Georgia Golden Visa: Residence by Property and Investment (2026)

Georgia does not run a branded "golden visa" programme with a dedicated unit, quota or approved-project list. Investor residence is simply two categories in the general immigration statute. Article 15 of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons lists the residence permit types^[1]:

• Short-term residence permit (Article 15(j)): for a foreigner who owns real estate in Georgia, other than agricultural land, "with its market value exceeding USD 150 000 equivalent in GEL", and for that person's spouse and child or children^[1][2].
• Investment residence permit (Article 15(h)): for a foreigner and family members who have invested at least US$300,000 in Georgia under the Law on Investment Activity Promotion and Guarantees, or who own non-agricultural real estate whose market value exceeds US$300,000^[1].
• Unlimited residence permit (Article 15(k)): a permanent status for investment permit holders who meet turnover tests over five years or keep US$300,000 of property for five years^[1][2].

Applications are decided by the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) of the Ministry of Justice and filed in person at a Public Service Hall or a territorial office^[2]. Market value must be certified by an assessor working for a body accredited by the Unified National Body of Accreditation. The purchase price on the contract does not decide eligibility^[2][8]. Owners who need a visa to enter Georgia can apply for a D5 immigration visa on the same property basis^[1].

The programme is open. The only 2026 change to its economics was the threshold rise. The surrounding rules on work and entry tightened more, as described below.

There are three practical ways to hold Georgian residence on the strength of capital. They differ more in what the permit lets you do than in paperwork.

Georgia golden visa real estate: the US$150,000 short-term permit

Buy one or more apartments, houses or commercial units whose combined appraised market value exceeds US$150,000 in lari. Several properties can be added together^[6][9]. Agricultural land does not qualify, and foreigners generally cannot buy it anyway^[10]. The permit is issued for one year and is renewed for one year at a time, with no cap on renewals^[1][10]. Under Article 21 it ends automatically if you stop owning the property^[1]. If a later appraisal comes in below the threshold, the renewal can be refused^[8].

Because the test is "exceeding" US$150,000 at market value, buyers usually leave a margin. A unit bought for exactly US$150,000 can appraise at US$145,000 and fail. Lari depreciation does not change the dollar test, but the appraiser's view of the local market does.

US$300,000 property: the five-year investment permit

Property worth more than US$300,000 qualifies for the investment residence permit instead. It is issued for five years^[1]. Under the 2026 labour rules, investment permit holders are exempt from the separate right to labour activity, so they can work or run a business^[11][12]. If you keep the property for five years, you can apply for the unlimited (permanent) residence permit^[2].

Georgia business investor visa: US$300,000 in a company

The same investment residence permit is available for a US$300,000 investment in a Georgian business, confirmed by an audit report^[1][2]. To convert it to unlimited residence after five years, the business must show annual turnover of at least US$50,000 in year one, US$100,000 in year two and US$120,000 in each of years three to five^[1][2]. One adviser says the business route expects about 183 days a year in Georgia. That is not in the statute, so treat it as unconfirmed^[10].

Smaller entrepreneurs often use a different route: they set up an LLC, obtain the right to labour activity and then a work residence permit. Advisers report that since 2 April 2026 this needs a Revenue Service document showing annual company turnover of at least GEL 50,000 for each foreign applicant. Since 10 July 2026, a newly registered company with up to three foreigners can get a first six-month permit without the turnover proof^[12]. This is employment-based residence, not investor residence, and it is reviewed more strictly.

For the US$150,000 short-term residence permit, the PSDA asks for^[2]:

• a completed application form;
• a copy of your passport (travel document);
• proof that you are lawfully in Georgia at the time of filing, such as a visa-free entry stamp or a D5 visa;
• a document of title showing ownership of non-agricultural real estate, i.e. a Public Registry extract;
• a market-value assessment by a certified assessor of an accredited body, showing a value above US$150,000 in GEL;
• a 3×4 cm colour photo in electronic form;
• proof that the service fee has been paid.

Family members also need proof of the relationship, i.e. marriage and birth certificates, apostilled or legalised and translated into Georgian^[8]. The property must be registered in your name. A preliminary or off-plan purchase agreement is not a title, so an apartment under construction usually cannot support an application until ownership is registered. Confirm how your developer's unit is registered before you pay.

There is no minimum investment holding period beyond continuing ownership, no minimum stay, no language test and no health-insurance requirement once you hold the permit^[9][10][23]. The authorities do run background checks. Article 21 also lets them refuse or end permits on security and public-order grounds, so a criminal record or immigration violations can sink an application^[1].

