What changed for foreign investors in Georgia: a dated change log, September 2025 to October 2026

This page is a maintained record of the rule changes that affect foreign investors, founders and residents in Georgia. Each entry gives the date in force, what changed, the legal act and what to do about it. New entries are added within 48 hours of publication in the Legislative Herald, and the URL never changes, so a link to this page stays current. The review date at the top shows when we last checked every entry against the text.

1 September 2025: a three-year residence permit for IT specialists

A new category of temporary residence permit opened for information technology specialists: three years, renewable within the twelve-year cap on temporary permits, for applicants with at least two years of professional experience and an annual income of at least $25,000, who spend at least 183 days a year in Georgia. It is the first permit designed for the relocating developer rather than for the employer, and it sits alongside International Company status, which gives the employer 5% on salaries.

24 September 2025: International Company status, list of activities amended

Government Decree No. 420 amended Decree No. 619 of 2020, which defines the information technology and maritime activities that qualify for International Company status. Companies planning an application should check the current list rather than a 2020 summary; the 5% profit and payroll rates and the two-year experience requirement did not change.

1 October 2025: register of illegal presence, higher overstay fine, biometrics

Amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens created a database of foreigners in illegal presence, raised the overstay fine to GEL 1,000, introduced biometric registration for permit applicants, and ended the rule that an appeal suspends an expulsion order. For investors the practical effect is that a lapsed permit or an overstayed visa-free period now follows the person into every later application.

1 January 2026: mandatory health insurance for foreign visitors

Foreign nationals entering Georgia must hold health insurance covering their stay. Border checks are inconsistent in practice, but the requirement applies to residence-permit applicants and to anyone renewing, and insurers in Tbilisi sell compliant annual policies at modest cost. Keep the policy with the passport.

February 2026: special tax regimes tightened (Ministry of Finance Order No. 38)

The order changed the mechanics of the micro and small business regimes used by individual entrepreneurs: small business status now applies from the filing date rather than retroactively, monthly returns are due even in months with zero turnover, and the window to move from micro to small business status is fifteen days. This follows the February 2025 change that excluded construction services to businesses from the 1% regime. The 1% rate and the GEL 500,000 ceiling are unchanged.

1 March 2026: work authorisation for foreigners (Government Resolution No. 70)

Resolution No. 70 of 20 February 2026 made work authorisation mandatory for foreign nationals who work in Georgia, including self-employed individual entrepreneurs. It was amended on 15 and 16 April and again on 9 July 2026, together with Resolution No. 520 on residence permits. As the text stands in October 2026:

• Holders of the investment residence permit and of permanent residence are exempt. Holders of property-based and other temporary permits who are employed in Georgia are not.
• Self-employed foreigners had a grace period to 1 May 2026; foreign employees already registered before 1 March 2026 have until 1 January 2027.
• An employer must have turnover of at least GEL 50,000 per foreign employee (GEL 35,000 in education and medical businesses) to sponsor a work-based residence permit, and must advertise the vacancy for at least ten working days.
• Work performed for clients outside Georgia is read by most advisers as outside the resolution; the reading has not been tested in practice. Ask before relying on it for a team.

1 March 2026: property-based residence permit threshold raised to $150,000

The short-term residence permit for owners of residential property now requires a market value of at least $150,000, appraised by a licensed valuer, up from $100,000. Permits issued under the old threshold renew while the property is held. The permit no longer exempts the holder from work-authorisation rules. The $300,000 investment residence permit, five years with family included and a path to permanent residence, did not change.

• The appraisal is the figure that counts, not the purchase price. Budget 5 to 10% above the threshold.
• Several law-firm summaries state that more than one property can be combined to reach the threshold. Confirm with the Public Service Development Agency before relying on an aggregate.
• Processing fees and timelines are unchanged: 30, 20 or 10 days for GEL 300, 450 or 600.

1 September 2026: spouse, student and family permits

A package adopted in June 2026 came into force on 1 September 2026. It created a separate permit category for spouses of Georgian citizens, with one-, two- and two-year terms before permanent residence; limited study permits to accredited universities and colleges; introduced a D6 visa for minors; shortened the appeal window to ten days; criminalised sham marriages; widened the grounds for refusal and expulsion; and gave the Migration Department investigative powers. Investors are affected mainly through family members and through staff who held student permits.

Adopted, publication being verified: property tax exemption threshold

Parliament adopted amendments on 30 September 2026 that replace the GEL 40,000 household-income band for property tax with an exemption for households earning under GEL 100,000. We will update the property and rules pages once the published text confirms the effective date. Until then, the current pages state the GEL 40,000 rule.

Banking and payments in 2026

No law changed, but practice did. Banks tightened source-of-funds checks on transfers of Russian origin, a major remittance operator stopped transfers from Russia to Georgia in late July 2026, and remittances from Russia fell by about 88% year on year in August 2026, according to National Bank data. Account opening for non-residents remains possible in person, with documents, and takes one to four weeks.

What is scheduled next

• 21 October 2026: the next monetary policy decision of the National Bank; the policy rate has been 8.25% since 6 May 2026.
• 1 January 2027: end of the transition for foreign employees registered before 1 March 2026 to obtain work authorisation.
• 13 November 2026: next scheduled review of this page. Changes published earlier are added within 48 hours.