How to Move to Georgia Country : Complete Relocation Guide for Foreigners
Table of contents
How to Move to Georgia Country : Complete Relocation Guide for Foreigners
Moving to Georgia (the country), a small Caucasus nation bordering the Black Sea, is straightforward for most nationalities. Citizens of over 95 countries enter visa-free and can stay up to 365 days per year. Establish 183 days of physical presence and you qualify for tax residency in Georgia, opening access to one of Europe's most competitive flat-tax regimes.
Georgia sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Tbilisi, its capital, has become a serious base for remote workers, tech founders, and investors who want low taxes, fast company registration, and a real city with good infrastructure. The cost of living is a fraction of Western European capitals, while flight connectivity to Istanbul, Dubai, Warsaw, and Frankfurt keeps global business accessible.
This guide covers every layer of relocation, from legal entry and residency to tax structure and banking. It is written for people making real decisions, not for casual browsers.
Georgia's Entry and Stay Rules for Foreigners
Most people moving to Georgia (the country) are surprised by how little bureaucracy the entry process involves. No pre-approval, no sponsorship letter, no appointment at a consulate. You land, you stay.
Who Can Enter Visa-Free
Georgia operates one of the most open border policies in the region. Citizens of the European Union, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Israel, and most of the CIS bloc can enter without a visa and remain for up to 365 days in a rolling 12-month period.
Citizens of countries not on the visa-free list must apply for a Georgian e-visa or a standard sticker visa before arrival. Processing is typically fast, often under five business days, but confirm the current list on the official Georgian e-visa portal before booking flights.
A few nationalities face restricted entry due to bilateral diplomatic positions. This is a small minority. Most readers of this guide will fall into the visa-free category.
What Happens After 365 Days
The 365-day visa-free window resets by leaving the country and re-entering. Many long-term residents do exactly this. A day trip to Armenia or a short flight to Turkey technically restarts the clock under current practice.
For those who want a more formal long-term status, Georgia offers several residence permit routes:
Work permit, tied to employment or company ownership
Investment residence permit, for those placing qualifying capital into Georgian real estate or business
Student permit, through an accredited institution
Family reunification, for spouses or dependents of Georgian citizens or permit holders
Residence permits are processed through the Public Services Development Agency. Timelines vary by route but are commonly 10-30 business days. A permit does not automatically confer tax residency. That is a separate question, covered in the tax residency section below.
Legal Residency vs Tax Residency
This distinction trips up almost every newcomer. Legal residency (a permit) gives you the right to stay. Tax residency determines where you pay income tax. Georgia grants tax residency based primarily on the 183-day physical presence rule, not on whether you hold a permit.
You can be in Georgia on a visa-free stay, spend 183 days in the calendar year, and qualify for a Georgian tax residency certificate. You do not need a permit for that. Conversely, holding a residence permit but spending fewer than 183 days in Georgia in a year does not make you a Georgian tax resident.
Georgia's Tax System at a Glance
Georgia runs a territorial tax system. That single structural fact is the reason thousands of freelancers, investors, and founders choose it. Foreign-sourced income that does not enter the Georgian economy is, in most cases, not taxed in Georgia.
The Core Tax Rates
Georgian tax law sets a small number of headline rates that have been stable for over a decade:
20% personal income tax (standard flat rate)
15% corporate income tax, applied only on profit distribution (the Estonian model)
0% corporate tax on retained profit, reinvested profit, or internal transfers
1% turnover tax for Individual Entrepreneurs under Small Business Status, up to the annual threshold
18% VAT, mandatory above a defined registration threshold
The corporate income tax structure deserves a moment. Georgia uses a distribution-trigger model: a company pays 15% only when it pays dividends or makes certain deemed distributions. Profit left inside the company is taxed at 0%. This makes Georgia structurally attractive for growth-stage companies and holding structures.
For a practical overview of how these rates interact in a real business, the corporate income tax guide covers the mechanics in full.
Special Tax Regimes
Three regimes sit beneath the standard corporate rate and deserve separate attention:
Individual Entrepreneur (IE) with Small Business Status: a 1% turnover tax for sole traders, freelancers, and solo service providers. Annual turnover must stay below the threshold set by Georgian tax law. Confirm the current ceiling at rs.ge before structuring around it. Learn more on the IE and Small Business Status page.
Virtual Zone LLC: 0% corporate tax on income earned from IT services delivered to foreign clients. Qualifying companies must register the status and maintain annual compliance. This regime targets software developers, SaaS companies, and IT consultancies.
International Company Status: a reduced payroll tax rate for companies employing staff in qualifying sectors.
What Georgia Does Not Tax
Certain income types face zero Georgian tax for qualifying residents:
Capital gains from cryptocurrency sales, for Georgian tax-resident individuals
Dividends received by individuals from Georgian LLCs (after the corporate 15% has been paid at entity level)
Foreign-sourced passive income that never enters Georgia (under the territorial principle)
Crypto taxation is covered in detail in Gegidze's guide to 0% capital gains for resident individuals.
