A Georgian residence permit is easy to want and easy to get wrong. The rules moved in 2026, the filing window closes 40 days before your legal stay ends, and a refusal locks you out for a month before you can refile on the same ground. Here is every permit type, what the state actually charges, and the order of operations that keeps your file alive.
Who needs a permit, and who does not
Georgia is unusually relaxed about visitors. Government Ordinance No 255 of 5 June 2015 provides that citizens of the listed countries may enter and stay in Georgia without a visa for one full year, and the list of visa-free countries is the operative annex to that ordinance.
That year does most of the work for most people. Our explainer on the 365-day visa-free rule covers the border-run habit and why it is riskier than it looks.
A permit becomes the right answer when you want to stay past the year without leaving, hold a Georgian ID card, work under a Georgian employment contract, bring family, or start the ten-year clock toward permanent residence. It is an immigration status. It is not a tax status, and it is not a work authorisation.
The permit types, side by side
Article 15 of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons lists eleven categories. Eight of them matter to foreign professionals and property owners.
| Permit | Core qualifying test | Initial validity | Where it leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work | Registered labour immigrant or entrepreneur, plus proof of the right to work | 6 to 12 months | Renewals, then permanent living |
| Study | Enrolment at an authorised Georgian institution | 6 to 12 months | Ends with the course unless you switch ground |
| Family reunification | Kinship with a permit holder, plus income evidence | 6 to 12 months | Tracks the sponsor's permit |
| Short-term | Non-agricultural property valued above USD 150,000 | Set on grant | Renewable while you own the property |
| Investment | USD 300,000 invested, or property valued above USD 300,000 | Set on grant | Indefinite stay after a five-year record |
| IT | IT employment or IT small business, with documented experience and pay | Set on grant | Renewable |
| Permanent living | Close family of a Georgian citizen, or 10 years on temporary permits | Indefinite | Naturalisation track |
| Indefinite stay | Investment permit held with turnover or ownership maintained five years | Indefinite | Naturalisation track |
The remaining three categories cover former Georgian citizens, stateless persons and special cases such as trafficking victims and foreign compatriots. There is also a separate temporary permit for victims of domestic violence holding an active protective order.
Article 16 sets the initial term for work, study and family reunification permits at six months to one year, extendable, with the total run of temporary permits capped at twelve years. Nobody stays temporary forever by design.
What it costs, and how fast
These are the state fees published by the Public Service Development Agency, the body that decides residence permit applications. They are the government charge only, before translation, notary, valuation or legal fees.
| Permit | Standard | Faster | Fastest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work, study, family reunification, short-term, investment | 300 GEL, 30 days | 450 GEL, 20 days | 600 GEL, 10 days |
| Permanent living and indefinite stay | 350 GEL, 30 days | 500 GEL, 20 days | Not offered |
| IT residence permit | 500 GEL, 90 days | 750 GEL, 60 days | Not offered |
| Deferral of the obligation to leave Georgia | 65 GEL, 5 calendar days | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Two things stand out. The IT permit runs on a completely different clock, ninety days at the cheap tier, which makes it useless as a rescue plan. And the deferral of the obligation to leave is the cheapest line on the list, at 65 GEL, decided within five calendar days. A pending residence permit application is one of the grounds for it.
The 40-day rule nobody plans around
This is the sentence that decides more cases than any income threshold. The Agency states that an alien shall apply for a Georgian residence permit 40 calendar days before their lawful stay in Georgia expires.
Count backwards. If your visa-free year ends on 1 December, your file has to be in by roughly 22 October. Miss it and you are not late, you are out of scope, because the application requires proof of lawful stay and the window has closed.
Put the date 40 days before your legal stay expires in your calendar the week you land, not the month you decide to apply. Document gathering, apostilles and certified translations routinely eat three weeks on their own.
Article 17 gives the Agency 30 days from the submission of all required documents to decide. Read that carefully: the clock starts when the file is complete, not when you first walk in. An incomplete submission restarts your own timeline while your legal stay keeps ticking.
The work permit layer added in 2026
This is the part older guides have not caught up with. Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Labour Migration adopted in June 2025 introduced a separate right to labour or entrepreneurial activity, granted by the ministry responsible for labour, health and social affairs. It came into force on 1 March 2026.
