Georgia work permits: what changed after the May deadline

News date: 2 September 2026. Published and checked: 10 October 2026.

Start with your activity and clients

Our May deadline post missed an important change: being a foreign freelancer physically in Georgia does not, by itself, establish that you need the right to work. The rules now contain exceptions that the original article did not explain.

This update reflects the official texts checked on 10 October 2026. It is a general guide; applying an exception to your contracts and immigration status may require professional advice.

The foreign-client exception

Law №1509, adopted, published and effective on 15 April 2026, excludes work or services for a nonresident where that work or service relates to the nonresident’s activities outside Georgia. This is distinct from another exception for wholly remote work for a Georgian employer that does not require entry into Georgia. April amendment, Article 1.

But there is a qualification to check. Government Resolution №321, adopted on 9 July and published/effective on 10 July 2026, repeats the nonresident-client exception except where the foreigner is an entrepreneur individual who needs a residence permit to stay lawfully in Georgia. The April statute does not contain that same qualification. We cannot turn these differently worded provisions into a universal answer for every Georgian IE. July amendment, Article 1(1).

Before relying on the exception, identify who receives your services, which activities they support, and your lawful basis for staying. A foreign payment or an overseas bank account alone does not establish those facts. If you need a Georgian residence permit, or have mixed Georgian and foreign clients, confirm how the provisions apply to you.

If you do need to apply

The July procedure makes several practical points explicit:

• Self-employed applicants submit directly, rather than through a representative, and provide payment confirmation with their documents.
• The mandatory video interview is in Georgian or English; an interpreter is allowed. Bring the original passport used in the application.
• The passport must have at least six months of remaining validity when applying.
• Turnover documentation has specific alternatives for non-VAT-registered businesses and an exception for a company/IE registered no more than three months earlier. That exception concerns documentation; it does not guarantee approval. July amendment, Article 1(3), (6) and (7).

The published fees are GEL 200 for the ordinary 30-calendar-day service and GEL 400 for the 10-working-day service. Payment is part of applying, not a step after approval. Check the current application on the official portal before submitting. Resolution №70, Articles 4 and 11.

A six-month residence option for new businesses

Resolution №317, effective 10 July 2026, introduced a turnover-document exception for an ordinary work residence permit. A founder, entrepreneur or employee can use it when:

• The business was established or registered no more than three months ago.
• It employs no more than three foreign employees.
• This is the applicant’s first grant using this turnover-document exception.

The applicant must provide a certificate issued by the business stating its number of foreign employees. The residence permit is issued for six months. This does not remove the remaining residence requirements, such as lawful stay, activity documents and required personal-income evidence. It also does not itself waive the separate right-to-work requirement: check whether authorisation or a specific exemption applies. Resolution №317, Article 1(2); remaining documents in Resolution №146, Article 1(3).

Who has until 1 January 2027?

The transition applies to labour immigrants whose registration in the Ministry’s labour-migration database was active on 1 March 2026. They must obtain the right to work and the appropriate residence permit no later than 1 January 2027. Registering an IE before March does not, on its own, prove membership of that group. Labour Migration Law, Article 17(2²).

For other applicants who need authorisation, visa/residence deadlines run after obtaining the right to work: generally 30 calendar days to apply for D1 from abroad, or 10 calendar days to apply for the relevant residence permit from inside Georgia. Existing residence permits and statutory exceptions affect this analysis. Labour Migration Law, Article 13⁵.

One later change, and your tax routine

Law №1815 took effect on 1 September 2026. It adds an exception for people holding the specific temporary-stay right under Article 60 of the Aliens Law, and states that appealing a labour-migration penalty does not stop expulsion review or enforcement. This is not a general extension of the work-permit transition. June law, Articles 1–2.

An immigration exception does not establish a tax exemption. Keep your tax position and monthly declaration routine under separate review. Taxocat helps organise tax records; it does not determine eligibility for work authorisation or file immigration applications.