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Pathway

Georgia Work Residence Permit for Employees

Georgia Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

This route is for a foreign employee whose Georgian employer obtains a right-to-work decision and who can meet the separate work-residence requirements.

Type
Work residence
Job fit
Foreign employees with a Georgian employer and an employer-specific right to work
Core requirements
Right-to-work code, employment proof, income or funds, and employer turnover
Renewal / path
Initially 6 months to 1 year; extensions depend on the qualifying work basis
Salary requirement
Monthly remuneration or permitted funds of at least 5 times the current average-consumer subsistence minimum
Job offer required?
Yes

Summary

Georgia's employee route now has two separate approvals. First, the Georgian employer normally obtains a right-to-work decision for the foreign employee from the State Employment Support Agency. Second, the employee uses the immigration process that fits where they are: a D1 immigration visa if outside Georgia, or a work residence permit if lawfully in Georgia and eligible to apply there.

The right-to-work regime took effect on 1 March 2026. It is tied to the named employer and position, so it is not a general permission to work for anyone. A job offer alone is not the right to work, and a D1 visa is not the residence permit.

For the work residence permit, the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) checks proof of the employment, the right-to-work registration code, the applicant's income or permitted bank funds, and the employer's turnover. The permit is initially issued for six months to one year. Continued work can support extensions, but each later immigration status has its own application and requirements.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

Employer and job

The employee route normally requires:

The Labour Migration Law says the agreement must be in Georgian and in a language the employee understands, and must state the core terms such as the parties, start date and duration, working time and rest, workplace, position and duties, pay, and termination procedure.

An employee changing employer or position should not assume the existing decision transfers. The law describes the right as specific to the local employer and position shown in the decision.

Income or bank-funds test

For the work residence permit, the PSDA requires evidence that the applicant's monthly remuneration or income from the Georgian work is at least five times Georgia's average-consumer subsistence minimum.

If that legal income cannot be shown from the employment documents, the PSDA says money in the applicant's personal bank account may be considered. The monthly amount, calculated over the requested permit term, must still be at least five times the current subsistence amount. Because the official subsistence figure changes, check the current figure at filing rather than relying on an old lari conversion.

Employer-turnover test

The employer normally must show annual turnover of at least GEL 50,000 for each foreign national seeking a work residence permit. The threshold is GEL 35,000 per foreign applicant for an educational institution or medical facility.

The PSDA normally expects Revenue Service evidence. Its current guidance also explains alternative certificates for an employer that is not registered for VAT and a limited possibility of other conclusive proof when the usual certificates cannot be produced for objective reasons. The turnover figure is not a minimum salary and is not the employer's profit; it is separate business evidence.

Visa and residence sequence

The Labour Migration Law provides two main sequences after the right to work is granted:

The current official foreign-ministry notice summarizes those periods as 30 calendar days for the D1 application from abroad and 10 calendar days for the work-residence application from inside Georgia.

Being lawfully present in Georgia does not always mean a person may apply for this permit from that status. The PSDA says most residence permits cannot be issued from an ordinary C visa or solely from visa/residence status in one of the foreign countries listed under Georgia's special entry rule. It also tells applicants generally to file at least 40 calendar days before lawful stay expires. Check the entry basis before deciding to file inside Georgia.

Transitional cases

The 2026 law has transitional rules for some people who were already registered in the old labor-migration system or had contracts in force when the new regime began. The official foreign-ministry notice says people registered in the system by 1 March 2026 must obtain the new right to work and the appropriate immigration status by 1 January 2027. A worker relying on a transitional rule should confirm the exact protection for their contract rather than treating it as a permanent exemption.

What This Route Allows

An approved work residence permit allows the holder to reside in Georgia during its validity while the qualifying work basis continues. The separate right-to-work decision authorizes the specified employment under the labor-migration rules.

The permit is initially issued for six months to one year. Temporary residence permits can be extended within the statutory overall limit when the conditions remain satisfied. Time on a qualifying temporary residence permit may contribute to the separate permanent-residence rule for a person who has lived in Georgia for 10 years on temporary permits, subject to the law's exclusions.

Eligible family members use a separate family-reunification residence application; they are not automatically included in the employee's permit.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a general digital-nomad permit. It requires Georgian employment and the current right-to-work process.

It is not permission to start working for any employer. The right to work is employer- and position-specific, and the residence permit remains dependent on the facts supporting it.

It is also not permanent residence after six years. Georgia's current general permanent-residence provision uses 10 years on temporary residence permits and excludes time for study, medical treatment, and work at diplomatic or equivalent missions. Citizenship has its own 10-year continuous-lawful-residence, test, and economic-connection rules.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm that the prospective employer is a Georgian local employer and will handle the right-to-work application.
  2. Review the written employment agreement against the Labour Migration Law before signing. Make sure the Georgian version and a language you understand match.
  3. Ask the employer to verify its Revenue Service turnover evidence for every foreign residence applicant it supports.
  4. Calculate the applicant's remuneration or permitted personal bank funds using the current average-consumer subsistence minimum.
  5. Obtain the State Employment Support Agency decision and unique code. Do not confuse an application receipt with approval.
  6. Choose the correct next filing based on location and immigration status: D1 visa from abroad or work residence permit from an eligible lawful status inside Georgia.
  7. File within the applicable deadline and, for an in-country residence application, early enough to satisfy the PSDA's 40-day lawful-stay guidance.
  8. Keep the employment agreement, right-to-work decision, payroll, tax, turnover, residence, and address records for renewals and any future long-term application.
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