Episode 5 of our Plan B series. Georgia gives Europeans a visa-free year and three residence routes: property, investment and business. How each works now.
Status as of 10 October 2026: based on the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Government Ordinance No. 255 of 2015 on visa-free entry, Government Resolution No. 317 of 9 July 2026 on work residence permits, the current residence-permit pages of the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) and the Tax Code of Georgia. The property threshold rose on 1 March 2026; many guides online still show the old figure. We will update this guide when the rules change.
This is episode 5 of our series on a second residence outside the European Union. So far we have looked at Mexico, Paraguay, the UAE and Panama. Georgia is the closest of them to home: a short flight from most of Europe, an old Christian nation in the Caucasus, and one of the most open entry regimes in the world.
When your passport, bank account and right to live somewhere all depend on one state, that state holds a great deal of power over you. A second lawful residence spreads it a little: an extra door, built calmly, while nothing is on fire.
Why Georgia keeps coming up
A full year without a visa. Citizens of the whole EU, the United Kingdom and Switzerland can stay up to one year. No other country in this series lets you test daily life that long before committing.
Reachable residence routes. Property, investment and your own business each lead to a permit, filed with a state agency that publishes its fees and deadlines.
A light, simple tax system. A flat 20% personal income tax, a 1% turnover regime for small individual entrepreneurs, and foreign-source income of individuals outside Georgian income tax. We come back to the limits, because they matter.
Faith, family and an old civilisation. Georgia adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Its Constitution recognises the special role of the Orthodox Church in the nation's history, and protects freedom of belief. Monasteries on mountain ridges, long family tables and real hospitality are daily life, not folklore.
The other side, stated plainly: Georgia's politics are turbulent. It is formally an EU candidate, but accession has stalled since late 2024 and relations with Brussels are cold. About a fifth of its territory, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, is outside government control since the 2008 war. And the residence rules changed twice in 2026. Law and morality are not the same thing, here or anywhere: our job is to describe what the law requires, so you can decide with open eyes.
The visa-free year: a test drive, not a residence
Under Ordinance No. 255, nationals of the listed countries may stay up to one year without a visa; EU citizens can enter with their ID card. Two points people miss:
It is a stay right, not a residence permit. You get no card, no ID number for life admin and no status that survives a change of policy. A Plan B needs a permit.
Insurance is now compulsory. Since 1 January 2026 every tourist must hold health and accident insurance covering the whole stay, with a sum insured of at least GEL 30,000, in English or Georgian. A long stay needs a long policy without gaps.
Three real routes to residence
1. Property: the short-term residence permit (from USD 150,000)
Owning non-agricultural real estate in Georgia with a market value above USD 150,000 (paid in lari equivalent) gives a one-year residence permit, renewable as long as you keep the property. Your spouse and children can receive the same permit. The value that counts is the market value certified by an accredited valuer, not the price in your contract.
This threshold was USD 100,000 until 28 February 2026. If you already hold the permit and keep the same property, renewals need no new valuation; whether they still run at the old figure is not spelled out in the law, so confirm it with PSDA first. Anyone buying now needs USD 150,000.
2. Investment: five years, then indefinite (from USD 300,000)
The investment residence permit is issued for five years, either for an investment of at least USD 300,000 in Georgia, confirmed by a certified auditor, or for property worth more than USD 300,000. The file also needs a written reference from a member of the government or from three Georgian citizens who represent Georgian businesses. If you invested in a business, it must show turnover each year: at least USD 50,000 in year one, USD 100,000 in year two and USD 120,000 in years three to five. If you used property, you keep it for five years. Either way, you can then apply for a residence permit for an indefinite stay, before the five-year permit expires.
3. Your own business: the work residence permit
A foreigner who runs a business in Georgia, through a limited company (LLC) or as an individual entrepreneur (IE), can apply for a work residence permit. Two newer rules shape this route:
The right to work comes first. Since 1 March 2026 most foreigners need a separate right to work before they work in Georgia. Work for foreign clients tied to their business abroad, and holders of an investment permit, fall outside these rules; confirm your own case with a Georgian lawyer.
