Working in Georgia: Right to Work, Residence Permits & Business Pathways

The April 2026 amendments to Georgia's Law on Labour Migration are good news for most foreigners moving here for business reasons. If you work remotely for a Georgian company, serve foreign clients from Georgia, run a Georgian LLC, or come for a short-term project, you no longer need a separate Right to Work permit at all. This page covers how the system now works: first whether you need a Right to Work in your situation, then the application pipeline if you do, and finally the residence permit pathways available afterwards.

Do You Need a Right to Work?

Until 1 March 2026, foreign nationals working or running businesses in Georgia did not need a separate work authorization. Government Resolution №70 introduced a formal Right to Work requirement on that date, applying broadly to foreign-national employees and self-employed individuals operating in Georgia. Six weeks later, on 15 April 2026, Parliament passed Law №1509, which amended the Law on Labour Migration to carve four major foreigner profiles out of the new requirement. For most readers of this page, those carve-outs cover your situation entirely.

Remote employees of Georgian companies

If you are employed by a Georgian company but perform your work entirely from outside Georgia, with no physical entry required to do your job, you do not need a Right to Work. This exemption was specifically designed for distributed teams: a Georgian startup hiring a developer who lives in Berlin, or a Tbilisi-based agency engaging a designer in Lisbon, can do so without putting that employee through the labour permit pipeline.

Freelancers and contractors serving foreign clients

If your work is for a non-resident client whose business operations are outside Georgia, you do not need a Right to Work, even if you are physically based in Georgia. This is the exemption that matters most to the typical remote worker or independent contractor moving here. You can register as an Individual Entrepreneur, set up your tax structure under the 1% small business regime, and serve clients in your home country or anywhere else in the world without dealing with a separate work authorization.

The connecting test is whose business benefits from your work. Services rendered to a German employer, an American client, or a Dubai-based company all fit. Services rendered to a Georgian SME or to Georgian customers do not — those would put you back in the regulated category.

Founders, directors, and supervisory board members

If you serve in a management, governance, or audit committee role at a Georgian Category I, II, or III enterprise — the size categories defined under Georgia's Accounting Law, which together cover the great majority of registered companies — you do not need a Right to Work. The same April amendments also removed the previous treatment of partners (the term used for shareholders) from the definition of self-employed foreigner. Holding shares in a Georgian LLC, by itself, no longer triggers any permit obligation.

This is the practical answer for foreign founders. Form a Georgian LLC, take a director seat, and operate the company — all without a Right to Work permit. Combined with Georgia's Estonian-model corporate tax (covered below), this makes the LLC route particularly clean for entrepreneurs who want a real business presence rather than a freelancer setup.

Short-term professional activity

A new legal category introduced by the same amendments allows foreign nationals to perform short-term professional activity in Georgia — work tied to a specific project, event, or service that does not constitute long-term employment in the local labour market — without any permit and without a residence permit either. Lecturers giving a course, consultants completing a defined engagement, artists performing at a festival, and similar one-off professional visits are designed to fit here.

The specific list of qualifying activities and maximum durations will be set by a separate government decree, expected in the coming months. Until that decree is published, the practical scope is determined case by case.

Other exempt categories

Beyond the four amendments-driven carve-outs, several pre-existing exemptions remain in force. You do not need a Right to Work if you hold a Georgian permanent residence permit, an investment residence permit (granted on a USD 300,000+ Georgian investment), or a special residence permit issued at the written initiative of a Georgian government member. Diplomatic and consular staff, refugees and asylum seekers, accredited international media, public-sector employees, and individuals receiving rental income from Georgian property they own are also outside the regime.

These exemptions are codified as Article 13⁹ and sub-clauses K, L, and M of the Law on Labour Migration, in case you need to reference them in a specific situation. If one of the categories above describes you, skip ahead to Residence Permit Pathways. If not, the next section explains what the application process looks like.

The Right to Work Pipeline (If You Need One)

The Right to Work regime applies to foreign nationals whose work has a real local footprint: foreign IEs serving Georgian clients, self-employed individuals operating in the Georgian market, and foreign employees taken on by Georgian companies into regular employment roles. If you fit one of these descriptions and none of the carve-outs above apply to you, you go through the formal pipeline.

How to apply (self-employed track)

Self-employed foreigners apply directly through the Ministry of Labour's online portal at labourmigration.moh.gov.ge. The application asks for personal and passport details, your tax identification number, education and qualifications, a description of your activity in Georgia, and supporting evidence — either a Revenue Service certificate of turnover if you are already operating, or a business plan and proof of financial means if you are starting up.

