If you are living in Georgia on a plan you made two years ago, at least three parts of it are now wrong. Employing anyone foreign needs a permit that did not exist, the property threshold rose by half, and an appeal no longer buys you time while it is heard. Everything below is dated and limited to what has actually changed, with nothing on the list that is a draft or a proposal. These are the rules in force on 1 August 2026.
Every change, in date order
| In force | What changed | Who it lands on |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | Illegal-presence database, expanded biometrics, inspection powers | Everyone entering, and anyone who has overstayed |
| 2025 amendments | Appeal window of 10 calendar days, with no suspension of enforcement | Anyone refused, or facing removal |
| 1 March 2026 | Special Labour Permit introduced | Employers of foreign staff, IEs with Georgian clients, work and IT permit applicants |
| 1 March 2026 | Property threshold rises from $100,000 to $150,000 | Property route applicants |
| During 2026 | Mandatory travel or health insurance, GEL 30,000 minimum cover | Every visitor, at the border |
| 9 July 2026 | Decree No. 317 sets employer turnover thresholds and start-up relief | Employers hiring foreign staff, and the self-employed |
| 1 January 2027 | Deadline to regularise foreign staff already on a Georgian payroll | Employers who hired before March 2026 |
Two of those dates carry almost all of the consequence. 1 March 2026 separated the right to be in Georgia from the right to work on the work and IT residence permit routes, and put the two in different ministries. 1 January 2027 is when employers run out of time to bring existing foreign staff inside the new regime.
1 March 2026: work authorisation became its own permit
A government resolution of 20 February 2026 created the Special Labour Permit, in force from 1 March. It is required in three situations: employing non-Georgian nationals in Georgia, trading as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients, and applying for a work or IT residence permit. Before that date, a Georgian company hired a foreign national with no separate authorisation and a work residence permit was itself the permission to work.
It is issued by the Employment Promotion State Agency rather than the Public Service Hall, and it is a prerequisite to the work and IT residence permits rather than a parallel filing. That ordering is the most expensive detail in the reform: a residence permit application filed without it is refused rather than queued, and the fee and the weeks are gone.
| Item | Fee | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | GEL 200, around $75 | 30 calendar days |
| Expedited | GEL 400, around $155 | 10 working days |
Employing a foreign national without one costs GEL 2,000 on the employer and a separate GEL 2,000 on the worker, both doubled on a repeat. Those figures are set in lari by statute, so they do not drift with the exchange rate.
Two residence categories are exempt from the prerequisite: investment residence permit holders and permanent residents. Diplomatic and consular staff, accredited foreign journalists, and refugees and asylum seekers sit outside the regime under separate rules rather than being exempt from it. Holding a work residence permit is not an exemption, because the labour permit is the thing that has to come before it. Being paid from abroad is not an exemption either, for the opposite reason: the permit is never engaged, so there is nothing to be exempt from. Which arrangements the permit actually reaches is the page to read if your own sits near the line. We file both the employed and self-employed sides of the labour permit application, because the evidence differs completely.
1 March 2026: the property threshold is $150,000
On the same date, the minimum property value for the ownership route rose to $150,000. It was $100,000 before that date, so treat any lower figure as out of date, and treat a purchase priced against the old number as a purchase that does not produce a permit.
The threshold is denominated in dollars in Georgian law rather than converted from lari, so the number itself carries no currency risk. The valuation does have to come from a company accredited by the Unified National Accreditation Body, and a cadastral figure is not a substitute. Buying at exactly $150,000 leaves no room for a valuation that lands below the purchase price, which is why the property route is safer with headroom.
Existing holders granted a permit at $100,000 may renew while they retain ownership. What the legislation does not settle is what happens if such a permit lapses and the same person reapplies: whether the old threshold survives that gap is genuinely unresolved, and anyone who tells you otherwise is filling in a blank. The detail of the threshold change covers the grandfathering position as far as it goes.
During 2026: insurance became a condition of entry
Every visitor must now hold travel or health insurance providing a minimum of GEL 30,000 in cover. It applies to all visitors rather than to permit applicants specifically, and it is checked at the border rather than at the Public Service Hall.
It costs very little to comply with and it is an unpleasant way to lose a flight. What counts as a qualifying policy under the insurance requirement is worth checking against your existing cover rather than assuming a card benefit satisfies it.