Turnover is tested. Since 2026, every Georgian work residence permit needs proof that the employer or the company you founded turns over at least GEL 50,000 a year per foreign employee; as an individual entrepreneur, plan on your own turnover being tested the same way. A newly registered company (under 3 months old, up to 3 foreign staff) gets a one-off first permit of 6 months without it; renewals need the turnover. You also show a monthly income of at least five times the official subsistence minimum.
A separate IT residence permit, with its own experience and income tests, exists for IT professionals. In short: this route rewards people who genuinely work in Georgia, not a paper permit for someone who lives elsewhere.
PSDA fees for these permits are GEL 300 for a decision within 30 days, GEL 450 within 20 days and GEL 600 within 10 days; the investment route has the same scale. A residence card is issued afterwards for a small separate fee.
Every trip, in order
At home, before you fly. Passport, apostilled civil certificates for family members and the documents for your route (bank trail, company papers, income proof), translated into Georgian and notarised.
Travel insurance. Buy a compliant policy for your whole planned stay before departure.
First trip: entry and groundwork. Enter visa-free, open a bank account, buy and register the property in the Public Registry, or register your company or IE with the Revenue Service. Commission the accredited valuation.
Filing. Apply at a Public Service Hall in Tbilisi, Batumi or another city while you are lawfully in Georgia. Choose the 10, 20 or 30-day track.
Residence card. Once the permit is granted, apply for the card. Many people manage all this in one stay of three to six weeks.
After that. Renew the one-year property permit on time each year; extensions can be filed electronically from abroad. Business permits need fresh turnover proof at every renewal.
Presence rules: what Georgia asks
Georgian law sets no minimum number of days per year for these permits. The grounds for cancelling a permit are listed in the law and centre on the basis falling away (you sell the property, the company stops trading), false documents and public-security reasons. Absence as such is not one of them for the property and investment permits. The business and IT routes rest on a right to work, and a self-employed foreigner's right to work ends after more than six months outside Georgia in a row.
The real discipline is different: keep the basis alive and renew on time. A missed renewal means starting again under whatever rules apply that day, and for property that means the new USD 150,000 threshold.
What the Georgian permit does and does not do
It is a real, state-issued right to live in Georgia, with a residence card and a personal number that make life admin, banking and contracts easier.
It does not decide your tax residence. Georgia treats you as tax resident after 183 days in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year, permit or no permit. A separate high-net-worth status can also make you resident with fewer days. Your current country applies its own tests regardless. A British reader stays UK resident if the Statutory Residence Test says so; a Dutch reader who keeps home and family in the Netherlands stays resident under the Dutch all-circumstances test. Georgia has tax treaties in force with the UK, the Netherlands, Ireland, Cyprus and every EU state. Declare your real tax residence on every bank and CRS form.
The 1% regime has limits. An individual entrepreneur with small business status pays 1% of turnover from economic activity in Georgia up to GEL 500,000 a year, then 3% from the month the limit is crossed; two years above the limit in a row and the status is withdrawn. Expenses are not deducted. Several activities are excluded, consulting among them, and rent, dividends and interest stay under the ordinary rules. Above all, the regime taxes work done from Georgia by someone who lives there. A Georgian IE run by a person who actually lives and works in Cyprus or London does not fit the rules of either country.
Foreign income of individuals is outside Georgian income tax as a rule. A Georgian tax resident is taxed on Georgian-source income, at a flat 20% for most income, while income from abroad is exempt. Georgian companies pay 15% when they distribute profits rather than when they earn them. None of this changes what your home country taxes while you remain resident there.
Banks are their own gatekeepers. Georgian banks open accounts for foreigners but screen hard, especially near the Russia corridor and its sanctions. Our guide to offshore banking in practice shows what a clean file looks like.
It is a long road to a passport. Permanent residence on general grounds comes after ten years of temporary residence; the investment route reaches indefinite residence after five. Naturalisation needs long residence and language and history tests, and Georgia restricts dual citizenship. Residence is the point.
Nobody but the Georgian authorities can approve it. No adviser can promise the outcome.