The sequence changed as a result. The right to work is now the first step, and the work residence permit is the second. Applications run through the ministry's labour migration portal, the law caps the review at 30 calendar days, and the service fee payable to the State Employment Support Agency is capped at 500 GEL.
For the document list and the employer-side evidence, see our breakdown of work residence permit requirements. The employer turnover test and the income multiple tied to the subsistence minimum both sit there, and both are figures to confirm on the day you file rather than copy from a forum.
Who sits outside the labour migration law
Article 1(4) lists the aliens the law does not apply to. Several of those exclusions matter directly to the people reading this.
Holders of a valid investment residence permit are excluded. So is anyone who carries out labour activities for a local employer completely remotely where the activity does not require entry into Georgia. So is anyone who carries out labour activities or provides services in favour of a non-resident person where those services relate to that non-resident's activities outside Georgia. Management and administrative roles at first, second and third category enterprises are also outside it.
That third exclusion is the one freelancers with foreign clients reach for. It is drafted around the non-resident client's activities abroad, not around where you happen to be sitting, so it is narrower than the shorthand version circulating online.
Falling outside the Labour Migration Law does not give you a right to stay. It can close the work residence permit route entirely, because that route runs on proof of the right to work. If you are relying on the non-resident client exclusion, get the ground confirmed in writing and identify your residence permit basis separately, before your legal stay runs down.
The property route, and the number that moved
The short-term residence permit is the most popular route among foreign buyers. The Agency requires ownership of non-agricultural immovable property with a certified valuation above USD 150,000, evidenced by the title deed and an appraisal from a certified valuer. That threshold was raised during 2026 and is exactly the kind of number that moves again, so confirm it before you commit to a purchase price.
Spouses and children of the owner apply on the same basis, attaching the owner's permit and proof of kinship.
The valuation is where deals go wrong. A purchase contract at USD 160,000 does not guarantee an appraisal at USD 160,000, and the Agency works from the appraisal. Our guide to buying an apartment in Tbilisi covers the title checks, and the real estate lawyers in Tbilisi we list are the people to put between you and a developer's own valuer.
The investment permit is a different animal at USD 300,000, and it carries ongoing turnover conditions across the following years plus a written reference from a government member or three Georgian business representatives. It is not simply a bigger version of the property permit.
The IT permit almost nobody uses
Georgia created a dedicated IT residence permit covering immigrant IT workers, self-employed IT small business owners and administrators of international companies. The Agency asks for at least two years of documented IT experience and evidence of annual remuneration above USD 25,000, verified twice at intervals of at least thirty days, alongside a decision on work rights.
The double income verification is the detail that catches people. One good month does not evidence it. Two snapshots more than a month apart do, which means the paperwork has to start well before the 40-day deadline bites.
We research the immigration lawyers working in Tbilisi and rank the ones worth paying. Independently researched, re-checked quarterly, free to read.
See the ranked list
From temporary to permanent
The permanent living permit has two doors. Spouses, minor children and parents of minor Georgian citizens qualify on family grounds. Everyone else qualifies after ten years of continuous residence on temporary permits.
Continuity is the word that does the damage. A gap between permits can reset the count, which is why a refusal in year seven is not merely an inconvenience. If your route runs through a Georgian spouse or child, our guide to family residence permits sets out the kinship and income evidence.
Investment permit holders have a parallel route to an indefinite stay permit, evidenced either by fifth-year turnover above USD 120,000 or by a Public Registry reference confirming five years of continuous ownership. From there the question becomes naturalisation, which is covered in our explainer on Georgian citizenship and naturalisation.
When the answer is no
Article 18 sets out the grounds for refusal, and they are broader than most applicants expect: security concerns, the qualifying ground not being met, criminal history within a defined period, certain communicable diseases, forged documents, false data, and active expulsion proceedings.
Article 19 then allows a fresh application on the same basis after at least one month from the refusal decision. That month is real, and it runs while your legal stay does not.
Refusals on security grounds are not reasoned in any useful detail, which makes them hard to answer with more paperwork. That is the point at which immigration lawyers in Tbilisi earn their fee, by changing the ground rather than resubmitting the same file. We go through the appeal and refiling mechanics in our guide to permit renewals and refusals.
What a residence permit does not give you
It does not make you a Georgian tax resident. Tax residency is decided under Article 34 of the Tax Code on a day count or the high net worth route, and plenty of permit holders are non-resident for tax. Our guide to Georgian tax residency sets out the 183-day mechanics.
