Georgia in 2026: residency, the 1% tax and the new rules for people who work

A 365-day visa-free stay no longer substitutes for status. What changed on 1 March, which residence routes survived, who actually qualifies for the 1% turnover rate, and what living in Tbilisi or Batumi costs now.

Since 1 March 2026, Georgia is no longer a country where you can live and work for years without a single permit. A foreigner without permanent residence now needs a separate right to work, working without it costs both the worker and the employer a fine of about $770, and the property route to residence went up from $100,000 to $150,000. The country's biggest draw survived intact: an individual entrepreneur with small business status still pays 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year.

Georgia still lets citizens of the EU, the US and dozens of other countries stay visa-free for a full year, and it taxes only Georgian-source income. The catch: permanent residence normally takes 10 years on a temporary permit, and a Georgian passport almost always means giving up your old one. Below we cover which residence routes work in 2026, what they cost, how the 1% regime and personal taxes actually work, and where people lose money.

Tax caps, fines and thresholds are in Georgian lari (GEL); state fees are converted to US dollars and rounded up. At the official rate, $1 buys about GEL 2.6, so GEL 1,000 is roughly $390.

What changed in Georgia in 2026

Two laws drove the changes: the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons and the Law on Labour Migration, both last amended on 25 June 2026.

Not everyone gets a grace period. The Labour Migration Law gives until 1 January 2027 to obtain a right to work and a residence permit only to labour migrants who had an active registration in the Labour Ministry database (labourmigration.moh.gov.ge) on 1 March 2026. People simply living in Georgia visa-free are not covered. For the September amendments on marriage, study permits and expulsion, see our piece on Georgia's migration rules from 1 September 2026.

How long can you stay in Georgia without a visa

A full year in one go, longer than Armenia, Turkey or Serbia allow. The aliens law sets a general rule of 90 days in any 180, but lets the government name countries whose citizens may stay 365 days. Under Government Ordinance No. 255 of 5 June 2015, that list includes the EU member states, the US and dozens of other countries.

From 1 January 2026, every visitor must hold health and accident insurance for the whole stay with cover of at least $12,000, under Government Decree No. 602 of 26 December 2025. The aliens law expressly allows border guards to refuse entry to anyone without insurance, without enough money to live on and travel back, or with an unpaid fine from a previous visit.

Three things a visa-free stay does not give you:

• The right to work in the local market. Georgian clients and employers mean a right to work and a residence permit.
• Time towards permanent residence. Only years on a temporary residence permit count.
• A guarantee of endless renewals. Leaving and re-entering is legal, but the government can change the one-year list by ordinance, without touching the law.

Do remote workers and sole traders need a work permit in Georgia

It depends on who pays you. The Labour Migration Law requires a right to work from every foreigner without permanent residence who is paid by a Georgian employer or client, or who is self-employed in Georgia. It is issued by the ministry in charge of labour, health, social affairs and internally displaced persons (the Labour Ministry for short). It is not a residence permit but a separate approval, after which you still have to get one.

The key exemption for remote workers sits in Article 1 of the law: it does not apply to someone who works for or provides services to a non-resident, where that work relates to the non-resident's activities outside Georgia. In plain terms, a developer in Tbilisi writing code for a German company's European business needs no permit. Nor does someone working fully remotely for a Georgian employer without entering the country.

The line is drawn by the nature of the work, not by your tax status. Take on Georgian clients, sell to local buyers or get hired through a Georgian company, and the exemption stops working. For the lifestyle side of remote work, see our guide to Georgia for remote workers.

How the procedure works:

• Timing. The ministry decides within 30 calendar days of a complete application.
• Fee. About $80 for a decision within 30 calendar days and about $160 for fast-track processing within 10 working days. The law does not allow it to go above roughly $200.
• After approval. If you are abroad, you have 30 calendar days to apply for a D1 visa (the immigration visa for work). If you are already in Georgia, you have 10 calendar days to apply for a work or IT residence permit. If you already hold any residence permit, you do not need a new one.
• Fines. $770 for the worker and the same for the employer per foreigner, $1,600 for a repeat offence and $4,700 the third time. The aliens law also lists working without a right to work as a ground for detention pending expulsion.

How to get a Georgia residence permit: routes and requirements

Residence permits are issued by the Public Service Development Agency through Public Service Halls, the one-stop state centres that also register businesses and property. You can apply in person or through a representative while you are lawfully in the country. Work, study and family permits are first issued for 6 to 12 months and renewed on the same terms, up to 12 years in total. The fee depends on how fast you want a decision: the shorter the processing time, the higher the price.

For tech workers the IT residence permit is the best option: it starts at 3 years rather than six months. The government decides which activities count as IT, so check your activity code before applying. Setting up a sole trader or a company is covered on our page on company registration in Georgia.

Georgia residence permit by buying property: how much you need in 2026

The threshold is now $150,000, measured by market value, not the price in your contract. Article 15 of the aliens law requires the value to be confirmed by a valuer from a body accredited by Georgia's national accreditation centre. Buying a flat for $130,000 and hoping the valuation will stretch to the threshold is a poor plan: the valuer decides, not the seller. Farmland does not qualify at all.

