Georgian Visa & Residency

Georgia issues six D-category immigration visa sub-types: D1 for work, business, and labour activities; D2 for scientific, sports, cultural, educational, or voluntary missions; D3 for study purposes for adults; D4 for family reunification; D5 for property owners holding Georgian real estate above the qualifying value threshold; and D6 for study purposes for minors and their family members.

For most D-category visas, the government issues a decision within 30 calendar days of application. The D5 visa has a faster timeline of 10 calendar days.

Processing times for the preceding Labour Permit (required for D1 applicants) add up to 14-30 additional calendar days.

Yes, in certain circumstances.

You can apply from a country of which you are not a citizen if you hold a valid multiple-entry visa or residence permit of that country, and if the remaining validity of that document is at least 3 months longer than the Georgian visa you are requesting.

In some cases, you can also apply from within Georgia itself, provided you submit no later than 45 days before your current lawful stay expires.

Grounds for rejection include missing or false documentation, an outstanding entry ban or unpaid fine in Georgia, insufficient financial means or health insurance, security or public order concerns, foreign policy considerations, reasonable doubt about intended lawful stay, or failure to provide accurate information about identity or purpose of travel. Rejection can be appealed within 10 business days.

The D1 immigration visa is Georgia's work and business visa, required for foreign nationals who intend to conduct labour or entrepreneurial activities in Georgia.

Since March 1st, 2026, obtaining a D1 visa requires first securing a Right to Work (also known as the “Special Labour Permit”). The D1 visa can also serve as the basis for a work residence permit application.

Previously a single-stage process, the following two-stage requirement came into effect on March 1st, 2026:

First, obtain a Labour Permit from the Ministry of Labour portal. The process is fully remote, and it takes up to 30 calendar days.

Second, apply for the D1 visa at a Georgian embassy or consulate with the work permit as a supporting document.

No. If you already hold any type of Georgian residence permit, you are not required to obtain a D1 visa. However, if you are conducting work or business activity, you are still required to hold a valid Labour Permit, unless you hold a Permanent or Investment Residence Permit.

Yes. Once you get an immigration visa, you will become entitled to submit a residence permit application. To find out what our residency services include, read the next section.

Apply on the basis of employment or entrepreneurial activity in Georgia (such as with an employment contract, as an owner of an LLC, or with Individual Entrepreneur status).

The business must have at least 50,000 GEL in turnover in the last 12 months per foreigner in the company. Alternatively, if the business was registered no earlier than 3 months before the application, the turnover requirement doesn't apply.

Get a 1-year residency based on ownership of property with a market value exceeding 150,000 USD. Residency for family (spouse & dependents) can also be obtained after your residence permit application is approved.

Get a 5-year residency based on ownership of property with a market value exceeding 300,000 USD. Residency for family (spouse & dependents) can also be obtained after your residence permit application is approved. You can transfer to unlimited residency after 5 years of maintaining the investment.

Your spouse or dependent (minor child) can sponsor you, or be sponsored by you if they possess a Georgian residence card or citizenship.

If you study at a Georgian university or school, you are eligible for a study residence permit.

For those specializing in IT, your employment or entrepreneurial activity in Georgia can be the basis for a residence permit. Check out our article on this topic.

In case of a first-time application, it's mandatory for you to apply from within Georgia.

Yes. Renewals can be submitted online from abroad before your current permit expires. However, original documents must be delivered to a PSH within approximately 10 days of submitting online.

Yes, as long as that person has a Power of Attorney granting them the relevant authorities. Please note that even in that case, you need to be in Georgia unless you are renewing the residence permit.

However, in the case of requesting and receiving a residency card, this needs to be done personally by you.

No, each application is individual and should be submitted separately.

In the case of minors, their lawful representative (usually parents/guardians) should submit their residence permit application.

Additionally, minors aged 9 or above need to be present during the request for the residency card in order to apply a signature to their residency card.

Government fees depend on processing speed and the type of residence permit.

IT Residency: 500 GEL for 90-day processing and 750 GEL for 60-day processing.

Permanent Residency: 350 GEL for 30-day processing and 500 GEL for 20-day processing.

Other Residency Types: 300 GEL for 30-day processing, 450 GEL for 20-day processing, and 600 GEL for 10-day processing.

Residency Card fees range from 60 GEL for 10 business days to 150 GEL for same-day processing.

You have 10 calendar days to submit an appeal to the court. As long as the basic lawsuit is submitted, you can add supporting evidence later.

The appeal can be divided into 3 parts:

1. Preparing and submitting the lawsuit.

2. The court issuing a decision.

3. Enforcement or appeal.

This depends on the capacity of the courts at the moment of the appeal. In our experience, the process takes up to a year.

Some of the expenses of the appeal you need to consider are: lawyer fee, PoA fee, court fee (100 GEL), and procuring evidence and translation/notarizing when dealing with foreign documents).

It is not possible to determine or provide any indication as to the probability of a positive or negative outcome.

Georgia issues six D-category immigration visa sub-types: D1 for work, business, and labour activities; D2 for scientific, sports, cultural, educational, or voluntary missions; D3 for study purposes for adults; D4 for family reunification; D5 for property owners holding Georgian real estate above the qualifying value threshold; and D6 for study purposes for minors and their family members.

For most D-category visas, the government issues a decision within 30 calendar days of application. The D5 visa has a faster timeline of 10 calendar days. For D1 applicants, the preceding Labour Permit adds 14 to 30 additional calendar days.

The D1 immigration visa is Georgia’s work and business visa, required for foreign nationals who intend to conduct labour or entrepreneurial activities in Georgia. Since March 1st, 2026, obtaining a D1 visa requires first securing a Right to Work, also known as the Special Labour Permit. The D1 visa can also serve as the basis for a work residence permit application.

Since March 1st, 2026, it is a two-stage process. First, obtain a Labour Permit from the Ministry of Labour portal, which is fully remote and takes up to 30 calendar days. Second, apply for the D1 visa at a Georgian embassy or consulate with the work permit as a supporting document.

No. If you already hold any type of Georgian residence permit, you are not required to obtain a D1 visa. However, if you are conducting work or business activity, you still need a valid Labour Permit, unless you hold a Permanent or Investment Residence Permit.

You are eligible if the country of your citizenship has a one-year visa-free regime with Georgia, or if you hold a D-category visa. You also need the relevant grounds and the required documents. The most common permits are work, short-term, investment, family reunification, study, and IT residency.

Short-term residency is a one-year permit based on owning property with a market value above 150,000 USD. Investment residency is a five-year permit based on owning property above 300,000 USD, and after maintaining the investment for five years you can transfer to unlimited residency. Family members can be included in both after approval.

For a first-time application, yes, you must apply from within Georgia. Renewals can be submitted online from abroad before your current permit expires, but the original documents must be delivered to a Public Service Hall within approximately 10 days of the online submission.

Government fees depend on the permit type and processing speed. IT residency is 500 GEL for 90-day processing and 750 GEL for 60-day. Permanent residency is 350 GEL for 30-day and 500 GEL for 20-day. Other types are 300 GEL for 30-day, 450 GEL for 20-day, and 600 GEL for 10-day. Residency card fees range from 60 GEL for 10 business days to 150 GEL for same-day processing.