Georgia digital nomad visa: requirements (2026)

Legal framework

Law of Georgia on Labour Migration; Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons; June 26 2025 parliamentary amendments introducing mandatory work permits (effective March 1 2026, transition until January 1 2027); administered by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, Labour, Health and Social Affairs

Key points: digital nomad & residency in Georgia

1. 01Remotely from Georgia visa

   Dedicated digital nomad program launched in 2020, still nominally in force. Free, processed in ~10 business days, grants a 12-month non-renewable stay. Requires proof of remote employment or foreign-incorporated business, $2,000/month income or $24,000 in savings, and health insurance. Available only to nationals of the 95+ countries with visa-free access to Georgia.

   geoconsul.gov.ge

2. 02Mandatory work permit from March 2026

   Parliament passed amendments on June 26 2025 requiring most foreign nationals, including self-employed, freelancers, and remote workers providing services to Georgian entities, to obtain a 'right to labour/entrepreneurial activity' permit from the Ministry of Labour before working. The permit takes up to 30 days; non-compliance carries a 2,000 GEL fine. A transition grace period runs to January 1 2027 for those already registered.

   kpmg.com ge.usembassy.gov fragomen.com

3. 03New IT-sector residence permit (2025)

   Introduced September 2025. Requires minimum 2 years of IT experience, confirmed income of at least $25,000/year, and 183 days/year physical presence in Georgia. Issued for 3 years and renewable up to 12 years. Covers employees of Ministry-registered IT firms, individual entrepreneurs in IT with Small Business status, and representatives of international IT companies and their families.

   kpmg.com pbservices.ge

4. 04Visa-free entry baseline (95+ nationalities)

   Citizens of over 95 countries may enter Georgia visa-free and remain up to 12 months. This has historically functioned as a de facto long-stay option for remote workers. The 2026 work-permit reform legally separates the right to be present from the right to work, meaning visa-free status alone no longer authorises work activity.

   geoconsul.gov.ge oc-media.org

5. 05Individual Entrepreneur / Small Business tax route

   Foreign nationals can register as Individual Entrepreneurs (IEs) in Georgia without permanent residency. Electing Small Business status yields a 1% flat tax on gross turnover up to 500,000 GEL (~$185,000/year). The June 2025 reforms now require an accompanying work/self-employment permit for this route to remain legal from March 2026.

   oc-media.org fragomen.com

6. 06Real-estate residency permit (investment route)

   Foreigners may obtain a temporary residence permit by purchasing Georgian real estate valued at $150,000 or more. The June 2025 amendments raised this threshold from $100,000, effective March 1 2026. This is a passive-investment residency route, not a digital-nomad-specific pathway.

   kpmg.com legal.ge

Timeline of decisions

1. 1 Mar 2026Law
   Mandatory Work Permit System Enters Force

   Virtually all foreign nationals — including freelancers, self-employed persons, and digital nomads without permanent residency — must now hold a formal work permit issued by Georgia's Labour Ministry; employers must complete a 10-business-day labour-market test before applying. This ends the de-facto permit-free work environment in place since independence and represents the most consequential change for remote workers in Georgia's history.

   Fragomen

2. 1 Sept 2025Enforcement
   Phase-One Enforcement: Stricter Residence Permit Documentary Requirements

   Employment-based residence permit applicants must now submit a Revenue Service reference letter confirming the sponsoring employer has ≥GEL 50,000 annual turnover per foreign employee; employers must also notify the Service Development Agency within five days of a foreign worker's termination. These are the first enforcement provisions of the June 2025 amendment package to take effect.

   Fragomen

3. 1 Sept 2025Law
   Dedicated Digital Nomad / IT Residence Permit Category Launches

   A new Digital Nomad Residency Programme created by the June 2025 legislative package entered operation, offering a formal IT-specialist residence permit requiring ≥2 years of IT work experience and ≥USD 25,000 annual income, with income sourced from employers or clients outside Georgia. This replaces the informal 365-day visa-free overstay as the preferred compliant route for remote IT workers.

   Eurofast

4. 26 Jun 2025Law · official
   Parliament Adopts Sweeping Labour Migration and Aliens Law Amendments

   Laws No 862 and No 863 of 26 June 2025 simultaneously amended the Labour Migration Law and the Law on Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, authorising mandatory work permits (effective March 2026), a Digital Nomad Residency Programme (effective September 2025), and heightened residence-permit oversight. This package marks Georgia's formal shift from a deliberately open immigration model to a compliance-oriented one.

   Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge)

5. 21 Sept 2022Incident
   Mass Russian IT-Worker Influx Following Mobilisation Announcement

   Putin's partial mobilisation announcement triggered a second large wave of Russian emigration to Georgia; combined with the first wave after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, over 1.45 million Russian border crossings were recorded in 2022 — many from the IT sector. The surge cemented Georgia's reputation as an open tech hub but strained residency services, drove up property prices in Tbilisi, and directly motivated the 2023–2025 tightening of immigration rules.

   Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)

6. 27 Aug 2020Guidance · official
   'Remotely from Georgia' Digital Nomad Programme Launched

   Georgia launched one of the world's first dedicated digital nomad schemes: a working-visitor programme allowing remote workers from 95 visa-free countries to enter despite COVID-19 border closures, conditional on a minimum 180-day stay commitment and proof of foreign income (approx. USD 2,000/month). Nearly 3,000 applicants registered within weeks; the programme was later phased out as the broader 365-day visa-free stay made a formal scheme redundant.

   Consular Service of Georgia

7. 1 Sept 2014Law · official
   Foundational Law on Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons Enters into Force

   This landmark statute superseded fragmented earlier regulations to establish Georgia's modern residence-permit framework, codifying visa-free entry for ~95 nationalities and creating distinct permit categories (work, study, family, investment). A June 2015 amendment extended the maximum visa-free stay to 365 days, making Georgia one of the world's most open destinations for long-term remote work without a formal permit.

   Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge)

Sources

1. 1.geoconsul.gov.ge/en/news/16
2. 2.geoconsul.gov.ge/en/HtmlPage/html/View?id=2131
3. 3.kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/gms-flash-alert/flash-alert-2025-156.html
4. 4.kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/gms-flash-alert/2026/flash-alert-2026-117.html
5. 5.ge.usembassy.gov/new-work-permit-rules-for-foreign-nationals-in-georgia-starting-march
6. 6.fragomen.com/insights/new-work-permit-rules-georgia-immigration.html
7. 7.oc-media.org/explainer-what-foreign-nationals-need-to-know-about-georgias-new-labo
8. 8.legal.ge/en/news/georgia-tightens-controls-as-digital-nomad-era-faces-regulato
9. 9.pbservices.ge/blog/georgian-residence-permit-for-it-specialists/