For the investment residence permit the PSDA also wants an audit report confirming the investment (business route) or a title document with certified market value above US$300,000 (property route)^[2].

The government charges almost nothing. A single applicant who pays for the fastest 10-day decision spends about US$230 in permit fees and under US$80 to register the title^[2][22]. A family of four on the standard 30-day track pays GEL 1,200 (≈ US$460) in permit fees. The real cost is the property itself, plus the spread between what you pay and what you could resell for. In practice a single investor should expect roughly US$152,000–167,000 all-in. That is US$150,000–165,000 of property plus up to about US$2,000 of appraisal, registration, translations and adviser fees.

Because the property is an asset you keep, the economic cost is the transaction friction, any loss on resale and the opportunity cost of the capital. One property portal reports an average gross rental yield of about 7.4% across Georgia in the first quarter of 2026, with average prices of about US$1,312 per m² in Tbilisi and US$1,395 per m² in Batumi^[8]. Those figures come from a property portal, so treat them as indicative. The US$300,000 investment permit costs the same in government fees (GEL 300 / 450 / 600)^[2].

Article 15(j) extends the short-term residence permit to the property owner's spouse and child or children, so one qualifying property covers the family^[1][2]. Each person files a separate application and pays the same fee: GEL 300, 450 or 600 depending on speed^[2]. The statute does not set an age limit for children under this subparagraph. Most advisers describe the cover as minor children^[9][10]. Adult children, and parents, should expect to need their own basis, such as a family reunification permit. That permit requires proof of kinship and income and carries the same GEL 300–600 fee^[2].

The investment residence permit covers the investor "and his/her family members"^[1]. The unlimited permit, once earned, also extends to family members^[1].

Dependants' permits rely on the main holder's. If the investor sells the property, all of the family's short-term permits lose their basis^[1].

The whole process can be done in two to six weeks if documents are ready. The applicant must file in person^[8].

This is the biggest practical change of 2026. Under the reformed Law on Labour Migration, in force since 1 March 2026, a foreigner who works for a Georgian employer, freelances for Georgian clients or runs a business in Georgia needs a government-issued right to labour activity^[11][13]. According to advisers, the exemptions cover permanent residence permit holders, investment residence permit holders, refugees and asylum seekers, accredited journalists and a few other categories. They also cover people working remotely only for foreign clients^[11][12].

The US$150,000 short-term property permit is not on that exemption list. A holder who wants to work locally must obtain the labour permit like anyone else^[12]. Advisers quote about GEL 200 for 30-day processing and GEL 400 for about 10 working days^[12]. We could not confirm the fee in an official schedule. Fines for unauthorised work start at GEL 2,000 for both worker and employer and double or triple on repeat^[11][13]. People already working had until 1 May 2026 (self-employed) or have until 1 January 2027 (others) to regularise^[12]. Advisers treat collecting rent on the property you own as passive income that needs no labour permit, though the rent itself is taxable.

A residence permit does not make you a Georgian tax resident. Tax residence follows physical presence: 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year^[14]. If you do become resident, Georgia's system is close to territorial. Individuals are exempt on income that has no Georgian source, and Georgian-source income is taxed at a flat 20%^[15]. There are no social security contributions, only a 2% + 2% pension scheme for employees^[17].

Property-related taxes

• Rental income: 5% of gross residential rent if you register for the reduced regime and claim no deductions. Otherwise 20%^[16][20].
• Sale: gains on a residential apartment or house held more than two years are fully exempt. Gains on a sale within two years are taxed at 5%. Commercial property is taxed at 20%^[18][19]. For new builds, the two-year clock starts when the completed unit is registered, not when you sign the off-plan contract. That point was clarified by Public Decision No. 143, issued on 14 May 2026^[19].
• Annual property tax: nothing if family income is below GEL 40,000. Above that, rates run from about 0.05%–0.2% and reach up to 1% of value when family income exceeds GEL 100,000^[17][20].
• Purchase: no transfer tax or stamp duty, only registration fees^[20]. There is no separate inheritance or wealth tax^[7].

High-net-worth tax residence

Georgia also offers tax residence by status rather than days. According to Andersen, the conditions are cumulative: assets above GEL 3 million or income above GEL 200,000 in each of the last three years; plus property in Georgia worth at least US$500,000; plus either a Georgian residence permit or at least GEL 25,000 of Georgian-source income in the previous tax year^[21]. Confirm the exact combination with the Revenue Service before relying on it, because adviser summaries differ on which conditions are cumulative.

