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September IT residence update: a route for exempt activities

September 1, 2026 · 2 min read

Georgia's September 2026 amendment adds IT residence documentation routes for qualifying exempt activities. What changed, and which evidence is still required.

News of 1 September 2026. Prepared and checked 10 October 2026.

What changed in September

Georgia’s IT residence permit already existed from 1 September 2025. Its initial three-year validity, qualifying IT activities, experience and income requirements are not a newly announced 2026 benefit. Law №670, Articles 1–3.

The new development is a documentation route for certain applicants whose activity falls outside the Labour Migration Law. Resolution №416, adopted 26 August, published 27 August and effective 1 September 2026, adds routes for IT workers, Georgian individual entrepreneurs with small business status, and persons authorised to manage and represent organisations with international-company status in IT, where their activity meets the law’s Article 1(4) or 1(5) exceptions. Resolution №416, Article 1(4) and Article 3.

Eligible applicants submit evidence of that exempt activity together with the applicable remaining residence documents. The amendment does not grant residence automatically or make every foreign-client contract exempt.

What an IT entrepreneur still needs

For an applicant using the Georgian IE with small business status route, the retained requirements include:

  • Evidence of small business status and the prescribed IT activity.
  • A travel document and evidence of lawful stay in Georgia.
  • At least two years of IT work or economic activity experience.
  • Evidence of at least USD 25,000 equivalent in GEL in IT remuneration over the last 12 months, received at least twice with a gap of at least 30 days.
  • The required photograph and service-fee receipt.

The September route adds proof of exempt activity while retaining these documents; it does not waive the income or experience tests. Resolution №416, Article 1(4), read with the document list established by Resolution №146, Article 1(6); Resolution №146.

Check the exception before relying on it

The July work-authorisation rules contain a qualification concerning an entrepreneur individual who needs residence permission to stay lawfully. The September IT route must be read alongside that wording. A foreign client alone is not enough to settle eligibility; confirm how the provisions apply to your activity and status. Resolution №321, Article 1(1).

Applications submitted before 1 September 2026 remain subject to the earlier procedure under the transition clause. When preparing a new application, use the updated route and document requirements. Resolution №416, Article 2.

Our 2026 work-authorisation updates explain the broader exemptions and deadlines. Keep residence, the right to work and tax status as separate checks: an IT residence route does not itself decide your tax treatment.