Buying Georgian property is the cleanest route to residency and the easiest one to get expensively wrong. The qualifying threshold was $100,000 for years. Since 1 March 2026 it has been $150,000. Buy against the old figure and you own a Georgian apartment and no residence permit. Here is what actually qualifies, and how the value is decided.
The threshold, and the change that caught everyone
Georgia grants a short-term residence permit to a foreign national who owns real estate above a set value. That value moved from $100,000 to $150,000 on 1 March 2026, a 50% rise in a single step.
Acting on the old figure is not a small error. A purchase at $120,000 cleared the threshold comfortably in February 2026 and falls well short of it now, and the money is spent by the time anyone checks.
If you are shown a property on the basis that it "qualifies for residency", ask what valuation figure that claim rests on and when it was last confirmed. The answer should be a number and a date.
What actually qualifies
Three conditions, and all three have to hold.
It must be real estate. Residential or commercial both work. Agricultural land does not, because foreign nationals generally cannot own it at all in Georgia.
It must be valued at $150,000 or more by an accredited assessor. This is the condition people misjudge. The figure that matters is the assessed value, not the price on the contract, not the price the seller wanted and not the figure in the registry. An assessor accredited through Georgia's Unified National Accreditation Body has to certify it.
It must be owned by the applicant. Ownership registered to a company you control is not ownership by you for this purpose.
The gap between purchase price and assessed value is where applications fail. A property bought at $155,000 in a market where the assessor values it at $140,000 does not qualify, and you find that out after completing. Getting an indicative valuation before you commit costs very little relative to the purchase and is the single most useful thing you can do on this route.
How the valuation actually works
The requirement is not a valuation, it is a valuation from the right person. The assessor must hold accreditation through the Unified National Accreditation Body, which maintains the register of accredited conformity assessment bodies in Georgia. A report from a competent but unaccredited valuer is not evidence for this purpose, however sensible its number.
The sequence that works:
- Indicative valuation before you commit. Informal, quick, and the point at which a marginal property should stop being a candidate.
- Purchase and registration at the National Agency of Public Registry, which is what establishes ownership.
- Formal accredited valuation on the registered property, in your name.
- Application to the Public Service Development Agency with the valuation, title extract and supporting documents.
Assessors value on comparable evidence rather than on what you agreed to pay, which is why an off-plan purchase, a distressed sale or a deal between related parties can all produce a figure that surprises the buyer. It also means a genuinely underpriced purchase can assess above what you paid, which occasionally works in an applicant's favour.
The statutory basis for the permit itself sits in the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, which is also where the categories, terms and grounds for refusal are defined.
Aggregating properties
You can reach the threshold across more than one property. Two apartments assessed at $80,000 each satisfy it, provided both are owned by the applicant and both are valued by an accredited assessor.
That matters more in practice than it sounds, because in Tbilisi the $150,000 mark sits awkwardly: comfortably above a good one-bedroom and below much of what is being marketed to foreign buyers as an investment. Two smaller units are often both easier to let and easier to exit than one larger one.
What this permit does not give you
The property route is popular because it is clean, and it is clean because it asks very little of you. It also gives correspondingly little.
It carries no labour permit. Buying property does not put you inside the work authorisation regime and does not put you outside it either. Taking a job with a Georgian company, or trading as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients, needs a Special Labour Permit of its own, and the property permit gives no exemption from it. Work billed to clients abroad is untouched by any of this. Where the earning itself is the point, the work residence permit is the route that governs it.
It runs one year at a time. Compared with three years on the IT route or five on the investment route, that is a renewal cycle you will get to know well. Every renewal is a fresh filing deadline to miss.
It ends when the property does. Sell, and the basis for your permit goes with it. That is obvious stated plainly and routinely forgotten by people who buy, get residency, and then treat the apartment as a tradeable asset.
Your family, on the same purchase
One purchase can cover a household. A spouse and minor children can be included through family reunification on the strength of the same property, without each person needing their own $150,000.
This is where the route earns its keep financially. Compared against four separate work-route applications with four sets of income evidence and four labour permits, a single qualifying property covering a family of four is a materially different proposition.
Adult children are not covered. Parents are not covered on a temporary permit, though they become sponsorable once you reach permanent residence or citizenship.
Buy qualifying Georgian property and get a renewable one-year residence permit. No job, no business, and no criminal record certificate on the published document list.
See what it costs, from $570
If you already hold a permit granted at $100,000
You are not retroactively disqualified. Existing holders may continue to renew on the original basis while they retain ownership of the property the permit was granted on.
