public Service Development Agency and consolidated Georgian legislation. It is practical general information, not immigration or legal advice. Use the official pages linked below and obtain case-specific advice when a refusal or missed deadline could affect your lawful stay.

Residence permit, residence card, and tax residence are different

Three terms are often confused:

A residence permit is the Agency's decision allowing residence under a specific legal ground.
A residence card is the identity document a permit holder must obtain after approval.
Tax residence is a separate tax-law status commonly associated with 183 days in a continuous 12-month period.

A person can be lawfully present without a residence permit, for example during a visa-free stay. A residence permit does not automatically settle every tax-residency question. Use our 183-day tax residency calculator to count days, then seek professional advice for treaty, source-of-income, and special-residency issues.

The first deadline: apply while your stay is lawful

The Public Service Development Agency's current residence-permit page says an applicant normally must apply 40 calendar days before lawful stay in Georgia expires.

There are listed exceptions to that 40-day rule, including investment, special, domestic-violence temporary, short-term property, and IT residence permits, as well as certain electronic extension applications made from abroad. An exception from the 40-day filing point is not permission to overstay. You must still meet the lawful-stay and route-specific rules.

Do not count back from a date you remember approximately. Check the legal basis and exact end date of your stay first. A visa, a visa-free entry, an existing permit, and a stay based on another country's visa or residence permit are not interchangeable for residence-permit eligibility.

The Agency specifically warns that most residence permits cannot be issued on the basis of a Category C ordinary Georgian visa. It also restricts most applications by people staying under the rule that admits holders of visas or residence permits from countries listed in Government Ordinance No. 256. The exceptions are narrow and route-specific.

Main permit routes at a glance

For most foreign residents, the relevant starting points are:

Route	Typical qualifying basis	Important current point
Work	Georgian employment or qualifying entrepreneurial activity	The 2026 right-to-work system must be addressed first
Study	Study at an authorized Georgian educational institution	Institution certificate and financial evidence required
Family reunification	Family member of a foreigner who holds a Georgian residence permit	Kinship and financial evidence required
Permanent family route	Spouse or minor child of a Georgian citizen, or parent of a minor Georgian citizen	Different from family reunification with a foreign permit holder
Short-term property	Ownership of qualifying non-agricultural real estate	Market value must exceed USD 150,000 equivalent in GEL
Investment	Qualifying investment or qualifying non-agricultural property	Threshold is at least USD 300,000 for investment, or property value exceeding that amount
Permanent after temporary residence	Ten years on temporary residence permits	Some periods do not count
IT residence	Specified IT employee, qualifying small-business entrepreneur, international-company representative, or eligible family member	Separate experience, income, work-right, and activity-code rules

Special, former-citizen, stateless-person, and domestic-violence routes also exist, but they are designed for specific circumstances rather than general relocation planning.

Work residence permit after the 2026 changes

Georgia's Law on Labour Migration now treats the right to work as a separate authorization. From 1 March 2026, the system covers relevant foreign employees and self-employed foreigners, subject to the law's exceptions.

For an employee, the local employer applies for the right to work after concluding the required employment agreement. A self-employed foreigner applies for their own right to work. The authorization is tied to the specific employer for an employee, or to the specified profession and business/activity field for a self-employed person.

The right to work is not itself a residence permit. The current law links lawful paid activity to both the right to work and an accepted immigration basis such as a work residence permit, a D1 immigration visa, or another residence permit allowed by law.

The Agency's work-permit checklist currently requires an application code from the labour system, passport, proof of lawful stay, evidence of the work or entrepreneurial activity and qualifying income, employer or enterprise turnover evidence, information about foreign workers, a photo, and payment. The exact packet differs between employment and entrepreneurship.

The current economic tests include:

monthly income or funds at least five times the average-consumer subsistence minimum; and
annual turnover generally at least GEL 50,000 per foreign applicant, reduced to GEL 35,000 for qualifying educational or medical institutions.

The subsistence minimum changes over time. Use the current official figure when preparing the application rather than copying a GEL amount from an old article.

Standard work-residence processing is currently GEL 300 in 30 calendar days, GEL 450 in 20 days, or GEL 600 in 10 days.

