How To Get Georgian Residency (Legal Residence Permits)

If you are planning to move to Georgia, or are already here and are hoping to switch from a visa to a residence permit, Georgia offers several types of temporary residency permits. The most popular ones are:

• Work Residence Permit (for those with a work contract or business in Georgia)
• Short-term Residence Permit (based on property ownership)
• Residence Permit for family reunification
• Other types of residency permits (including Student Residency Permit)

In this article, we’ll explore the requirements for the above types of Georgian residence permits. It should be noted that legal residency does not mean you get tax residency in Georgia. Read more here.

Temporary Georgian residence permits are first issued for a period of 6 to 12 months. They may then be extended for an additional period of 1 to 11 years, at the discretion of the SDA agent assessing the case.

Multiple extensions can be issued, but the total validity period of a temporary residence permit in Georgia cannot exceed 12 years. In most cases, after 10 years you would be able to apply for permanent residency.

For most temporary residence applications your current document proving you are legally in the country (Passport stamp, previous temporary residence permit, visa, etc.) must have at least 40 days of validity remaining.

First-time applications must be made from within Georgia.

Renewals of an existing Georgian residency permit can be made online from outside of Georgia, provided that the existing permit is valid at the moment of application. Please note that you (or a third party) will need to take hard copies (originals) of the application documents submitted digitally (except when renewining real-estate-based residencies).

Major Changes as of May 12th, 2021: The SDA has made significant changes to who can apply for residency. A summary of these changes can be found below.

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Work Residence Permit

The work residence permit is granted to individuals who are coming to Georgia due to their entrepreneurial or labor activities. In order to qualify and apply:

• You must have an employment contract (or an employment certificate) with at least 6 months remaining. This applies even if you own the sponsoring Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Individual Entrepreneur (IE). In case of employment, the applicant should also be registered in the unified database of the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Defence of Georgia.
• You must have proof of sufficient funds to support yourself for the duration of the residence permit (the duration will be 6 to 12 months for the first permit, and up to 11 years for future permits).
• Turnover (within the last 12-month period) of the sponsoring LLC or IE should exceed 50,000 GEL for each foreigner (director or employee) in the business – even if those foreigners already have a residence permit. If you are employed at an educational institution or a medical facility, its total turnover should exceed 35,000 GEL for each foreigner (director or employee) in the institution/facility.
  Depending on the case, turnover can be proven by any of the following: 1. Copy of your VAT turnover statement issued by the Revenue Service. In some cases, when the employer is not registered as a VAT payer, a similar document can be issued by the Revenue Service. 2. If the previous option does not work, bank statement of your Georgian Business Bank Account in GEL. For IEs, there is some limited scope to use your IE account in some cases; seek advice on this topic. 3. A licensed auditor verifying turnover paid into your foreign bank accounts.*

*Even though there have not been any statutory amendments, recent practice shows that auditors’ reports are getting rejected.

To apply, the following documents should be submitted: 

All documents should include a Georgian language version. If the original document is not in Georgian, a legal translation should be included.

1. Extract of the sponsoring LLC or IE from the Registry of Entrepreneurs and Non-Entrepreneurial (Non-Commercial) Legal Entities (i.e., proof of the existence of the Georgian LLC or IE);
2. Copy of a travel document of the applicant (normally a passport). For the first application, a translated version is sometimes required;
3. Copy of a document certifying that the applicant’s stay in Georgia is legal (with at least 40 days validity for most residence permits);
4. Document certifying employment or entrepreneurial activity with a net income of at least 5x the Georgian subsistence income per month (i.e., a labor contract, an employment certificate, or any other document certifying employment). As of July 2023, this amount is 254.5 x 5 = 1,272.50 GEL per month. This changes periodically, so always check the current figure before applying. We recommend at least 1,300 GEL per month to be on the safe side, If this document does not include the monthly income of the applicant, proof of sufficient funds can be provided instead.
5. Document stating how many foreigners are working with sponsoring IE or in LLC (signed by a company director and/or the company accountant);
6. Document showing total turnover of the LLC or IE, as detailed above;
7. Photo of the applicant 3×4 in size (electronic);
8. Receipt certifying the payment of service fees.

You can get the answer on your application within a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 30 days.

Need your application done for you? See our residency application service.

Short-term Residence Permit (Based on property ownership >100k USD)

The short-term residence permit is issued to the person – and his/her family members (meaning dependants / spouse only) – who, according to the rule established by Georgian legislation, own immovable property (except for agricultural land), and the market price of the property is above 100,000 USD equivalent in GEL. This can be a single property, or a portfolio of property with a total value exceeding the threshold. Note: If you receive residency and subsequently your property is sold, your residence permit will be invalidated.

