According to the Georgian legislation, the company's activities must result in the creation of software products, where the creation process takes place within the territory of Georgia. This includes SaaS (software-as-a-service) businesses and web development firms, but also any other business models where there's a clear product, and where development work is carried out in Georgia. 

It should be clear at the time of application that the majority of your business is software based. This can change after the application is approved but your tax level may differ on new parts of your business that cannot be shown to be software based.

Because the criteria is complex, we work with you to make sure your structure will get approved.

While the government's official timeline is up to 10 business days, in practice VZ applications tend to take anywhere from 30-60 days, depending on how much additional follow-up is deemed necessary.

No. You can start your business activities from the moment you obtain your LLC registration, and follow up with a VZ registration at a later date. We recommend starting the process 90 days before the end of your financial year at the latest.

Can you remotely manage the company from abroad? Yes.

But can your business be based abroad? No. For MFA to grant the VZ certificate, you will need to demonstrate that some work is being done within the territory of Georgia.

The approval process is very nuanced. You can read a little more about the VZ here. 

No.

Yes, you don't ever have to come to Georgia to apply but the process can be a little simpler if you do. You may or may not need a Georgian business, depending on your unique situation.

The basic criteria for qualification:

- A natural person (individual) whose proven property exceeds 3 million GEL, including proof of owning assets in Georgia valued at 500,000 USD or more.

In addition:

- A natural person (individual) whose proven property exceeds 3 million GEL

- OR their annual income for the last 3 years exceeds 200,000 GEL, and they can demonstrate proof of owning assets in Georgia valued at 500,000 USD or more.

Moreover, you must either:

- Have a Georgian legal residence permit OR a Georgian resident ID card.

- OR certify that you receive an income of 25,000 GEL or more from a Georgian source during the tax year prior to the year of applying.

If you do not have legal residence in Georgia and don’t intend to get it, we can discuss alternative options for meeting the 25,000 GEL Georgian income requirement instead.

Read more about the criteria for qualification, and other considerations, here.

This depends entirely on what documents and other important steps need to be organized for your individual case. If you already have all your supporting material ready, then the actual application is possible within 10 working days.

If you need to organize a legal residence permit, business registration, bank account, etc., then the preparation time for all these elements must also be factored in. All in all, this could take up to 60 days if we are starting from scratch and everything is done remotely.

For this reason, we suggest starting the process for any given tax year by late October of that tax year. All applications must be completed and authorized by the Revenue Service no later than December 31st of the same tax year for which you wish to qualify.

The earliest you can begin an application for any given tax year is January, though some documents can be organized in advance.

You must renew every single tax year. The renewal must be completed before Dec 31st. You must have continued to meet the income requirements, as listed previously, in order to qualify for renewal. We can of course handle your renewal. The renewal process is typically simpler than the first application and we will provide you with a new price estimate based on your requirements.

Any documentation (such as power of attorney and passport apostille) that need to be completed in your home country, are at your own expense.

We keep our fees transparent and we’ll give you a final estimate for your specific case once we have completed your initial consultation.

Any additional services that are not included in our estimate will be at your own expense. This may include, but is not limited to, your legal residence application (if preferred).

The price of annual renewal is not included in the original fee. We'll re-quote you for each renewal.