The law calls this a short-term residence permit: it is issued for a year and renewed a year at a time while you own the property. No new valuation is needed on renewal, so people who qualified under the old $100,000 threshold keep renewing without trouble. The permit extends to your spouse and children. Those who need a visa to enter can use a separate D5 category, the immigration visa for property owners.

What it does not give you is the right to work in the local market: for that you go to the Labour Ministry like everyone else. Nor is it a fast track to permanent residence: even in the best case, the general rule is 10 years on a residence permit.

A different story starts at $300,000. Property worth more than that, or a business investment of at least $300,000, gets an investment residence permit for 5 years straight away. If you owned the property for all 5 years, you can apply before expiry for an unlimited permit, meaning the right to live in Georgia permanently. A business investor must show turnover instead: at least $50,000 in year one, $100,000 in year two and $120,000 in each of years three to five. Miss the turnover for a year and the investment permit is terminated.

The extra $150,000 buys time: permanent status in 5 years instead of 10, and work without a permit. We source property for both thresholds and vet developers on our page on property in Georgia for residency.

Taxes in Georgia for sole traders: how the 1% rate works

An individual entrepreneur (IE, the Georgian form of sole trader) with small business status pays 1% on all Georgian-source revenue as long as it stays under GEL 500,000 (about $200,000) in a calendar year. The rate is written into the Tax Code itself, not granted case by case.

It is a two-step process, and most people trip on the second step:

1. Register as an individual entrepreneur at a Public Service Hall. Without small business status, an IE pays 20% income tax on profit.
2. Apply to the Revenue Service, Georgia's tax authority, for small business status and get the certificate. Only then does the 1% rate apply.

The rules are set by Articles 88-90 of the Tax Code of Georgia:

• Going over the limit. From the month in which revenue passes GEL 500,000 until the end of the year, the rate is 3%. Wine and agritourism operators get a higher limit of GEL 700,000.
• Losing the status. If revenue exceeds GEL 500,000 in two calendar years in a row, the status is revoked from the start of the next year. Other grounds are three fines in a year for breaking cash register rules, and a prohibited activity.
• Prohibited activities. The government sets the list with the approval of Parliament's budget committee, and not every profession qualifies for 1%. Check your activity code before you register.
• Salary does not count. Only business income is taxed at 1%. If you are an employee, including of a foreign company, your salary is taxed under the general rules.
• Reporting. You file and pay monthly, by the 15th of the following month, and keep a special income and expense ledger.

Worked example. A designer with foreign clients earns GEL 150,000 (about $58,000) a year. With small business status the tax is GEL 1,500 (about $580). The same income as an IE without the status is taxed at 20% of profit: with GEL 10,000 of expenses the bill is GEL 28,000. That is almost 19 times more.

Sole trader, micro business or LLC: which regime to choose

For most freelancers the answer is an IE with small business status. Micro business status only wins on very small incomes, and an LLC makes sense if you keep profit in the business, have partners or have outgrown the GEL 500,000 limit.

The LLC model is known as the Estonian model: profit tax is only paid when money leaves the company. Worked example: to pay out GEL 85,000 after profit tax, the company pays GEL 15,000 of profit tax, and 5% is withheld from the dividend, another GEL 4,250. Out of GEL 100,000 of profit, GEL 80,750 reaches your pocket.

VAT (value added tax) is a separate calculation at 18%. Article 165 of the Tax Code requires you to register for VAT within two working days once your taxable supplies in any 12 consecutive months exceed GEL 100,000 (about $38,000). Small business status does not exempt you. What softens the blow is that under VAT rules, services to businesses abroad are generally treated as supplied in the client's country and are outside Georgian VAT. Sales to local clients and to private individuals do count towards the threshold. Murblz specialists will work out how to treat your particular income stream before revenue gets close to GEL 100,000.

Taxes in Georgia for individuals and non-residents

Georgia taxes only Georgian-source income, for residents and non-residents alike. Foreign dividends, interest and gains on foreign shares are not taxed in Georgia, as the Tax Code makes clear.

Pension contributions of 2% from the employee, 2% from the employer and 4% for the self-employed are mandatory for Georgian citizens and for foreigners with permanent residence. On a temporary residence permit you do not pay them. A full breakdown, including company taxes, is on our page on taxes in Georgia.

The trap that leads to back-tax bills: territorial taxation does not make remote work tax-free. Article 104 of the Tax Code treats as Georgian-source both services actually performed in Georgia and services provided by a Georgian tax resident to a client in another country. Sit in Tbilisi working for a client in Germany and the income is Georgian, so tax is due on it. That is why the 1% IE is not a loophole but the normal, lawful regime for a remote worker who lives in the country.

How to become a tax resident of Georgia

You become a Georgian tax resident by spending 183 days or more in the country in any 12 consecutive months ending in the current tax year (Article 34 of the Tax Code). The tax year is the calendar year. Days spent abroad for medical treatment, holidays, business trips or study count as days in Georgia. Days spent in Georgia for treatment or leisure, however, are excluded by the law, so a visa-free visitor with no work or business in the country may, on the letter of the law, never become resident.