Visa-Free Stay vs Tax Residency vs Legal Residency: Key Differences
These three statuses often get conflated. They are separate legal constructs with different rules, different authorities, and very different consequences for your tax bill.
Status | Governing authority | Trigger | Key benefit | Tax implication |
Visa-free stay | Border police / MFA | Passport nationality | Up to 365 days, no application | None by itself |
Legal residency permit | PSDA | Application + qualifying route | Right to remain long-term | None by itself |
Tax residency (183-day) | Revenue Service (rs.ge) | 183 days in calendar year | Georgian tax residency certificate | Taxed in Georgia, not home country (depends on treaty) |
Tax residency (HNWI) | Revenue Service (rs.ge) | High net worth individual criteria | Certificate without 183-day stay | Same as above, but without physical presence requirement |
Georgian citizenship | Civil Registry | Naturalisation or descent | Full rights | Worldwide income potentially in scope |
The HNWI Route to Tax Residency
Georgia offers a high net worth individual (HNWI) tax residency route for those who cannot or choose not to spend 183 days in the country. The HNWI route allows qualifying individuals to obtain a Georgian tax residency certificate based on asset and income thresholds rather than physical presence.
The criteria involve documented Georgian-source income or assets at levels set by the Revenue Service. Confirm the current thresholds directly with rs.ge or through a licensed tax adviser, as these figures are reviewed periodically. The HNWI path is used primarily by investors who maintain a primary residence elsewhere but want Georgian tax residency for treaty or planning purposes. It is not a workaround for people with no genuine connection to Georgia.
When Georgia Is the Wrong Choice
Georgia's tax system is genuinely competitive, but it is not the right base for everyone:
If your home country taxes worldwide income of citizens regardless of residence (the United States being the primary example), Georgian tax residency reduces but does not eliminate your US tax obligations.
If your business requires local clients and a VAT invoice chain inside a larger EU market, a Georgian entity may add friction rather than reduce it.
If your income is primarily employment income from a foreign employer who withholds tax at source in another jurisdiction, the savings may be smaller than projected.
Registering Your Business After You Arrive
Most people who move to Georgia (the country) for tax reasons need a local business structure within their first few weeks. The structure you choose affects your effective rate, your banking options, and whether foreign clients treat you as a credible counterparty.
Individual Entrepreneur Status
An Individual Entrepreneur (IE) registration is the fastest entry point. You register through the Revenue Service (rs.ge), and the process typically completes in one to three business days.
Under small-business status, an IE pays 1% turnover tax up to the annual threshold set by law. Check the current threshold on rs.ge before relying on it, as it is a Tier B figure subject to periodic revision. This structure suits solo consultants, designers, and remote workers billing foreign clients in USD or EUR.
LLC Registration
An LLC in Georgia is registered at the House of Justice (NAPR) and requires a founding document (charter), at least one director, and a registered address. Registration fees are modest, confirm current amounts on the NAPR portal, and the process normally takes two to five business days.
An LLC suits teams, businesses with investors, or founders who need a formal corporate counterparty for contracts. Georgia's Estonian-style corporate tax model means a Georgian LLC pays 15% only on distributed profit, not on retained earnings.
Special Tax Statuses
Two optional statuses dramatically change the effective tax rate for qualifying businesses:
Virtual Zone LLC: 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT on services delivered outside Georgia. Full details on Virtual Zone compliance and Virtual Zone registration.
International Company status: designed for technology and shipping businesses with a substantive local presence. See the International Company status page for qualifying criteria.
iGaming operators: Georgia has a licensing regime with specific tax treatment, covered in the iGaming Georgia tax guide.
These statuses require an active application to the Revenue Service. Approval is not automatic, and each carries annual compliance obligations.
Your Step-by-Step Relocation Process
Relocating is not a single event. It is a sequence of administrative tasks that must happen in the right order, or you create gaps: an open bank account with no tax ID, a company with no address, or a tax residency certificate that cannot be issued because you have not yet filed.
Step 1: Entry and Address Setup
Enter Georgia on your passport. Most nationalities receive a one-year visa-free stay automatically.
Your first administrative task is establishing a physical address in Georgia. This can be a rented apartment, a co-working space, or a leased legal address. Banks and the Revenue Service will ask for it. Without a verifiable address, downstream steps stall.
Step 2: Business and Tax Registration
Once you have an address, register your business structure. The sequence matters:
Reserve your company name (NAPR system, same-day online).
File founding documents at the House of Justice.
Receive your company registration extract, normally within two to five business days.
Register with the Revenue Service to receive a Georgian tax ID (TIN).
Apply for any special status (Virtual Zone, International Company, small-business IE) if relevant.
For IE registration, steps 1-2 are replaced by a single Revenue Service application. You receive both your business registration and your TIN at once.