October 2025: the database, the biometrics and the inspections
Three enforcement changes landed together in October 2025, and they are the reason the rest of this list has teeth. Georgia now maintains a database of illegal presence, so an overstay is a record rather than an incident handled at a desk. Biometric collection expanded to fingerprints and palm prints. And inspection powers were widened under the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, which is what makes the labour permit fines collectable rather than theoretical.
Separately, none of these is dramatic. Together they change the arithmetic of quietly ignoring a rule. An overstay that once ended with a fine at the airport now sits in a system the next application is checked against, which is why the consequences of overstaying are heavier in 2026, and why what is collected at the biometric stage is a question people ask before they apply.
The 2025 appeal changes
The appeal window against a refusal is 10 calendar days. That is short, and it was already short. The change that matters is the other one: since the 2025 amendments, an appeal no longer suspends enforcement.
Lodging an appeal used to buy time: the decision was held while it was considered, and an applicant with a weak case could at least remain lawfully present. Enforcement now proceeds while the appeal runs, so an appeal is a way of correcting a decision rather than a way of staying in the country.
That inverts the whole strategy after a refusal. Reapplying correctly is often faster and safer, and the choice between appealing and reapplying has to be made inside ten days with your lawful stay running down at the same time. Combine it with the 40-day filing rule, which refuses review of anything submitted inside the last 40 days of lawful stay, and the margin for error is close to zero.
9 July 2026: Decree No. 317 set the numbers
The March resolution created the labour permit. Decree No. 317, of 9 July 2026, set the thresholds it runs on, and it post-dates a great deal of what was written about the reform when it was announced.
- Employers must show turnover of GEL 50,000, roughly $19,000, per foreign employee. The figure drops to GEL 35,000 for educational and medical institutions.
- Self-employed applicants qualify on that same GEL 50,000 of turnover, or on income of at least five times the subsistence minimum.
- New companies get relief. A company under three months old, hiring no more than three foreign nationals, on a first application, is excused the turnover test.
The relief has a price. A permit issued under it is valid for six months only and the renewal is assessed on the ordinary rules, so the company has two quarters to produce the turnover it was excused from showing. A reasonable trade if it is planned for, and an unpleasant surprise otherwise, which is why the start-up concession needs reading before a founder relies on it. The self-employed qualifying routes and what an employer has to prove sit on the same decree.
1 January 2027: the deadline that is closer than it looks
Employers who had foreign nationals on the payroll before 1 March 2026 sit inside a transition window that closes on 1 January 2027. Until then existing arrangements continue. After it they do not.
Five months sounds comfortable and is not, for two reasons that compound. A standard decision takes up to 30 calendar days, so the real filing deadline is the start of December. And every company in the same position shares one date, so the queue in the last quarter of 2026 will not resemble the queue now. Applications are processed through the Public Service Development Agency on the residence side, which absorbs the same surge. If you are in that window, autumn is the time to file, and the transition deadline in detail sets out who is inside it and who was never covered at all.
What did not change
Worth stating plainly, because a year of amendments makes people assume everything moved.
- Visa-free entry. Roughly 95 nationalities enter for 365 days at a time, resettable, and the 365-day rule remains in force. Which nationalities, and what that means for a document chain, sits in the guides by nationality.
- The IT residence permit: $25,000 of annual income, two years of experience, a three-year term and a 183-day presence condition, with the IT route requiring a labour permit underneath it.
- The investment route: $300,000, a five-year term, and an exemption from the labour permit.
- Permanent residence at 10 years of continuous temporary residence, raised from six by an amendment in force in 2021, or five years for investment permit holders.
- Dual citizenship. Georgia does not generally permit it and expects renunciation, with an exception by presidential decree. Nothing in the 2026 package touched the dual citizenship position.
What to do now, by situation
| If you are | The change that hits you | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Employing foreign staff hired before March 2026 | The 1 January 2027 deadline | File the labour permits in autumn, not December |
| Employed by a Georgian company | Turnover evidence under Decree No. 317 | Confirm your employer meets GEL 50,000 per foreign hire |
| An Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients | The labour permit applies to you | Qualify on turnover or on five times the subsistence minimum |
| An Individual Entrepreneur invoicing only abroad | Nothing on this list | Carry on, and take a permit only if you want what it adds |
| Buying property for residency | The $150,000 threshold | Buy with headroom and use an accredited valuer |
| Holding a property permit from before March 2026 | Renewal rests on continued ownership | Renew on time and do not let the permit lapse |
| Recently refused | The 10-day window with no suspension | Decide inside ten days, and assume no extra time |
| Just visiting | GEL 30,000 insurance | Check the policy before you fly |
Two clocks now run on anyone who needs both permits, operated by agencies that do not talk to each other. The procedural rules on residence permits govern one and the labour resolution governs the other, and nothing reconciles them on your behalf.
