Georgia residency: every residence permit type explained

Visa-free stay is not residence

Many foreigners can enter Georgia without a visa. The default rule allows 90 days in any 180-day period (Aliens Law Art. 10(2)). Citizens of the countries on the list in Government Ordinance No 255 of 2015 may stay for one full year. That list covers most of Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and many others. Chinese citizens are on it, but only for 30 days and for tourism.

A visa-free stay has limits. It gives no right to work: since 1 March 2026 anyone who works in Georgia or runs a business here needs a separate right to work. It also has an end date. A residence permit, by contrast, lets you stay for its whole term and enter Georgia visa-free while it is valid (Art. 10(4)). The details are on our page about visa-free stay in Georgia.

There is one more restriction. You cannot get most residence permits while you are in Georgia on an ordinary short-term C visa. The exceptions are the investment, special, IT and violence-victim permits (Art. 14(1³)).

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• From 1 September 2025, a new IT residence permit exists (Art. 15(l)), valid for 3 years at first. It ends if you spend 183 days or more outside Georgia in any 12 months.
• From 1 October 2025, first work, study and family reunification permits are issued for 6 months to 1 year, not for several years.
• From 1 March 2026, the property threshold for the short-term permit and the D5 visa rose from USD 100,000 to more than USD 150,000.
• From 1 March 2026, a work residence permit needs the right to work first. This is a work permit decided by the State Employment Support Agency (SESA), a Ministry of Labour agency. See our page on the Georgian work permit.
• From 1 September 2026, spouses of Georgian citizens no longer get permanent residence straight away. They get a new spouse permit, checked by an interagency commission, and can move to permanent residence after 5 years.
• Permanent residence on the general route needs 10 years on temporary permits. The old 6-year figure, still quoted on many sites, ended with an amendment in March 2021.

Police can also now check public places such as cafes and public transport for foreigners without legal grounds to stay (Art. 53¹, from July 2025). Staying lawfully, and on the right permit, matters more than before.

Georgia residence permit types compared

Fees below are the PSDA amounts for a 30-day decision. Faster decisions cost more; see what a Georgian residence permit costs.

Which permit fits which person

You have a job offer or work for yourself in Georgia

You need the right to work first, then a work residence permit. The employer, or your own company, must show annual turnover of at least GEL 50,000 for each foreign applicant. IT specialists earning at least USD 25,000 a year with 2 years' experience can apply for the 3-year IT permit instead. If your plan was to register a company or an individual entrepreneur and get residence that way, read residence through your own business, because the old shortcut no longer works on its own.

You want to invest

The investment residence permit needs USD 300,000, either as a registered investment or as non-agricultural property. It lasts 5 years, covers your spouse and minor children, and lets you work without a work permit. After 5 years it can become an unlimited permit with the right of permanent residence. The investment route also has yearly turnover targets.

You want to buy a home

The short-term residence permit for property owners needs property with a market value above USD 150,000. It is renewed every year for as long as you own the property. It gives no right to work, and it is not the same as the USD 300,000 investment route.

You are joining family

Family members of a foreigner with a Georgian permit use the family reunification permit. Spouses of Georgian citizens use the new spouse permit from 1 September 2026. Both are on our family reunification page.

You have lived here a long time

After 10 years on temporary permits you can apply for permanent residence. Permanent residents do not need a work permit. Citizenship by naturalisation also asks for 10 years of lawful residence, plus language, history and law tests; see Georgian citizenship.

Rules that apply to every permit

• You must be in Georgia lawfully when you apply (Art. 14(1)). Asylum seekers do not count as lawfully staying for this purpose.
• File in person, through a representative or online, at PSDA or a Public Service Hall (the state service centres where you file most applications). Documents must be in Georgian, apart from a passport with data in Latin script.
• For most permits, file at least 40 calendar days before your lawful stay ends. This rule does not apply to the unlimited, investment, special, short-term and IT permits.
• PSDA decides within 30 days of a complete file (90 days for the spouse permit). It may visit your address and interview people to check your grounds.
• Collect your residence card within 1 month of the decision. Not applying for it within 6 months is a ground to end your stay.
• Tell PSDA at once when your phone number or address changes.

The steps and the paperwork are on our pages about the application process and the documents you need.

Refusal, termination and appeals

PSDA can refuse a permit for security or public-safety reasons, criminal records, forged documents or false information, and for failing the Art. 15 conditions (Art. 18). The security ground is wide. It includes harm to relations with other states and links to hostile forces or organised crime (Art. 21¹). A permit ends when the activity it rests on ends, after any criminal offence, or for work without the right to work (Art. 21(1)).

You can reapply on the same basis 1 month after a refusal. You can appeal to court within 10 calendar days, but an appeal does not stop expulsion proceedings.

Residence permit and tax residency are separate

A residence permit decides whether you may stay. Tax residency decides where you pay tax, and in Georgia it depends on spending 183 days or more in the country in any continuous 12-month period (Tax Code Art. 34). A permit does not make you a tax resident, and tax residency gives no right to stay. See Georgian tax residency.

All residency guides

• Visa-free stay90 days, one year, and what neither lets you do
• Work permitThe right to work required since 1 March 2026
• Work residence permitEmployer and company permits, and the IT permit
• Residence through your own businessCompanies, individual entrepreneurs and the 2026 rules
• Investment residence permitUSD 300,000, 5 years, then an unlimited permit
• Property residence permitProperty above USD 150,000, renewed every year
• Family reunificationFamily of permit holders and spouses of citizens
• Permanent residence10 years on temporary permits and other routes
• Application processWhere to file, deadlines and what happens next
• DocumentsApostille, translation and the file PSDA expects
• CostGovernment fees by permit type and speed
• CitizenshipNaturalisation after 10 years and the tests
• Georgia or ParaguayHow the two residency routes compare
• Tax residencyThe 183-day rule and how foreign income is taxed
• Living in GeorgiaBanking, costs, healthcare and safety
• Our servicesHow we help with a Georgian residence file