Step 3: Banking
Georgian banks open accounts for non-resident foreigners, but the process has become more document-intensive since 2022. Expect to present:
Passport and Georgian address proof
Business registration extract
Source-of-funds explanation (bank statements, contracts, invoices)
A description of your expected transaction flows
The bank account opening guide covers which banks are currently most accessible to foreigners and what documents each typically requests. In-person visits remain the most reliable route; remote account opening is possible at some banks but less predictable.
Step 4: Tax Residency Certificate
After you cross 183 days of physical presence in a calendar year, you can apply to the Revenue Service for a tax residency certificate. The certificate is the document foreign tax authorities and banks recognise. It does not appear automatically. You file an application with presence evidence, typically entry-exit stamps or a Georgian ID card if you have one.
Cost of Relocation and Ongoing Compliance
Budgeting for the move requires separating one-time setup costs from recurring annual costs. Many people underestimate the compliance side. A Georgian company is inexpensive to run, but it is not free to run correctly.
Cost Item | Typical Range (GEL) | Notes |
IE registration | Minimal (state fee) | Confirm current fee on rs.ge |
LLC registration (NAPR) | Confirm on NAPR portal | Varies by urgency / notary choice |
Legal address (per year) | Market rate varies | Address leasing services quoted on request |
Annual bookkeeping (IE) | Lower end of market | Simple turnover-based filing |
Annual bookkeeping (LLC) | Higher than IE | Depends on transaction volume |
Tax residency application | No state fee | Adviser cost varies |
Virtual Zone annual compliance | Service-dependent | |
Bank account maintenance | Bank-specific | Ask your chosen bank for tariff sheet |
Living Costs as a Practical Budget Input
Tbilisi remains one of the more affordable capital cities in the European time-zone belt. A furnished one-bedroom apartment in a central Tbilisi neighbourhood costs roughly 600-1,200 GEL per month (about 200-400 EUR) as of 2025, though prices in popular expat areas like Vake and Saburtalo have risen since 2022. Batumi, on the Black Sea coast, has a different rental market driven by seasonal tourism.
Where Costs Catch People Off Guard
These are the line items that produce budget surprises:
Apostille and notarisation fees for foreign documents you bring in, such as a foreign company extract or a marriage certificate needed for a residency permit. The apostille and notary process in Georgia has its own timeline.
Translation costs for documents not in Georgian or English.
Currency conversion losses when paying GEL expenses from a USD or EUR account. Georgian banks offer competitive rates, but spread matters at volume.
Payroll costs if you hire a local employee. Georgia mandates specific payroll deductions; payroll management services handle this for most small foreign-owned businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the full registration process take, from landing to having a working company and bank account?
Most people complete company registration in two to five business days and receive a bank account decision within one to three weeks after that. The slowest step is typically the bank, not the registration. Budget three to four weeks for the full sequence if you are opening an LLC with a business account at a major Georgian bank.
Can I register a company before I move to Georgia?
Yes, but with limits. An LLC can be registered remotely with a notarised power of attorney, and some banks allow non-resident account opening. In practice, banks still prefer an in-person visit, and the Revenue Service may ask for your Georgian address at various points. Remote setup works best as a preparatory step, not a substitute for physical presence if you plan to claim tax residency.
What happens to my tax residency if I travel heavily during the year?
The 183-day test counts total days of physical presence in a calendar year. Days are counted cumulatively, not consecutively. If you spend 100 days in Georgia in the first half and 90 in the second, you qualify. Keep your own travel log with entry-exit dates, and cross-reference against your passport stamps before applying for the certificate.
Is crypto income really tax-free for Georgian tax residents?
For resident individuals selling cryptocurrency, Georgia currently applies 0% personal income tax on capital gains from crypto disposals. This applies to individuals, not to companies trading crypto as a business activity. The crypto tax guide for Georgia covers the distinction in detail, including how 'business-like' trading frequency may affect classification.
Do I need to de-register as a tax resident in my home country before Georgia's rules apply to me?
Georgia does not require proof of de-registration elsewhere to issue a tax residency certificate. Your home country's rules govern de-registration from their side. Some countries, notably Germany and the Netherlands, apply exit-tax rules or extended deemed-residency periods even after you leave. You must satisfy both sides independently. Georgia granting you a certificate does not automatically release you from obligations in your origin country.
What if my turnover exceeds the IE small-business threshold mid-year?
You must notify the Revenue Service and transition to a standard tax regime. The 1% rate no longer applies to turnover above the threshold. You can also convert your IE into an LLC, though this is a new registration, not a direct conversion, and requires separate steps at NAPR. If you anticipate growing revenue quickly, it is worth structuring as an LLC from the start rather than migrating later.
Can a foreign employee of my Georgian company work remotely from another country?
Yes. Your Georgian LLC can employ or engage people in other jurisdictions, but you must comply with the employment and tax rules of the country where that person is physically based, not just Georgia's rules. Georgia's rules govern the Georgian entity's payroll obligations for employees physically present in Georgia. For international team members, an Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement often reduces compliance complexity significantly. For further tax planning support tailored to your structure, the tax optimisation services page outlines the options available.
