Residence in Georgia through employment
Residence for employees with a contract at a Georgian company. The work permit is arranged as part of the service.
On top of turnover and salary, a separate right to work is now required through labourmigration.moh.gov.ge (decree No. 70 of 20.02.2026), and the employer must post the vacancy on worknet.moh.gov.ge for 10 working days (the labour market test) — with exceptions for companies holding international company status, for startups and for vacancies from GEL 15,000 where the candidate has a relevant degree. The salary threshold isn't a fixed sum but 5 times the subsistence minimum for an average consumer (published by Geostat) — check the current figure before filing.
Residence through work, business or property
What decides it is what you already have: a company, an employment contract or property. Business and work cost the same — from $170 plus $225 once approved; property is dearer: from $340 plus $450. The thresholds are counted differently too: in turnover and salary in GEL, or in a property value from USD 150,000. Review takes 30-60 days in all three cases, and you can't file remotely.
These are the three most common grounds but not the only ones: there are separate permits for new sole traders (no turnover certificate, 6 months), for IT specialists (3 years straight away), for study, for investment from USD 300,000 and for family reunification. All eight grounds with prices and timelines are in the comparison table below.
| Work residence | Residence through business | Residence through property | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grounds | A signed employment contract with an employer in Georgia — finding the employer isn't part of the service | A live sole trader or LLC in Georgia — filed after registration | A flat or house owned by you or your spouse — agricultural land doesn't count and there must be no encumbrances |
| Financial requirement | A salary from GEL 1,700 before tax (from GEL 1,200 net), and employer turnover from GEL 50,000 per foreign employee | Company turnover from GEL 50,000 over 12 months per foreign applicant, and a personal account balance of roughly GEL 15,000 | Property worth USD 150,000 or more; with shared ownership each applicant's share must meet the threshold |
| Service cost | From $170 plus $225 once approved | From $170 plus $225 once approved | From $340 plus $450 once approved; buying the property itself isn't included |
| Tax and residency | You pay 20% income tax on the salary | The permit doesn't make you a Georgian tax resident — that needs 183+ days in the country or HNWI status | The permit doesn't make you a Georgian tax resident |
| Timelines | Review 30-60 days; the first permit is usually for 1 year, then for the term of the contract, 1-3 years | Review 30-60 days; turnover is checked again on renewal | Review 30-60 days; ownership is confirmed every year, or the status can't be kept |
Filing on business grounds straight after registering a sole trader is risky: it's formally allowed, but without turnover of GEL 50,000 for the year the application can be refused. If the sole trader was registered less than three months ago, the new-sole-trader permit is usually the better bet — it asks for no turnover.
What the service includes
| Checking that the employment contract and the employer meet the requirements | |
| Arranging the work permit | |
| Preparing and notarising translations of the documents | |
| Filing the residence application pack | |
| Collecting the residence card | |
| Finding an employer and signing the employment contract— billed separately | |
| The state fee for the review period — set by the speed you choose— billed separately |
What we need from you
- 1An employment contract with an employer in Georgia
- 2A minimum salary from GEL 1,700 before tax (or from GEL 1,200 net)
- 3Employer's annual turnover from GEL 50,000 per foreign employee (from GEL 35,000 for educational institutions and medical clinics)
- 4A passport with a notarised translation into Georgian
- 5A criminal record certificate
Frequently asked questions
Can family members get residence alongside the employee?
Can employment residence be arranged remotely?
How long is work residence issued for?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Through employmentyou are here | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| For IT specialists | 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 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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