GeorgiaIn person
Residence in Georgia for IT specialists
A separate residence category for people working in IT: employed specialists, sole traders on small business status and managers of international companies. The first permit runs 3 years.
Price from
$170
Best for
Residence permit
Timeline
2–3 months
The application is reviewed in 60 or 90 calendar days, chosen along with the fee. If the right to work is needed, add the 30 calendar days for that decision before filing.
Tax
Doesn't make you a tax resident: that status is judged on actual presence
Format
In person
Being away for 183 days ends this permit
For IT specialist residence the law sets separate grounds for termination: the permit ends if the holder was in fact absent from Georgia for 183 days or more over any continuous 12 calendar months. Time abroad for medical treatment counts as time in Georgia. Most other categories have no such threshold — a “living in two countries” arrangement doesn't fit these grounds.
You can only work with the right to work
A foreigner without permanent residence works for a Georgian employer or runs their own business only if they hold both residence and the right to work. The right-to-work application takes up to 30 calendar days, and once it's granted a foreigner already in Georgia applies for IT residence within 10 calendar days.
What the service includes
| Reviewing the case: which of the three categories the applicant falls into and whether they're within the filing window | |
| Checking the evidence of experience and income: whether it matches the activity codes and the occupation classifier, and whether the income certificate shows two payments | |
| Preparing the pack, arranging translation and notarisation | |
| Filling in the application and filing it with the Public Service Development Agency | |
| Support through the review: tracking status and handling the agency's further queries | |
| Providing a registration address and support in collecting the residence card once approved | |
| Obtaining the right to work — a separate procedure at the Employment Support Agency— billed separately | |
| State fees for reviewing the application and for the residence card — they depend on the speed chosen— billed separately | |
| Apostille, legalisation and obtaining certificates in the country that issued them— billed separately | |
| Appealing a refusal — agreed separately— billed separately |
What we need from you
- 1At least 2 years of work or economic activity in IT — the occupation is evidenced against the international ISCO-08 classifier, group 25
- 2Annual remuneration from IT work of at least the lari equivalent of USD 25,000, with at least two payments over the past year at least 30 days apart
- 3One of three situations: an employed labour migrant in IT; a sole trader on small business status under codes 58.21, 58.29, 62.01, 62.02, 62.03, 62.09, 63.1, 63.12; a manager of an international company or its representative
- 4The decision granting the right to work, or the Employment Support Agency's unique code, in the application itself
- 5Lawful stay in Georgia: the general rule of filing 40 calendar days before it expires doesn't apply to IT residence
- 6A travel document, a 3×4 photo, evidence of experience and income. Foreign documents — apostilled or legalised and translated into Georgian
Frequently asked questions
I already have residence — is that enough to work?
No. The right to reside and the right to work are regulated separately. A foreigner without permanent residence first obtains the right to work and only then takes a job or runs their own business. An employee gets that right through the employer; the self-employed obtain it themselves.
Will my spouse and children get residence?
Yes — family members of the holder get residence in the same category and don't need separate grounds. Each files their own application with a document evidencing the relationship and a copy of the holder's permit. Family members don't have to evidence work experience or income, but the permit doesn't give them the right to work either.
Will this permit make me a Georgian tax resident?
Not automatically. Someone is treated as a resident for the whole current tax year if they were actually in Georgia for 183 days or more over any continuous 12 calendar months. A separate route is high-net-worth (HNWI) status.
Sources
- Public Service Development Agency — IT residence conditions, documents, review times
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, arts. 15, 16, 21 — the 3-year term and termination after 183 days away
- Law of Georgia on Labour Migration — the right to work, a 30 calendar day decision
- Tax Code of Georgia, art. 34 — tax residency of an individual
Residence permit in Georgia: comparison
The difference is not the price — it is who each option suits. The “Best for” column is the business profile the option is built around.
| Option | Best for | Timeline | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| For IT specialistsyou are here | A developer or engineer with 2+ years' experience who can show regular payments for IT work, a sole trader on small business status working under software development and IT consulting codes, a manager or representative of an international company authorised to run it from Georgia | 2–3 months | $170 |
| Through business | The owner of an operating Georgian sole trader or company with turnover of at least GEL 50,000 a year, a digital nomad who registered as a sole trader in Georgia to put their income on a legal footing, a co-owner renewing the permit as the company grows | 4–9 weeks | $170 |
| Through employment | Employees with an employment contract already signed at a Georgian company, specialists invited by a Georgian employer to a permanent position, people already in Georgia on a visa or visa-free stay who want to legalise their status through employment | 4–9 weeks | $170 |
| For new sole traders | An entrepreneur who has just opened a sole trader in Georgia and can't wait a year of turnover for ordinary work residence, a freelancer or independent contractor moving income to a Georgian sole trader and legalising their status at the start, the owner of a young company with one or two foreigners on staff who needs six months to build up turnover | 4–9 weeks | $170 |
| Through study | A student already enrolled on a programme at a Georgian university who needs status for the length of the course, a student on an authorised college vocational programme — the grounds are the same as for a university student, a student renewing status for the next year: renewal is filed in advance, on the same terms | 4–9 weeks | $170 |
| Through family | The spouse of a foreigner who already holds Georgian residence through work, business or study, parents bringing minor children to a Georgian residence holder, a fully dependent relative or dependant of a residence holder who has no grounds of their own | 4–9 weeks | $170 |
| Through property | Owners of a flat or house in Georgia bought to live in, not to resell, investors who already own, or plan to buy, residential property for the residence permit, families moving to Georgia who need legal status for longer than the tourist period | 4–9 weeks | $340 |
| Through investment | An owner of Georgian property worth more than the equivalent of USD 300,000 who wants long status with no tie to an employer, an entrepreneur who has invested in a Georgian company and is ready to evidence turnover annually, someone heading for indefinite status in five years on investment grounds, rather than accruing ten years on temporary permits | 4–9 weeks | $340 |
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