To grant a short-term residence permit, the market value of the property shall be established by a certified assessor of a body accredited by the Legal Entity under the Public Law Unified National Accreditation Body – Accreditation Center.

The following documents should be submitted: 

1. Copy of a travel document of the applicant (normally a passport). For the first application, a translated version is sometimes required;
2. Copy of a document certifying the applicant’s legal stay in Georgia (technically with at least 1 day of validity for this type of residency – though having more time before the expiry is strongly recommended);
3. A document proving that the applicant owns the immovable property (i.e., property extract found on the National Agency of Public Registry); 
4. A document certifying the market value of the property; this should be issued by the certified appraiser of the accredited body of the legal entity of public law – the Unified National Accreditation Body – Accreditation Center; 
5. Photo 3×4 in size (electronic);
6. Receipt certifying the payment of service fee for application;
7. In the event that family members of the property owner also wish to gain residency, their documents must also be provided: travel document (passport), proof of kinship (apostilled/legalized birth certificate, apostilled/legalized marriage certificate, etc.), photo 3×4 (electronic), & proof of legal stay in Georgia. The application of the family members shall be submitted after the owner of the property received a positive decision issued on their residence permit application.

Want your application done for you? See our residency application service.

300k USD Investment Residence Permit

Investment can be in a number of ways, not just through real estate, but the stipulations are complicated. The benefit though, is the principal and qualifying family members (spouse and non-adult children) can get 5-year temporary residency immediately. The status is conditional on maintaining the 300k investment continuously and meeting other special requirements (which differ depending on the type of investment).

Initially, an investment residence permit is for 5 years. Once the 5-year period is over (and you still fit the requirements) permanent residency will be issued after approval. Under the 100k investment (short-term residence permit) you have to wait 10 years before you can apply for permanent residency, so the 300k residence option saves you 5 years in the process.

Because of the complexity of the investment requirements, please book a free consultation with us to discuss further details.

Residence Permit for family reunification

The residence permit for family reunification is issued to the family members of a foreigner already holding a residence permit in Georgia or to family members of a Georgian Citizen. A family member means parent for a minor and a minor child and spouse for an adult. The person who already has residence/citizenship would be considered the “sponsor” of those applying.

To obtain a residence permit for family reunification, the foreign applicant must submit the following documents to the Agency:

1. Copy of a travel document of the applicant (normally a passport). For the first application, a translated version is sometimes required;
2. Copy of a document certifying the applicants’ legal stay in Georgia (with at least 40 days of validity);
3. A document proving the relationship (might be an apostilled/legalized marriage or birth certificate);
4. Proof of income or sufficient funds. Either the sponsor or applicant must provide documentation (e.g., employment contract) showing they have an income of at least 550 GEL per month for the length of the permit.
   OR the applicant can show they have a Georgian bank account with a total amount exceeding 550 GEL times the number of months of the duration of the permit (i.e., for a 12-month permit a Georgian bank account in their name with at least 6,500 GEL);
5. Photo of applicant 3×4 in size (electronic);
6. Receipt certifying payment of the service fees.

To get a residence permit for family reunification, applicants should already be in Georgia if they are applying for the first time. However, if they are applying to extend a current residence permit, they can submit an online application from abroad. 

Note: As the sponsor, if your own residence permit has less than 6 months validity, you may not be able to sponsor a family member.

Other types of Residence Permits: 

1. The Special Residence Permit is issued to a foreign citizen who might be a victim of human trafficking. Such instances are specified in the Law of Georgia on Combating Human Trafficking. 

2. Study (Education) Residence Permit is granted to persons coming to Georgia to study at authorized educational institutions.

To apply, you need:

• Copy of a travel document of the applicant (normally a passport). For the first application, a translated version is sometimes required;
• Copy of a document certifying the applicants’ legal stay in Georgia (with at least 40 days validity);
• Certificate issued by an educational institution authorized in Georgia on the study of a foreigner (indicating the estimated duration of study);
• Proof of sufficient funds (550 GEL per month, proved by the applicant’s bank statement. If the applicant has a relative who has income in Georgia, the applicant might use a document that shows income of the relative submitted with the relevant document proving the relationship between those two). OR the applicant can show they have a Georgian bank account with a total amount exceeding 550 GEL times the number of months of the duration of the permit (i.e., for a 12-month permit a Georgian bank account in their name with at least 6,500 GEL);
• Photo of applicant 3×4 in size (electronic);
• Receipt certifying payment of the service fees.

3. A Temporary Residence Permit is issued to a foreigner, who according to the Law of Georgia on the elimination of Domestic Violence, Protection of and Support to its Victims, has been recognized as a victim of domestic violence.