Georgia has no citizenship-by-investment programme. The route from a property permit to a passport is long:

1. Permanent residence. A foreigner who has lived in Georgia on temporary residence permits for 10 years can apply for a permanent residence permit. The fee is GEL 500 for a 30-day decision or GEL 650 for 20 days^[2]. Several adviser guides still say six years. The PSDA's current page and the statute say ten^[2][1][7]. On the US$300,000 investment route, the unlimited residence permit is available after five years if the property is kept or the turnover tests are met^[2].
2. Naturalisation. Under Article 12 of the Organic Law on Georgian Citizenship, an adult can be naturalised after residing lawfully in Georgia for the last 10 consecutive years. You must also pass tests of the Georgian language, Georgian history and the basics of law, and have employment, property or a business in Georgia^[3].
3. Dual citizenship. Georgia's default is single citizenship, and naturalising foreigners generally have to give up their prior nationality. Exceptions require a state decision^[3].

Article 17 lets the President grant citizenship in exceptional cases or in the state's interest, including for people who make substantial economic investments^[3]. This is discretionary, has no published price or procedure, and is not a programme anyone can apply to. Be wary of agents who sell it as one.

Two cautions for passport-minded investors. First, it is unclear whether years spent on a property permit with little physical presence count as "continuous" residence for permanent residence or naturalisation; plan on actually living in Georgia. Second, the value of a Georgian passport depends on EU relations. Ordinary passports still enter the Schengen area visa-free, but on 6 March 2026 the EU suspended visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic, service and official passports for one year^[5]. If a second passport is the goal, compare our guide to the golden visas with the fastest route to citizenship and the explainer on citizenship by investment versus residence by investment.

Threshold rise (1 March 2026). Amendments passed in June 2025 raised the short-term permit threshold from US$100,000 to US$150,000 from 1 March 2026. It is the second rise: the bar was US$35,000 until July 2019, when it went up to US$100,000^[6][7]. Buyers had to complete payment and register ownership before the deadline to use the old level. Holders who qualified at US$100,000 can keep renewing on the same property^[6][8].

Accredited valuations. The amended law now requires an assessor from a body accredited by the Unified National Body of Accreditation. Informal valuations are no longer enough^[7][2].

Labour migration reform (1 March 2026). The right to labour activity replaced simple online registration. Property permit holders are not exempt^[11][13]. Advisers report a GEL 50,000-per-foreigner turnover test for work permits from 2 April 2026, eased for new companies from 10 July 2026^[12].

Entry insurance (1 January 2026). Ordinance No. 602 requires health and accident insurance with at least GEL 30,000 of cover for visa-free and tourist entrants. Residence permit holders are exempt^[23].

What's next. No further threshold change has been announced as of 2 October 2026. Watch for the 1 January 2027 regularisation deadline and for any change in EU visa policy towards Georgia. Also watch whether the authorities tighten renewals for holders who rarely visit.

It suits investors who want a low-cost, low-maintenance residence card and a base in the Caucasus, with a property they would buy anyway. It also suits remote workers and retirees who earn abroad and value Georgia's territorial tax system. And it suits families who want a fallback residence with no stay requirement. Investors with US$300,000 who intend to live and work in Georgia should go straight to the investment residence permit. It gives five years, work rights and permanent residence after five years.

Look elsewhere if you need EU residence and Schengen mobility, if you want a second passport within a decade, or if you plan to run a local business on the US$150,000 permit. Also look elsewhere if you are not comfortable with a lari-priced property that must keep appraising above US$150,000 at every renewal.

Within the region, Armenia's planned investor permanent residence is due to start on 1 November 2026, but its thresholds were not yet published when we checked. Azerbaijan's residence by investment asks for AZN 100,000 (≈ US$58,800) in property, a deposit or state securities. Next door, Turkey's property residence permit needs US$200,000 of property, and the separate Turkish citizenship by real estate investment needs US$400,000 held for three years. Kazakhstan's investor residence is another Central Asian option.

In Europe, Montenegro's property-based residence requires property with a tax value of at least €150,000. residence through property in Serbia has no fixed minimum, and Albania's investor residence is similarly flexible. For EU residence, the Greece golden visa starts at €250,000 for conversions and listed buildings and €400,000 for most regional property. Latvia's company-based residence starts at €50,000 of company capital plus a €10,000 state payment, now that its property route has closed. Our ranking of the lowest-cost residence programmes and the European residence-by-investment comparison set Georgia against these on cost and rights, and the golden visa hub lists every programme by budget.