Most people arrive in Georgia on visa-free entry, work remotely for a year, and only start reading about residence permits when the 365 days are nearly gone. By then the timing is against them: the criminal record certificate alone can take six weeks, and on the work and IT routes there is a second application that has to happen first. Here is every route into Georgian residency, what each one actually requires, and the order you have to do them in.
What a Georgian residence permit actually gets you
A residence permit is a card issued by the Public Service Development Agency confirming that you have a legal basis to live in Georgia beyond a visitor's stay. It is not the same thing as permission to work, and since 2026 that distinction is the single most expensive misunderstanding on the subject.
What the card does give you:
- An end to the countdown. No more tracking days, no more border runs to Armenia or Turkey to reset a visa-free clock.
- Banking that behaves. Georgian banks treat a permit holder differently from a long-staying tourist. Business accounts, credit and most financial products need one.
- Documentation for tax residency. A permit does not make you a Georgian tax resident, but when a foreign tax authority asks where you live, it is the evidence that supports the answer.
- A route for your family. Spouses and minor children can join you through family reunification.
- Accrual toward permanent status. Every renewed year counts toward the ten that unlock permanent residence, provided the chain never breaks.
Visa-free versus a residence permit
Georgia lets citizens of roughly 95 countries stay for 365 days without a visa, which is unusually generous and is why so many people put off the question. The generosity is real but it is narrower than it looks.
Visa-free status lets you be present, and for somebody working remotely for clients abroad it can keep doing that indefinitely. What it does not do is accumulate: a year of visa-free residence counts for nothing toward permanent residence, and leaving to reset the clock does not change that. It also stops short of the two arrangements that bring a labour permit into the picture, taking employment with a Georgian company and trading as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients.
The practical test is simple. If you are visiting, or earning abroad and content to keep resetting the clock, visa-free is enough. If you want banking that works, an end to the border runs, or the years to start counting toward permanent residence, it is not.
The six routes, side by side
| Route | Core requirement | Term | Labour permit needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work | Employment or self-employment in Georgia | 6 to 12 months, then annual | Yes |
| IT | $25,000 annual income, 2 years' experience, 183 days a year in Georgia | 3 years | Yes |
| Property | Real estate valued at $150,000 or more | 1 year, renewable | No |
| Investment | $300,000 qualifying investment | 5 years | No, exempt |
| Family | A qualifying relative who is a citizen or resident | Follows the sponsor | No |
| Study | Enrolment at an accredited institution | Follows the course | No |
Two things in that table decide most cases. The $150,000 property threshold rose from $100,000 on 1 March 2026. A purchase made against the old figure does not qualify, so check the number you are working from before you commit. And the labour permit column is the 2026 change: two of the six routes now run in two stages rather than one.
The 2026 labour permit rule, and why the order matters
On 1 March 2026 the Special Labour Permit arrived, under the procedural rules on granting residence permits establishing the rule for granting the right to work. It is required in three situations and no others: to employ non-Georgian nationals in Georgia, to trade as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients, and to apply for a work or IT residence permit. It is issued by the Employment Promotion State Agency under the Ministry of Labour, which is a different body from the one that issues residence permits, on a different timetable.
It is a prerequisite to the work and IT residence permits, not a parallel process. File the residence permit without it and the application is refused rather than delayed, which costs the fee and, more importantly, the weeks.
The numbers that matter:
- A decision is due within 30 calendar days of a complete application, or ten working days on the expedited fee.
- Employing a foreign national without one is GEL 2,000 on the employer and GEL 2,000 on the worker, doubled on a repeat. Those amounts are fixed in lari by law.
- Employers who already had foreign staff on the books before 1 March 2026 have until 1 January 2027 to regularise them.
Two residence categories are exempt from the prerequisite: investment permit holders and permanent residents. Diplomatic staff, accredited foreign journalists, refugees and asylum seekers sit outside the regime separately. If you are wondering whether remote work for a foreign employer counts, it does not, and neither does freelancing for clients abroad. The cases that do engage the permit are worked through in the guide to who needs a work permit in Georgia. Getting the Special Labour Permit in hand before anything else is the correct first move on either work route.
What it costs
Government fees are set in lari and quoted here in dollars at the prevailing rate. They are separate from any agent fee.
| Item | Standard | Expedited |
|---|---|---|
| Residence permit decision | $115 (30th calendar day) | $230 (10th calendar day) |
| IT residence permit decision | $190 (90 days) | $285 (60 days) |
| Special Labour Permit | $75 (30 days) | $155 (10 working days) |
| Residence card issuance | $23 | $23 |
The fees are the small part. The costs people fail to budget for are the apostille and courier on a home-country criminal record certificate, certified Georgian translation of everything, and a virtual address if you neither own property nor hold a lease in your own name. A full breakdown by route sits in the cost guide.
How long it really takes
The published decision times are accurate and misleading at the same time. The government decides in 10 to 30 days on most categories, and 60 to 90 on the IT route. That is the last step, not the process.
The realistic sequence on a work route from a standing start:
- Criminal record certificate, apostilled. Two to six weeks, and it is almost always the bottleneck. It is issued by your home country, on their timetable, and no amount of paying us changes it.
- Supporting documents. Income evidence, address, insurance, translations. One to two weeks running in parallel.
- Special Labour Permit. Up to 30 days, and it has to complete before the next step starts.
- Residence permit application and decision. 10 to 30 days.
Six to eight weeks end to end is a fair expectation, and three months is the point at which you should start rather than the point at which you are late. The processing time guide breaks this down by category.