After uploading documents and paying the state fee, applicants attend a brief video interview with a representative of the Employment Promotion State Agency. The interview lasts one to two minutes, runs in Georgian or English (an interpreter is allowed if you need one), and consists of straightforward identity-and-activity questions: name, place of birth, what you do, where you bank, whether you have Georgian business partners. The session is recorded and attached to your file. Missing the scheduled interview cancels the application, and notice can be short — sometimes the same day — so keep your phone and email accessible during the application period.

The standard processing fee is 200 GEL for a 30-calendar-day decision, or 400 GEL for an expedited 10-working-day decision. Both are well below the statutory cap of 500 GEL. Payment is made online when you submit the application.

Activating your Right to Work

A granted Right to Work does not become legally operative on its own. You must activate it within a specific window through one of two paths.

From abroad: a D1 immigration visa within 30 calendar days.D1 is Georgia's long-standing immigration visa category — it predates these reforms by many years. Under the new framework, it is the path you take if your Right to Work was approved while you were outside Georgia. Apply at a Georgian embassy or consulate for the D1, then enter Georgia on the visa.

From inside Georgia: a residence permit within 10 calendar days. If you were already in Georgia when your Right to Work was granted, you apply for a work residence permit (or an IT residence permit if you qualify) at the Public Service Hall. The application converts your visiting status to legal residence.

Specialists working in qualifying IT roles can apply for the IT residence permit instead, which has its own eligibility criteria covered below.

If you are a Georgian employer hiring a foreigner

The pipeline above describes the self-employed track. Where a Georgian employer is bringing in a foreign national for an employee role, the employer drives the application — including a separate Worknet local-market test, written-justification rules, and ongoing notification obligations. That process is covered in detail on the hiring foreign nationals page.

Residence Permit Pathways After April 2026

Whether or not you need a Right to Work, residence permits are a separate question. A few core pathways are worth knowing.

Work residence permit

The work residence permit is the most widely used route to legal residence in Georgia. Until April 2026, the central qualifying threshold was annual turnover of at least 50,000 GEL — for Individual Entrepreneurs through their declared activity, or for LLCs supporting a director's residency through company revenue.

The April 2026 amendments removed that 50,000 GEL turnover requirement from the statute. New criteria are being codified in a Government Ordinance and have been loosened. Until the Ordinance is published, the existing application process remains in effect; documentation requirements and thresholds may be revised at that point. Check the labour migration portal or this page for the latest.

In practical terms, the work residence permit remains the standard pathway for foreign IE-holders, foreign LLC directors and shareholders, and foreign employees on regular contracts. Applications are submitted at the Public Service Hall, with a current passport, evidence of your basis (IE registration or LLC director appointment), housing documentation, and the supporting materials the Ordinance ultimately specifies.

Investment residence permit (USD 300,000)

The investment residence permit is a premium pathway for those making a substantial USD 300,000 capital commitment to Georgia — through real estate purchase, capital contribution to a Georgian company, term deposits, or other verifiable investment. It is not affected by the April 2026 amendments. Holders of an investment residence permit are explicitly exempt from the new Right to Work regime. The initial permit runs five years, with ongoing turnover obligations during that period and a path to permanent residence at the end. Detailed terms are on the dedicated investment residency page.

IT specialist residence permit

For specialists working in qualifying IT roles, Georgia issues a dedicated IT residence permit. Eligibility requires at least two years of verified IT work experience and an annual income of at least USD 25,000, evidenced through documented deposits at least 30 days apart. The initial permit runs up to three years — longer than the standard work residence permit's annual cycle — and renews thereafter on the same multi-year basis.

Other residence permit categories

Several other permit categories sit alongside the routes above: short-term residence by property ownership, high-net-worth tax residency, family reunification, and study-based permits. Each has its own page; the residency overview is the best starting point if you are still choosing between pathways.

Setting Up Your Business

Most foreigners who want a Georgian residence based on their business choose between two structures: the Individual Entrepreneur and the Limited Liability Company. Both are simple to register, and after the April 2026 amendments, both can typically be operated without a Right to Work — depending on your activity and clientele, as set out in the carve-out section above.

Individual Entrepreneur (IE)

The Individual Entrepreneur is Georgia's flagship structure for solo operators. Registration is fast: a Public Service Hall visit or an online application, a passport, a 50–100 GEL state fee, and a tax ID issued within hours. There is no minimum capital, no business plan requirement, and no restriction on most activity types.