Government authorisation for labour activity in Georgia. Required to employ foreign staff, to trade as an IE with Georgian clients, or to apply for a work or IT residence permit.
See what it costs, from $450
Key takeaways
- The Special Labour Permit has existed since 1 March 2026 and is required in three cases: employing foreign staff in Georgia, trading as an Individual Entrepreneur with Georgian clients, and applying for a work or IT residence permit, where it comes first.
- Working from Georgia for clients abroad engages neither that permit nor a residence permit.
- Employing a foreign national without one costs GEL 2,000 on the employer and GEL 2,000 on the worker, doubled on repeat.
- The property route threshold rose from $100,000 to $150,000 on 1 March 2026. Existing holders may renew while they retain ownership.
- Every visitor needs travel or health insurance with at least GEL 30,000 of cover.
- Since October 2025 Georgia keeps an illegal-presence database and collects fingerprints and palm prints.
- The appeal window is 10 calendar days and an appeal no longer suspends enforcement.
- Employers with foreign staff hired before March 2026 have until 1 January 2027, which realistically means filing in autumn.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in Georgian immigration law in 2026?
Three things in force from 1 March 2026: the Special Labour Permit was introduced for employers of foreign staff, Individual Entrepreneurs with Georgian clients and work or IT residence permit applicants, the property route threshold rose to $150,000, and mandatory travel insurance was introduced for all visitors. Decree No. 317 of 9 July 2026 then set the turnover thresholds the labour permit runs on.
When did the Special Labour Permit start in Georgia?
1 March 2026, under a government resolution of 20 February 2026. From that date a Georgian employer needs one for each foreign national it employs, an Individual Entrepreneur needs one to invoice Georgian clients, and it became a prerequisite to the work and IT residence permits rather than a parallel application.
What is the property threshold for a Georgian residence permit in 2026?
$150,000, from 1 March 2026. It was $100,000 before that date, so treat any lower figure as out of date. The amount is fixed in dollars in Georgian law, and the valuation has to come from a company accredited by the Unified National Accreditation Body.
Do I need insurance to enter Georgia in 2026?
Yes. Every visitor must hold travel or health insurance providing a minimum of GEL 30,000 in cover. It applies at the border and to all visitors rather than only to permit applicants, so check what your existing policy or card benefit actually covers before you travel.
What is the deadline for the Georgian labour permit transition?
1 January 2027, for employers regularising foreign nationals who were already on the payroll before 1 March 2026. Because a standard decision takes up to 30 calendar days and every affected company shares one date, filing in autumn 2026 rather than December is the realistic plan.
Does appealing a Georgian residence permit refusal let me stay?
No. Since the 2025 amendments an appeal no longer suspends enforcement, so the decision takes effect while the appeal is considered. The window to appeal is 10 calendar days, and for many applicants reapplying correctly is faster and safer than arguing about the first decision.
How much turnover does a Georgian employer need to hire a foreigner?
GEL 50,000, roughly $19,000, per foreign employee, reduced to GEL 35,000 for educational and medical institutions under Decree No. 317 of 9 July 2026. A company under three months old, hiring at most three foreign nationals on a first application, is excused the test but receives a permit valid for six months only.
Is Georgian visa-free entry still 365 days in 2026?
Yes. Roughly 95 nationalities enter for 365 days at a time and the period resets on re-entry. Nothing in the 2026 package changed it, and a full visa-free year remains a workable long-term position for someone whose clients are all outside Georgia. What changed alongside it is that employment here, and the work and IT residence permit routes, now run through the Special Labour Permit.
Did permanent residence in Georgia change in 2026?
No. It has required 10 years of continuous temporary residence since an amendment in force in 2021, or five years for investment permit holders. Any source quoting six years is describing the position before that amendment, not a 2026 change.
What happens if work that needs a labour permit is done without one?
A GEL 2,000 fine on the employer and a separate GEL 2,000 on the worker, doubled on a repeat. For a permit holder the larger exposure is indirect: work outside what is authorised undermines the legal basis of the residence permit, and a permit granted on an unlawful basis can be revoked, which turns an administrative penalty into a question about the right to remain.