It does not exempt you from the labour migration rules, and it does not by itself create the right to work. Those are separate decisions by separate bodies.
Immigration status and tax status are decided by different authorities under different laws. Run both questions in parallel with tax advisors in Tbilisi rather than assuming one follows from the other.
Key takeaways
- The application must reach the Public Service Development Agency 40 calendar days before your lawful stay expires. That deadline decides most cases.
- Standard state fees are 300, 450 or 600 GEL depending on speed, with permanent and indefinite permits at 350 or 500 GEL and the IT permit on its own schedule.
- The Agency has 30 days to decide, counted from the day your file is complete.
- Since 1 March 2026 the right to labour or entrepreneurial activity is a separate prior step for the work permit route, capped at 30 days and 500 GEL.
- The property route needs a certified valuation above USD 150,000, and the appraisal governs, not the purchase price.
- Permanent living arrives after ten continuous years on temporary permits, or immediately through close family of a Georgian citizen.
- A refusal blocks a same-ground refiling for one month, and the permit is not a tax status.
FAQ
How long does a Georgian residence permit application take?
The Agency decides within 30 calendar days of receiving a complete file, and faster tiers of 20 and 10 days are available for a higher fee. Preparation is the longer half: apostilles, certified translations and property valuations typically add two to four weeks. Budget from the 40-day pre-expiry deadline backwards, not from the decision date forwards.
How much does a Georgian residence permit cost?
State fees for the main temporary categories are 300 GEL at 30 days, 450 GEL at 20 days and 600 GEL at 10 days. Permanent living and indefinite stay permits cost 350 or 500 GEL. The IT permit is 500 GEL at 90 days or 750 GEL at 60 days. Translation, notarisation, valuation and legal fees sit on top and are usually the larger share.
Can I apply for a residence permit from inside Georgia?
Yes, and most people do, filing at a Public Service Hall, a territorial office of the Agency or through its online service. The condition is lawful stay, which is why the 40-day rule matters so much. An authorised representative can file on your behalf under a properly drafted power of attorney.
Does owning property in Georgia get me residency?
Owning non-agricultural immovable property with a certified valuation above USD 150,000 qualifies you for the short-term residence permit. The valuation has to come from a certified valuer and the Agency works from that figure, not from what you paid. The threshold was raised during 2026, so confirm the current number before signing anything.
Do I need a work permit as well as a residence permit?
If you are employed by a Georgian company or running a business here, yes. Since 1 March 2026 the right to labour or entrepreneurial activity is granted separately by the ministry responsible for labour, and the work residence permit is issued on top of it. Several categories of alien sit outside the Labour Migration Law entirely, but that exclusion is not itself a right to stay.
Does a Georgian residence permit make me a tax resident?
No. Immigration status and tax residency are decided under different laws by different bodies. Tax residency turns on 183 days of actual presence in a rolling 12-month period, or on the high net worth route. A permit helps you be present long enough to trigger it, but it does not trigger it by itself.
How long can I hold temporary residence permits?
Work, study and family reunification permits are issued initially for six months to one year and can be extended, but the total period of temporary residence is capped at twelve years. In practice the ten-year mark is the one to aim for, because that is when continuous temporary residence opens the permanent living permit.
What happens if my residence permit application is refused?
You may reapply on the same basis after at least one month from the refusal decision, under Article 19. Refusal grounds include security concerns, the qualifying ground not being met, criminal history, forged documents and false data. Since your lawful stay continues running during that month, changing the ground is often faster than refiling the same file.
Can my family get permits through mine?
Yes. Family reunification permits are available to family members of permit holders, and the short-term, investment and IT permits each have their own dependant routes for spouses and children. Expect to evidence kinship with legalised or apostilled documents, plus income for the reunification category. Dependant permits generally track the validity of the main permit.
Do I need to speak Georgian to get a residence permit?
No language test applies to residence permits. Documents issued abroad must be legalised or apostilled and submitted with certified Georgian translations unless a treaty removes that requirement. Language becomes relevant later, at the naturalisation stage, where knowledge of Georgian is tested.
Is the 365-day visa-free stay a substitute for a permit?
For a single year it works, and many people use it that way. It gives you no Georgian ID card, no right to work under the new labour rules, and no progress toward permanent residence. Repeated exits and re-entries to reset it are a border officer's discretionary call rather than an entitlement.