Once registered, you operate under the simplified small-business regime: a flat 1% tax on gross turnover up to 500,000 GEL annually. Above that threshold, standard personal income tax applies. Monthly tax declarations are filed online through the Revenue Service portal, typically by the 15th of the following month, and take only a few minutes once you are familiar with the system.

The IE works best for freelancers, consultants, online service providers, and other solo operators serving foreign clients. The freelancer-serving-foreign-clients carve-out applies cleanly to most foreign IEs whose work benefits a non-resident client whose business is outside Georgia. See the IE and small business page for the full structural detail.

LLC formation

A Georgian LLC is registered through the National Agency of Public Registry, online at napr.gov.ge or through service providers, for around 100 GEL. Foreign nationals can hold 100% of the equity; no Georgian partner or minimum capital is required. Registration typically completes within one business day.

Georgian LLCs are taxed under the Estonian model: 15% corporate income tax applies only when profits are distributed to shareholders as dividends. Retained earnings — money kept in the company for reinvestment, payroll, or working capital — are not taxed at all. This is a powerful structure for entrepreneurs reinvesting in their business. Salaries paid to directors and employees are deductible for the company and subject to standard personal income tax in the recipient's hands.

After the April 2026 amendments, holding shares in a Georgian LLC, or serving as its director on a Category I, II, or III enterprise, no longer triggers a Right to Work obligation.

Choosing IE or LLC after the amendments

Since neither structure typically requires a Right to Work in the situations most readers are in, the choice between IE and LLC reduces to the underlying practical considerations: Will you hire employees? IEs cannot. Will you exceed 500,000 GEL in turnover? IEs lose the 1% rate above that threshold. Do you need a corporate vehicle for partnerships, fundraising, or formal client expectations? An LLC is the answer.

Virtual Zone for IT companies

Georgia's Virtual Zone status grants 0% corporate income tax to qualifying IT companies on income earned from clients outside Georgia, plus a reduced 5% personal income tax rate for Virtual Zone employees and contractors. The eligibility test is the nature of the IT activity and the export profile of the customer base. For technology businesses planning Georgian operations, the Virtual Zone is worth investigating early — it pairs naturally with the freelancer-serving-foreign-clients carve-out for solo founders, and with the directors-of-Category-I/II/III-companies carve-out for those operating through an LLC.

Validity, Renewal, and Revocation

A Right to Work is initially issued for between 6 months and 1 year. During the first five years, it renews annually for one-year extensions. After five years of continuous standing, renewals can run for one to five years at a time. The IT specialist track follows a more generous cycle: an initial permit of up to three years, renewing on the same multi-year basis.

A Right to Work is automatically revoked under two main triggers. First, leaving Georgia for more than six consecutive months. Second, ceasing to work in the role for which the permit was granted — Right to Work permits are tied to a specific position and a specific employer or business activity, so a role change typically requires a fresh application.

Renewal applications must be submitted at least 30 days before the current permit's expiry. The Ministry's electronic system is synchronized with the Public Service Development Agency's residence permit database, so a clean renewal of one normally rolls through to the other.

Working without authorization carries penalties for both sides of the relationship: 2,000 GEL on the foreign individual and 2,000 GEL on the Georgian employer for a first violation, rising to 4,000 GEL for a second offence and 12,000 GEL for subsequent offences. Active enforcement of these penalties began after 1 May 2026.

Transition for Workers Registered Before March 2026

Foreign nationals who were already working in Georgia under contract and who were registered in the Ministry of Labour's unified migrant-worker registry before 1 March 2026 have until 1 January 2027 to obtain Right to Work permits and residence permits under the new rules. There is no need to act immediately, but the deadline should not be left to the last week of December.

For new arrivals after 1 March 2026, no transition period applies. The new flow runs from day one: apply for the Right to Work, activate via D1 visa or residence permit, and register your basis with the appropriate authorities.

What to Do Next

If your situation is not standard or you would like to dig deeper into a specific route, a few onward pages may help.

• For non-1-year-visa-free nationals who serve foreign clients only and want extended legal stay without going through the work permit pipeline, the C5 visa introduced in April 2026 may be a better fit.
• For Georgian employers thinking about bringing in a foreign hire, the hiring foreign nationals page walks through the employer-side flow including the Worknet local-market test and ongoing notification duties.
• For structural detail on choosing between Individual Entrepreneur and LLC, see the IE and small business page.
• For official portals — Worknet, the labour migration application portal, the Employment Promotion State Agency, and the Public Service Development Agency — see the useful links directory.
• For the dedicated USD 300,000 investment residence permit pathway, see the investment residency page.