There is one genuinely unresolved point, and it is worth stating rather than guessing at. The legislation does not clearly settle what happens if such a permit lapses and the same person reapplies on the same property: whether the reapplication is treated as a continuation at the old threshold or as a fresh application at $150,000. Nobody should tell you confidently which it is, because the text does not say.
The practical consequence is straightforward. If you hold a permit granted under the old threshold, do not let it lapse. Continuity is worth more to you than it is to someone on the current figure, and the 40-day filing rule applies to your renewal exactly as it does to everyone else.
What it costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Property value required | $150,000 assessed |
| Government fee, 30-day decision | $115 |
| Government fee, expedited | up to $230 |
| Residence card issuance | $23 |
| Accredited valuation | varies by property and assessor |
Our fee for a property residence permit starts at $570, covering the eligibility check through to card collection, including verifying that the property genuinely meets the current threshold before anything is filed. The full picture across every route sits in the cost guide.
Who this route actually suits
Retirees with capital and no Georgian income. Families who want one qualifying asset to cover four people. Investors who wanted Georgian property anyway and are treating residency as a benefit rather than the reason.
It suits remote workers and freelancers less obviously than they expect. Somebody billing clients abroad has no work authorisation problem to solve on any route, so the $150,000 is buying an end to the border runs and an annual renewal cycle, where the three-year IT residence permit buys the same thing against income evidence they usually already hold.
Key takeaways
- The threshold is $150,000, raised from $100,000 on 1 March 2026. Anything quoting the old figure is out of date.
- Assessed value by an accredited assessor decides it, not your purchase price.
- You can aggregate two or more properties to reach the threshold.
- The permit carries no labour permit. A job with a Georgian company, or Individual Entrepreneur trade with Georgian clients, needs one separately.
- One qualifying property can cover a spouse and minor children.
- Existing $100,000 holders can keep renewing while they own the property, so do not let the permit lapse.
- Selling the property removes the basis for the permit.
Frequently asked questions
How much property do I need to buy for a Georgian residence permit?
$150,000 in assessed value, from 1 March 2026. The threshold 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 the price you paid is not by itself sufficient evidence.
Does buying property in Georgia let me work there?
It does not change the answer either way. A property residence permit confirms your right to live in Georgia and carries no labour permit with it. Work for clients or an employer abroad needs no permit on this route or any other. Employment with a Georgian company, or Individual Entrepreneur trade with Georgian clients, needs a Special Labour Permit, and the property route carries no exemption from it.
Can I combine two properties to reach the Georgian threshold?
Yes. The $150,000 can be met across more than one property, provided each is owned by the applicant and each is valued by an accredited assessor. Two apartments assessed at $80,000 each satisfy the requirement.
What happens to my Georgian residence permit if I sell the property?
The basis for the permit goes with the property. A permit granted on ownership cannot outlive the ownership, so selling before you have moved to another route or reached permanent residence puts your status at risk. Plan the sequence before you list.
I got my permit at $100,000. Am I still valid?
Yes. Existing holders may continue renewing on the original basis while they retain ownership. What the legislation does not settle is whether a lapsed permit could be reapplied for at the old threshold, so the safe course is not to let it lapse.
How long does a Georgian property residence permit last?
One year, renewable for as long as you own the qualifying property. That is shorter than the three-year IT permit and the five-year investment permit, so it means an annual filing deadline rather than an occasional one.
Does agricultural land qualify for Georgian residency?
No. Foreign nationals generally cannot own agricultural land in Georgia at all, so it cannot form the basis of a property residence permit. Residential and commercial real estate both qualify.
Can my family get residence permits through my property purchase?
Yes. A spouse and minor children can be included through family reunification on the strength of the same property, without each needing to meet the threshold separately. Adult children and parents are not covered on a temporary permit.
Is the property route cheaper than the investment route in Georgia?
At $150,000 against $300,000, the entry cost is half. What you give up is the five-year term and the exemption from the labour permit that the investment route carries. If you intend to take Georgian-paid work, that exemption may be worth more than the difference in capital.
Do I need to live in Georgia to keep a property residence permit?
There is no 183-day presence condition on this route, unlike the IT permit. Extended absence can still raise questions at renewal and interrupts the continuity that counts toward permanent residence, so treating the permit as purely passive has a cost later.
How long does the property residence permit take?
Ten to thirty days for the government decision, depending on the fee. Realistically budget four to six weeks including the accredited valuation and document preparation, which is faster than the work route because there is no labour permit stage in front of it.