A worked example (illustrative, not a client)
Oliver, 39, is British and a freelance software architect. He moved from Bristol to Larnaca two years ago with his wife Claire and their daughter, and he is Cyprus tax resident and registered as Non-Dom. They want a second residence outside the EU, a day's travel away, where a Sunday still feels like Sunday.
First, the test drive. They spend five weeks in Tbilisi and Kakheti on the visa-free regime, insured, to see whether the country suits them.
Then property. They buy a two-bedroom flat in Tbilisi valued at USD 165,000 by an accredited valuer, apply for the short-term residence permit for the family and renew it every year.
What stays the same: Cyprus remains their home, their tax residence and the place where Oliver works and invoices. They spend a few weeks a year in Georgia, well below 183 days. No Georgian IE, because Oliver does not work from Georgia. Any rent from the flat is Georgian-source income and is declared in both countries under the treaty.
Who Georgia suits
People who want to test life on the ground first, thanks to the visa-free year;
property buyers who would happily own a USD 150,000 flat in Tbilisi or Batumi anyway;
investors with USD 300,000 who want a five-year permit and indefinite residence after it;
founders and freelancers who will actually live and work in Georgia and can build real local turnover;
families who value faith, tradition and a short flight back to Europe.
Who it does not suit
Anyone looking for a paper residence without living there. The business route now tests real turnover, and the property route needs real property.
Anyone who wants the 1% regime while living elsewhere. It is built for people who work from Georgia.
Anyone hoping the card ends tax residence at home. It does not.
Anyone who wants EU-style predictability. The rules changed twice this year, and the political climate is tense.
Anyone whose business depends on Russian counterparties. Sanctions screening will slow or stop the banking.
How it fits a European base
For most of our readers the main base stays in Europe. If that base is Cyprus, the order there does not change: housing, company, Yellow Slip, TIC (tax number), GESY, bank and, last, Non-Dom. Our guide to relocating to Cyprus walks through it, and our piece on international company structures explains why coherence beats cleverness. Next to the other episodes, Georgia is the nearest and cheapest door. All English articles are in the blog.
FAQ
Can I live in Georgia for a year without a visa?
Yes, if your passport is on the visa-free list, which includes all EU states, the UK and Switzerland. Since 1 January 2026 you need health and accident insurance of at least GEL 30,000 for the whole stay.
How much property do I need for Georgian residence?
Property worth more than USD 150,000 at certified market value, since 1 March 2026. It gives a one-year permit, renewable while you own it. Property above USD 300,000 can support the five-year investment permit.
Can I get residence through my own company?
Yes, through a work residence permit, but every permit now needs turnover of at least GEL 50,000 a year per foreign employee, apart from a one-off six-month first permit for a new company.
Does Georgian residence make me tax resident there?
Not by itself. Georgia looks at 183 days in any continuous 12-month period. Your current country applies its own rules.
Is the 1% tax for everyone?
No. It is a status for individual entrepreneurs with Georgian business turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year, excludes several activities, and fits people who actually work from Georgia.
Sources
Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons: https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/2278806
Government Ordinance No. 255 of 5 June 2015, countries whose citizens may enter visa-free: https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/2867361
Public Service Development Agency, residence permits (grounds, documents, fees): https://sda.gov.ge/en/products/migration-residence-permits/
Government Resolution No. 317 of 9 July 2026 amending the residence-permit procedure: https://www.matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/6939703
U.S. Embassy in Georgia, mandatory insurance for tourists from 1 January 2026: https://ge.usembassy.gov/georgia-to-require-insurance-for-all-tourists-starting-1-1-2026/
Tax Code of Georgia: https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/1043717
Ministry of Finance of Georgia, double tax treaties: https://www.mof.ge/en/doubleTaxation
Constitution of Georgia: https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/30346
European Commission, Georgia and EU enlargement: https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/countries/georgia_en
If you would like a second pair of eyes on how a Plan B residence fits your situation, you can write to us.
General information, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Georgian authorities decide every application.
Cover photo: Roberto Strauss, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.