The transition rule for people registered before 1 March 2026

The Labour Migration Law gives a specific transition to labour immigrants whose registration in the Ministry's unified database was active on 1 March 2026. They must obtain the right to work and an appropriate residence permit no later than 1 January 2027.

Do not assume that this transition applies merely because you worked in Georgia before March 2026. The statutory wording refers to active database registration on that date. New applicants and people outside that condition should follow the current process now.

The State Employment Support Agency operates a dedicated self-employed foreigner application portal. The legal category of “self-employed alien” is broad and can include a person providing services, trading, acting as an independent contractor, or otherwise conducting activity for financial benefit. An Individual Entrepreneur registration or Small Business Status should not be treated as a substitute for the immigration authorization.

If you work as an IE, read our registration guide for the business-registration side, but verify the right-to-work and residence requirements separately.

Study residence permit

A study residence permit is for study at an authorized educational institution in Georgia. The Agency currently asks for:

the application;
passport copy;
proof of lawful stay;
a certificate from the authorized institution confirming study and the anticipated duration;
proof of qualifying legal income or funds;
an electronic 3 × 4 cm color photo; and
proof of payment.

Personal bank funds can be considered. For the permit's requested period, the monthly amount should be at least twice the average-consumer subsistence minimum.

Current processing options are GEL 300 in 30 calendar days, GEL 450 in 20 days, and GEL 600 in 10 days.

Study time is important later: the Agency states that periods spent in Georgia for study or medical treatment do not count toward the ten-year temporary-residence route to permanent residence.

Family reunification and Georgian-citizen family routes

Family reunification is issued to family members of a foreigner who holds a Georgian residence permit. The core documents are the application, passport, lawful-stay evidence, proof of kinship, qualifying legal income or funds, a photo, and payment.

For bank funds, the Agency uses a monthly benchmark of at least twice the average-consumer subsistence minimum over the requested permit period. Foreign civil-status documents may need apostille or legalization and Georgian translation; confirm the treatment of your issuing country before applying.

The ordinary processing options are GEL 300/450/600 for 30/20/10 calendar days.

A different, permanent-residence route applies to:

the spouse of a Georgian citizen;
the minor child of a Georgian citizen; and
the parent of a minor Georgian citizen.

That route requires proof of the family connection to the Georgian citizen and qualifying income or support evidence. Current processing is GEL 350 in 30 calendar days or GEL 500 in 20 days.

Do not select “family reunification” only because a spouse or relative is involved. The sponsor's status determines which family route is relevant.

Short-term residence through property ownership

A short-term residence permit can be issued to a foreigner who owns non-agricultural real property in Georgia with a market value exceeding USD 150,000 equivalent in GEL. A spouse and children can also qualify through the permit holder.

The value is not simply the purchase price or the figure the owner believes the property is worth. The Agency requires a report from a certified assessor accredited through Georgia's Accreditation Centre, plus the ownership record, passport, lawful-stay evidence, photo, and fee.

The word exceeding matters: a valuation equal to USD 150,000 is not the same as one above it. Currency conversion and valuation timing can affect a borderline case.

Current processing is GEL 300 in 30 days, GEL 450 in 20 days, or GEL 600 in 10 days.

Buying property should never be based only on an immigration threshold. Verify title, encumbrances, permitted land category, valuation, building status, tax consequences, and the residence rules independently before committing funds.

Investment residence permit

The investment route is available on the basis of either:

at least USD 300,000 equivalent in GEL invested in Georgia under the investment law; or
ownership of non-agricultural real property with market value exceeding USD 300,000 equivalent in GEL.

The investment route requires an auditor's report for the investment basis or ownership and accredited valuation evidence for the property basis. The Agency also lists a written reference from a Georgian government member or three Georgian citizens authorized to represent a Georgia-based business entity.

An investment permit based on entrepreneurial investment carries ongoing annual turnover reporting. The current milestones are at least USD 50,000 equivalent in GEL for year one, USD 100,000 for year two, and USD 120,000 for each of years three, four, and five.

After five years, an indefinite-stay permit may be available if the statutory investment/turnover or continuous qualifying-property conditions have been maintained. This is a high-value route: use an independent Georgian lawyer and qualified tax adviser before structuring the transaction.