Wealthy individuals have a second route without the 183 days: residence as a high net worth individual (HNWI). The Tax Code refers to conditions set by the Minister of Finance and to the Law on the Securities Market. The Minister of Finance's conditions are assets of GEL 3 million (about $1.15 million) or income of GEL 200,000 (about $77,000) a year, plus a link to Georgia such as local income or property.

The Revenue Service issues tax residence certificates, which banks, clients and double tax treaties require. A certificate does not override the rules of the country you left: centre of vital interests, controlled foreign company rules and that country's own day count are assessed separately. How the 183-day rule works in different countries is covered in our guide to tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Do Georgian banks open accounts for foreigners

Georgian banks open accounts for foreigners, but expect to visit in person and to answer questions about your money. Banks here rely on US and European correspondent banks, so they are cautious with clients and money from sanctioned countries and change terms without notice. Local status helps a lot: with a residence permit or a registered IE it is easier to open both a personal and a business account.

Your odds improve with a lease showing a Georgian address, client contracts and statements translated into English or Georgian, a small business certificate, and a clear explanation of where your money comes from: compliance teams read silence against you. We help with the process on our page on personal bank accounts in Georgia.

What it costs to live in Tbilisi and Batumi

Georgia has become more expensive but is still far cheaper than Western Europe. A single person in Tbilisi needs about $660 a month in 2026 excluding rent, and a family of four about $2,500.

Worked example: a single person in Tbilisi renting a one-bedroom flat outside the centre needs about $1,100 a month. Batumi is cheaper but seasonal: prices rise in summer and the city empties in winter. For neighbourhood detail, see our guides to Tbilisi and Batumi.

How to get permanent residence and citizenship in Georgia

Slowly. The current wording of Article 15 of the aliens law grants permanent residence after 10 years on a temporary residence permit, and years of study or medical treatment do not count. The 6-year figure in older articles no longer applies. There are only three faster roads: marriage to a Georgian citizen (permanent residence after 5 years on a spouse permit), a child who is a Georgian citizen (permanent residence for the parent of a minor citizen), and an investment of $300,000 (an unlimited permit after 5 years).

Under the Organic Law on Georgian Citizenship, the standard route to a passport is open to someone who:

• has lawfully lived in Georgia for the last 10 consecutive years;
• knows the Georgian language, Georgian history and the basics of law to the required level;
• has a job, property, a business or a stake in a Georgian company in Georgia.

Residence only counts as continuous if you spend no more than 90 days a year outside Georgia, apart from trips of up to two years for study or treatment. The spouse of a Georgian citizen needs 5 years of residence plus the exams. A decision is due within three months, and after a refusal you can reapply in 6 months. The citizenship law was amended in 2025 and 2026, so check the current wording before applying.

The big limitation is dual citizenship. Article 3 of the law allows a Georgian citizen to hold another citizenship only in the cases the law lists separately. You can keep your old passport only if the President grants citizenship by way of exception, for outstanding merit or in the state's interest, for example a major investment. If what you want is a second passport rather than a life in Georgia, compare the options in our overview of countries that allow dual citizenship.

Georgia, Armenia, Serbia or Kazakhstan: where residency and taxes are easier

Georgia beats its neighbours on the length of the visa-free stay and on tax for freelancers with larger turnover, but loses on how quickly you can reach a passport. The table below compares the four as they stand for EU and US citizens in 2026.

For detail on each country, see our guides to Armenian residency and banks, Serbian residency and moving to Kazakhstan. Every status in one place is in our residence permits catalogue.

The pitfalls people discover too late

• An IE without a right to work. IE registration and small business status are tax documents. They do not let you work for Georgian clients; for that you need a right to work.
• Small business status never requested. People register an IE and assume the rate switched on by itself. Without the certificate the tax is 20% of profit.
• A salary from a foreign employer. If you are on the payroll of a foreign company rather than a contractor, the 1% IE will not help: salary income is excluded from the status. A Georgian tax resident pays 20% on it.
• The VAT threshold. GEL 100,000 of taxable supplies in 12 months and you have two working days to register. The obligation to pay VAT starts with the very transaction that crosses the threshold, even if you did not charge the client VAT.
• A valuation below the price. A flat bought for $150,000 is not yet a residence permit: the threshold is measured by an accredited valuer's report.
• An unpaid fine. An unpaid fine for overstaying is listed in the law as a ground to refuse you entry next time.

Who Georgia is not for

• People who want a second passport. Ten years with barely any time abroad, a Georgian language exam and giving up your old citizenship is too high a price for a passport.
• People who want permanent residence fast without $300,000. Ten years on a temporary permit is one of the longest waits in the region.
• Highly paid employees. They pay 20% and cannot use the 1% regime.
• Anyone serving the local market who hates paperwork. Georgian clients mean a right to work, a work residence permit and monthly filings.

We can look at your case: which residence permit you can realistically get, whether you need small business status and whether you risk becoming resident in two countries at once. You can reach us through our contact page.

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