4. Residence Permit of a Former Citizen of Georgia is issued to a foreigner whose Georgian citizenship has been previously terminated.

What Are The Benefits Of Having A Residence Permit?

Since Georgia has a 365-day visa on arrival for many nationalities, you may be wondering, why get a residence permit? There are a lot of reasons:

1. Right to remain. You don’t need to cross the border, you can just keep renewing the permit. As we discovered during COVID-19, a lot of foreigners who had relied on visa runs for years could no longer do so and were stuck here illegally.
2. Visa runs won’t last forever. Not only can visa runs be problematic, for example, during COVID-19, but Georgia’s uniquely flexible visa is unlikely to continue forever. 90 days in 180 is likely to come into force at some point in this decade and we may not get much warning. Meaning, if you have not already taken the steps to qualify for residency, you may not be prepared to do so last minute. Importantly: The implication of this is that it could become almost impossible to maintain tax residency (where 183 days in a calendar year is required) and this would mean those with great tax rates in Georgia would no longer qualify and their tax residency may revert to their country of domicile.
3. First step to permanent residency and citizenship. If you are looking for Georgia to be a long-term home, maintaining 10 years of uninterrupted residency here is important.
4. Conveniences with public and private services. From online access to government and notary services to better and simpler treatment with banks, utility companies, & more, having an ID card simplifies your admin here in many ways.
5. Showing Georgia is your legal home. If you are from a country like the USA, Australia, South Africa, or anywhere that does not have a double taxation agreement with Georgia, then both legal residence and tax residency are essential factors that can be used to show that Georgia is your home and reduce or eliminate taxes from those countries.
6. Essential for some services. If you wanted to apply for a visa from the UK visa center in Georgia, you must be a resident or citizen of Georgia. Otherwise, you would have to return to your home country to apply for such a visa. Some other limited benefits in terms of travel to other countries may also exist, but you’d need to check with the country to which you wish to travel.
7. Unexpected Benefits. In an unpredictable world, we discovered in 2021 that the only way to get vaccinated against COVID in many countries was to be a resident. Only limited countries offered vaccination to tourists. Residents of Georgia were able to get vaccinated from the very first rollout of the vaccine. The ability for non-residents to get vaccinated was introduced later, only for those who had already been in the country for 3 months since their last entry.

Major Changes To Residency Application Eligibility

These changes came into effect on May 12th, 2021.

Below is a brief summary of the most relevant changes. There are additional nuances and points that may not be listed here. We can discuss your unique situation during your initial free consultation.

• Those in Georgia on a C-1 visa (tourism) cannot apply for residency while present on that visa. NOTE:
  The C-1 visa is a visa you apply for, if you do not already have the right to enter Georgia visa-free. If you are from one of the 95+ countries on the 1-year visa-free list, this new rule does not apply to you.

• Those arriving in Georgia on the basis of holding a visa or residence permit in an approved country, as per ordinance 256, will not be eligible to apply for a residence permit.

• You cannot apply for residency while on an emergency visa extension. If your passport stamp or visa has expired, getting an emergency extension (to have more than 40 days of legal stay validity), in order to then be able to apply for residency, is no longer possible.

• The definition of “family member” has changed. For the most part, adult children or parents of adult children are no longer considered “family” under the new legal definition. This applies to family reunification and investment (300k USD) permits. The 100k USD residency by property ownership has a different clause that does not limit the age of the child who can be sponsored. We are not yet sure if this is an oversight on the part of the SDA, or intentional.

• The D-5 visa (which used to allow those who could not enter visa-free to arrive in Georgia if a family member owned property with a value exceeding 100k USD) is also now limited to the children and spouse of the property owner. Those arriving on a D-5 visa can apply for residency.

• The first application for a residence permit is now limited to a maximum of 6 to 12 months validity before renewal is required, aside from in some very exceptional cases (mostly, to real-estate-based residence permits).

What changes have been made regarding permanent residency?

For temporary residence permits which previously allowed for the application of permanent residence after 6 years as a resident in Georgia, the time limit is now 10 years before such an application to be made.

Can I renew my current residence permit even if I do not qualify under the new rules?

No. Though your current residence permit will not be revoked, once it expires it can only be renewed if you qualify under the new rules. For this reason, for example, parents or adult children of a sponsor who are currently residents due to sponsorship by that person through family reunification, would not be eligible to renew their residence permit once it has expired.

General FAQs

When should you apply for the residence permit in Georgia? 

In most cases, a foreigner is obliged to apply to the Agency with a request for a residence permit 40 calendar days before the expiration of his / her legal stay in the territory of Georgia. This limitation does not apply to real-estate-based residence permits, temporary residence permits (victims of domestic violence), and special residence permits (victim of human trafficking) and to renewals from abroad.