Where you apply, and what you get
Residence permit applications go to a Public Service Hall, the combined government service offices found in every major Georgian city. Tbilisi has several. You apply in person, and the file has to be complete on the day: a missing translation sends you home rather than starting a clock.
The labour permit is the exception. It is handled by a different agency and does not go through the Public Service Hall at all, which is a common and expensive assumption.
What arrives at the end is a plastic residence card carrying your photo, your personal number and the permit's expiry date. That personal number is what actually unlocks daily life here, from a bank account to a phone contract to registering a company.
The deadline that catches out prepared applicants
The Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons requires the application to be filed at least 40 calendar days before your current lawful stay expires. Inside that window the Agency declines to review the file at all, which means a strong case is never assessed rather than assessed and rejected.
This catches out well-prepared applicants more often than unprepared ones, because assembling a good file feels like being ahead of the problem. The strength of the file is not what the deadline measures. Counting backwards correctly, and the narrow discretion that sometimes applies afterwards, is covered in the 40-day rule.
Which route is actually yours
The honest version is that most people do not get to choose.
If you earn from employment or self-employment, the work residence permit is your route. Software, data and infrastructure professionals who can evidence $25,000 of annual income and two years of experience should look at the IT residence permit instead, which runs three years at a time rather than one.
If you have capital and no Georgian income, buying property at $150,000 is usually simpler and cheaper than the $300,000 investment route, unless five-year status and the labour permit exemption are worth the difference to you.
Joining a spouse or parent puts you on family reunification regardless of what else is true about you. Enrolling at a Georgian university puts you on the student residence permit until you graduate, and the transition afterwards needs planning before your final term ends rather than after.
Where people go wrong is picking the route they like the sound of and then trying to build evidence toward it. The evidence you already have decides the route.
The main route for freelancers, remote workers and employees. Since March 2026 it runs on top of a Special Labour Permit.
See what it costs, from $450
Key takeaways
- Six routes exist: work, IT, property, investment, family and study. Your circumstances decide which one applies.
- On the work and IT routes a residence permit is not permission to work. Those are two separate applications, and the labour permit comes first.
- The property threshold is $150,000, not the $100,000 still published in many places.
- Budget six to eight weeks end to end, and start at three months out. The apostilled criminal record certificate is the real bottleneck.
- File at least 40 calendar days before your lawful stay expires or the application is not reviewed at all.
- Government fees run $115 to $285 by category and speed, plus $75 to $155 for the labour permit.
- Ten years of unbroken temporary residence unlocks permanent residence, and a single gap resets the count.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a residence permit in Georgia?
You apply at a Public Service Hall under one of six categories: work, IT, property ownership, investment, family reunification or study. Which category applies depends on your circumstances rather than your preference. On the work and IT routes you must obtain a Special Labour Permit from the Ministry of Labour first, and the residence permit application follows it.
How much does a Georgia residence permit cost?
Government fees are $115 for a 30-day decision and up to $230 for a 10-calendar-day decision, plus $23 for the residence card. The IT category has its own schedule at $190 to $285. On the work and IT routes add $75 to $155 for the Special Labour Permit. Agent fees, apostilles and certified translations are separate.
How long does a Georgian residence permit take?
The government decision takes 10 to 30 days on most categories and 60 to 90 days on the IT route. Realistically, budget six to eight weeks end to end on a work route. An apostilled criminal record certificate from your home country usually takes longer than everything else combined.
Can I work in Georgia on a residence permit?
That depends on who pays you. Employment with a Georgian company needs a Special Labour Permit, and so does trading as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients. The permit is issued by a separate agency and is a prerequisite to the work and IT residence permits, so on those routes it is granted first and the residence permit follows it. Work for clients or an employer abroad does not engage it. Where a company hires foreign staff without one, the fine is GEL 2,000 on the employer and GEL 2,000 on the worker.
Do I need a residence permit if I can stay visa-free for 365 days?
Not in order to be present, and not in order to work remotely for clients abroad. What visa-free status does not do is accumulate: it counts for nothing toward permanent residence however many times you reset it, and it limits what Georgian banks will offer you. People take the permit to stop the border runs, to start the ten-year count and to bank properly, rather than because the law forces them to.
How much property do I need to buy for a Georgian residence permit?
$150,000, from 1 March 2026. It was $100,000 before that date, so treat any lower figure as out of date. The value must be certified by an assessor accredited through Georgia's Unified National Accreditation Body, so your purchase price on its own is not sufficient evidence.
Does a Georgian residence permit make me a tax resident?
No. Tax residency is a separate test, broadly 183 days of physical presence in a rolling 12-month period. A residence permit supports that position with documentation but does not create it, and many people hold a permit without being Georgian tax residents.
When do I have to apply for a Georgian residence permit?
At least 40 calendar days before your current lawful stay expires. The Agency refuses to review applications filed inside that window, and it does so routinely. Because the supporting documents take weeks to assemble, the practical trigger point is around three months out.
Which Georgian residence permit lasts the longest?
The investment residence permit runs five years, and the IT residence permit runs three. Every other category is issued for six to twelve months initially and renewed annually. Longer terms mean fewer renewal deadlines to miss, which is worth more than it sounds.
Can my family come with me on a Georgian residence permit?
Yes, through family reunification. As a temporary resident you can sponsor a spouse and minor children on evidence of accommodation and sufficient means. Georgian citizens and permanent residents can additionally sponsor parents and adult children.
How long until I can get permanent residence in Georgia?
Ten years of continuous temporary residence. Investment residence permit holders qualify after five, and the spouse or minor child of a Georgian citizen qualifies immediately. Continuity is the part that trips people up: a gap between permits resets the count rather than pausing it.
