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Georgia · Relocation guide

Moving to Georgia: the 2026 work-right and residence rules

Georgia's generous visa-free admission remains important, but it is no longer a complete work plan. Since March 2026, locally connected employment and self-employment generally require a right to work plus an appropriate visa or residence status; genuinely foreign-client activity has a narrower statutory exclusion.

Content updated 11 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Separate visa-free admission from residence and work permission

Citizens of countries in Georgia's official list may enter and stay visa-free for one full year. Other travellers may have a 90-in-180 privilege because they hold a listed third-country visa or residence permit. Neither rule, by itself, proves permission to take a Georgian job or conduct locally connected self-employment.

Choose the work and stay basis together. The visa-free route can suit a qualifying foreign-client remote stay, while local employment or Georgian entrepreneurial activity now needs the labour-migration analysis before the work residence application.

Separate visa-free admission from residence and work permission
PlanVisaAtlas routeBoundary to resolve
Local employment or Georgian business activityWork Residence PermitObtain the new right to work and the correct D1/residence status.
Eligible foreign-client remote stayVisa-Free 365-Day Stay (remote workers)Confirm nationality, tax position and that the statutory foreign-client exclusion truly fits.
Qualifying investmentInvestment Residence PermitInvestment residence has its own value and reporting evidence.
Qualifying residential propertyShort-Term Residence Permit (real-estate owners)Title and accredited valuation are required; ownership does not authorise every activity.
Join a qualifying residentFamily Reunification Residence PermitPrepare a separate residence and work analysis for each adult.

Apply the March 2026 right-to-work sequence

The Labour Migration Law now requires a local employee or self-employed alien within scope to hold both a Ministry-granted right to work and a D1 immigration visa, work residence permit or another residence permit allowed by law. The local employer applies for its employee after signing the contract; a self-employed alien applies personally. The statutory decision period is up to 30 calendar days once the file is complete.

After approval, a worker abroad generally has 30 calendar days to seek the D1 visa. A worker already lawfully in Georgia generally has 10 calendar days to seek a work or qualifying IT residence permit, unless already holding another Georgian residence permit. The work right is tied to the named local employer, or for self-employment to the stated speciality and field.

Use the foreign-client remote carve-out narrowly

An April 2026 amendment excludes from the Labour Migration Law work or services performed for a non-resident where the work relates to that non-resident's activities outside Georgia. That can cover a genuine foreign-employer or foreign-client remote arrangement, but it should not be stretched to a Georgian customer, local employer, Georgian operating business or mixed activity.

Document the counterparty's residence, contract, payment path, customer geography and where the benefiting business operates. Immigration permission and tax are separate: a visa-free worker can still become Georgian tax resident, create registration obligations or create risk for a foreign company. Get Georgian advice for founder, contractor, agency or mixed local/foreign revenue facts.

Build the residence and housing file around the deadline

The Public Service Development Agency says an applicant generally files for a residence permit 40 calendar days before lawful stay expires, subject to listed exceptions. Work residence evidence includes lawful stay, employment or entrepreneurship, current income and employer or enterprise turnover evidence. Use the live checklist because the page is being aligned with the new work-right system.

Before paying a long deposit, verify the owner, title extract, full address, utilities, inventory, termination and whether the owner will supply documents needed for registration or banking. After residence approval, complete the separate residence-card step and check the Georgian and Latin-script identity data.

Give every dependant a separate residence and school file

Family residence and investment/property routes define their own eligible relatives and evidence. Do not assume a child or spouse is attached to the principal automatically, or that an adult family permit supplies the new right to work. Prepare apostilled or legalised civil-status evidence and translations to the authority's current standard.

Ask the intended school which prior reports, translations, health records, language assessment and residence documents it needs before choosing a neighbourhood. Keep immigration expiry dates aligned with the school year and retain originals for later recognition or transfer.

Start tax and banking records on day one

Georgia's Tax Code generally treats an individual as resident for a tax year after 183 or more days of actual presence in a continuous 12-month period ending in that year. Income source, treaty residence, small-business status and foreign-company exposure require separate analysis. Track every presence day, payer, client, work location and business expense.

Banks set their own onboarding and source-of-funds standards. Compare passport, address, tax number, residence and contract requirements, especially before routing business receipts. A Georgian bank account or individual-entrepreneur registration does not prove immigration compliance, and visa-free admission does not settle tax residence.

Test healthcare, driving and pet logistics locally

Do not infer healthcare entitlement from visa-free entry or a residence card. Compare private policies for local provider access, exclusions, pre-existing conditions, medicines, maternity and evacuation, and verify any employer cover for every family member before cancelling home-country protection.

Before driving, ask the Service Agency whether the foreign licence can be used or exchanged for the intended residence and vehicle category. For pets, obtain current origin-specific veterinary, identification, vaccination, airline and border requirements before choosing a flight; rules for commercial movement or multiple animals can differ from accompanied pets.

Renew the work right before the residence chain breaks

A local employer and a self-employed alien must seek extension of the right to work 30 calendar days before it expires. Contract changes or termination must be entered by the employer in the labour-migration system within five calendar days. Changing employer or the approved self-employment field without renewing the right can be fined.

Workers who had active registration in the labourmigration.moh.gov.ge database on 1 March 2026 have a transition deadline of 1 January 2027 to obtain the new right and appropriate residence permit. That is a narrow grandfathering timetable, not a general delay. Calendar work right, visa, residence permit, residence card, passport and family expiries separately.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 15 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

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