In case of renewals, an additional limitation applies to all residence permits – the application cannot be submitted earlier than 90 calendar days before the expiry of the residence permit.

What constitutes sufficient funds for a Work Residence Permit application?

Firstly, one option is that your employment contract shows the wages you will be paid. Wages should be at least 5 x Georgian subsistence income per month. As of March 2022, this amount is 254.5 x 5 = 1,272.50 GEL per month. This changes periodically, so always check the current figure before applying. We recommend at least 1,300 GEL per month to be on the safe side.

If you are not receiving guaranteed wages, you must provide a bank statement from your Georgian bank account showing funds equal to 1,272.50 GEL per month for each month of the desired duration of the residence permit. We recommend having enough to cover a full 12 months, which would be >15,270 GEL. However, having more than the minimum is always better. We recommend 15,500 GEL.

The decision on sufficient funds can sometimes be at the discretion of the clerk assessing your application, which is why having more than the minimum amount is a good idea. 

For students and those applying for family reunification, the sufficient funds requirement is lower than for the work permit, as listed in the relevant sections above.

Where do I apply? Where do I submit documents? Can it be online? 

We can help you get all your documents in order and complete the application(s) for you.  See our residency application service.

If you’d like to DIY:

All new (first-time) applications should be done within Georgia.
You should submit your documents and application at your local public service hall.

If, and only if, you are renewing an active residency permit, you can do so from abroad, online.

1. Fill out an online application.
2. Upload the required documents electronically – as listed above depending on the type of permit you are applying for.
3. Contact the immigration agent via skype with the handle “sda.gov.ge” and arrange to speak to them in person and to fill out the online application. They may record the interview.
4. Process the payment.
5. Within 10 days of making the application, hard copies (originals) of the documents must be delivered to the immigration office at the public service hall.

How long will your residence permit be valid? 

A temporary residence permit is first issued for a period of no less than 6 months and no more than 12 months. It may be extended for an additional period of up to 11 years, provided that the total period of issuance of a temporary residence permit in Georgia should not exceed 12 years. Prior to 2021, the maximum term per issuance was 5 years, but in practice, the SDA has recently started to issue up to 11 years in some cases.

How long does it take to get the residence permit? 

A residence permit is issued by the Public Service Development Agency within 30 days after the initial submission. However, the permits can be issued in an accelerated manner in as little as 10 days – plus preparation time.

What if your residency application is rejected? 

A foreigner who has been rejected and not granted a residence permit in Georgia has the right to reapply on the same grounds, one month after the decision of the rejection.

How and when should you get a residency card? 

Within 30 days after receiving a residence permit in Georgia, a foreigner should apply for a residence card at any territorial office of the Public Service Development Agency, a branch of the Public Service Hall, or Community Center. The residence card is an identity document certifying the identity of a foreigner living in Georgia, their citizenship, and their place of residence in Georgia.

How & when should I renew my residence permit?

In most cases, you should renew your residency permit no less than 40 days before expiry, and no more than 90 days before expiry.

The 40-day limitation does not apply to real-estate-based residence permits, temporary residence permits (victims of domestic violence), and special residence permits (victim of human trafficking) and to renewals from abroad.

You can renew on the basis of any of the available residence options as detailed above. Depending on your case, you may be awarded anywhere between 6 months and 11 years.

How do I get residency if I have less than 40 days of validity on my passport stamp?

Since the changes on May 12th, 2021, it is no longer possible to get any residence permit if the 40-day limitation applies to you and you have missed the deadline.

Have questions? Contact Us.

Need help with your residency application, See our residency application service.

Or, register by email for updates:

Residency Podcast

This podcast was recorded in August 2022, some information may eventually be out of date. For best results and latest information ALWAYS contact a professional adviser.

Residency Webinar

NOTE: This was recorded in December of 2020. Information about the “Emergency Visa Extension” and “1st July 2021 Extension” is now OUT OF DATE. Most other information is still relevant, but please double check the information in this video against the changes brought into law on May 12th to make sure that you are following the latest information. Even so, we cannot guarantee that all new changes will be listed on this webpage.

For best results and latest information ALWAYS contact a professional adviser.

During a consultation we explain all of the options from this article in greater detail, including clarification on some key points that those trying to apply for residency often get wrong. You’ll learn:

• Details on the most important elements of the 4 main types of residency application.
• Tips for a successful residency application.
• 6 unique residency “hacks” if the standard methods will not easily work for you.
• Common questions answered.

Disclaimer: This webinar was recorded shortly after the new legislation was released on Dec 16th, 2020. Some items discussed relating to that (the July 1st extension) may no longer be relevant in the future, but are still relevant as of December.