Permanent residence after ten years

A foreigner who has lived in Georgia for the last ten years on temporary residence permits can qualify for permanent residence. The Agency excludes time spent for study or medical treatment and time working at diplomatic or equivalent missions from this calculation.

Visa-free presence is not the same as time living on a temporary residence permit for this route. Preserve every permit and card record across renewals, and investigate any gap before assuming the ten-year test is satisfied.

Current processing is GEL 350 in 30 calendar days or GEL 500 in 20 days.

The IT residence permit

The IT residence permit is a distinct 2026 route, not a general “digital nomad visa.” It can cover:

an IT labour immigrant with the right to work;
a Georgian-registered entrepreneur natural person with Small Business Status carrying out specified IT activities;
a person authorized to administer and represent a qualifying international company in the IT sector; and
eligible family members of those permit holders.

For an IT employee or qualifying small-business entrepreneur, the Agency currently requires at least two years of relevant IT experience and proof of at least USD 25,000 equivalent in GEL in remuneration during the previous year. The records must show receipt at least twice, at least 30 days apart.

For the small-business entrepreneur route, qualifying Georgian activity codes currently include 58.21, 58.29, 62.01, 62.02, 62.03, 62.09, 63.1, and 63.12. The applicant also needs Small Business Status, proof of the activity, the right-to-work decision, passport, lawful-stay evidence, photo, and payment.

Foreign-issued documents for the IT route must be legalized or apostilled unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise. Current processing is slower and more expensive than the ordinary work route: GEL 500 in 90 calendar days or GEL 750 in 60 days.

The details are exacting. A person who works “in tech” but lacks the specified activity, history, evidence, or income does not automatically qualify.

Common document rules

Build the application from the official checklist for your exact route. Common items include:

The approved application form.
A passport or travel-document copy.
Proof of lawful stay in Georgia.
The route-specific basis: employment, work-right decision, study, kinship, title and valuation, investment, or history of permits.
Income or bank-funds evidence where required.
An electronic 3 × 4 cm color photo.
Proof of fee payment.

Foreign public documents commonly need apostille or legalization unless an international agreement removes the requirement, followed by Georgian translation where required. Names, dates, and document numbers should match across the passport, civil records, contracts, and translations.

The Agency can request additional evidence. A technically complete-looking packet can still fail if it does not prove the substantive legal condition.

After approval: obtain the residence card and register your address

Approval is not the last step. The Agency's residence-card page says every foreigner granted a residence permit must obtain a residence card, regardless of age.

An alien with a residence permit must also register at a residential address. The official address-registration guidance says this must be done within one month of entering Georgia with the permit, or within one month of obtaining the permit if already in Georgia.

Address registration is free. Evidence can include ownership, the property owner's consent, or confirmation by two legally capable adults that the person has lived at the address for the previous three months, subject to the Agency's procedure.

Do not assume the permit decision, card order, and address registration happen automatically as one invisible process. Ask the service officer what remains to be completed and keep the receipts and decision records.

Common reasons applications go wrong

Applying after the ordinary 40-day cutoff.
Choosing a permit category based on the applicant's goal rather than the legal evidence available.
Treating visa-free status or a Category C visa as automatically sufficient for every route.
Assuming IE or Small Business registration replaces the 2026 right-to-work process.
Using an outdated work-residence checklist written before March 2026.
Showing income without satisfying the employer/enterprise turnover condition.
Using the purchase price instead of an accredited market valuation for property routes.
Confusing “at least USD 300,000” for investment with “exceeding USD 300,000” for property value.
Submitting foreign documents without the required authentication and translation.
Forgetting to obtain the residence card and register an address after approval.
Assuming a residence permit automatically determines tax residence.

A safer application sequence

Identify the exact legal route and your lawful-stay deadline.
Read the current Agency checklist and the applicable consolidated law.
For work or entrepreneurship, resolve the right-to-work step first.
Confirm foreign-document authentication before ordering documents abroad.
Collect route-specific evidence, income/funds records, translations, and the photo.
Apply with enough time for the chosen processing service and possible follow-up.
Save the application number, payment proof, and every submitted document.
After approval, obtain the residence card and complete address registration.
Calendar the renewal date well before the next 40-day cutoff.

Official starting points: the Public Service Development Agency permit guide, the current Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, and the Law on Labour Migration.