Remotely from Georgia

Summary

Remotely from Georgia is the program Georgia launched in August 2020 to let remote workers keep working from Georgia through the pandemic border closures. It formalized what was already true under Georgia's standard visa regime: citizens of about 94 countries — including the United States, Canada, the UK, and all EU member states — can enter Georgia visa-free and stay for up to 360 days, a window roughly three times longer than the norm worldwide.

The program is not a residence permit. It's a registration on top of the 360-day visa-free stay, with income and insurance checks bolted on. Functionally, if you're an American remote worker, you can already live in Georgia for a year without registering — Remotely from Georgia is more useful as a signal to your employer or your remote-work compliance process than as a legal change in your status.

What Remotely from Georgia does unlock is the tax angle: if you register as a Georgian individual entrepreneur and elect small-business status, the first roughly $180,000 (GEL 500,000) of annual turnover is taxed at just 1%. That's the real draw, and it's available to remote workers whether or not they formally register under Remotely from Georgia.

Eligibility

You qualify for the Remotely from Georgia program when all of the following are true:

• You hold citizenship of one of the ~94 visa-free countries — the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and all EU/EEA states are on the list.
• You can document monthly income of at least $2,000 — or $24,000 in savings for a one-year stay.
• You hold a remote job with a non-Georgian employer, run a non-Georgian business, or freelance for non-Georgian clients.
• You carry private health insurance with at least six months of Georgia coverage.
• You commit to staying at least 180 days in Georgia.

What the program is (and isn't)

• Not a visa. Americans don't need one to enter Georgia.
• Not a residence permit. Time spent under Remotely from Georgia does not count toward permanent residence or naturalization.
• Not a work permit for a Georgian employer. You can't take a local Georgian job under this program — use the D1 work permit for that.
• It is an administrative registration that acknowledges your presence and income and gives you a formal status to point to if your employer's compliance team or your home-country tax adviser asks questions.

Tax residency and the 183-day rule

• Spending 183+ days in Georgia in any 12-month period makes you a Georgian tax resident.
• Georgian tax residency means Georgia can tax your worldwide income — but Georgia operates a territorial-style regime where foreign-source income (salary from a foreign employer, foreign dividends, foreign pension) is not taxed for individuals.
• If you register as a Georgian individual entrepreneur and contract with foreign clients, Georgia treats that revenue as Georgian-source and it runs through the 1% small-business regime.
• For Americans, Georgia and the U.S. do not have a double-taxation treaty. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and the foreign tax credit are the usual U.S. planning tools — check with a U.S. tax adviser before restructuring.

Transitioning to real residency

If you want to stay past the 360 days without relying on repeat visa-runs, the natural steps are:

• D2 business permit — register an individual entrepreneur or LLC in Georgia and apply for the D2. Most remote-worker expats end up here.
• D5 real-estate permit — buy property at $100,000+.
• D1 work permit — rare for remote workers, but an option if a Georgian employer is involved.

All three are real residence permits that count toward permanent residence after six years.

What This Route Allows

This route can allow you to live in Georgia while working remotely for clients or an employer outside the country. It is mainly a temporary residence option, although some countries allow later renewal or a separate long-term residence step.

What This Route Is Not

This is not usually a local employment visa or a direct citizenship route. Most digital nomad routes limit work for local employers and must be renewed or replaced by another status later.

Next Steps

1. Confirm you're on the visa-free list. The 94-country list is published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, EU, and most of the wealthier Asia-Pacific are all included.
2. Buy health insurance. Georgia-coverage private policies run about $50–100/month. Local options include providers such as Ardi Insurance and GPI Holding; international nomad policies like SafetyWing also work.
3. Document your income and remote-work status. A recent employer letter, contracts, or six months of invoicing history.
4. Enter under the 360-day visa-free regime. No advance application — just arrive at Tbilisi or Kutaisi airport with a passport valid for at least six months.
5. Register at the Remotely from Georgia portal if you want the formal designation. The registration is free, online, and confirms your employer/client situation.
6. Set up the 1% tax structure early if you'll invoice external clients. Register as an Individual Entrepreneur at the Public Service Hall (same-day), then file for small-business status with the Revenue Service. This is the main tax-efficiency lever.
7. Plan the 180-day pivot. If you'll cross the 183-day mark and want to become Georgian tax-resident, synchronize with your home-country adviser before your status shifts. Americans in particular need to model FEIE vs. foreign tax credit before filing year-end U.S. returns.
8. Decide on long-term status by month 10. If you want to stay beyond the 360-day window, file for a D2, D5, or (rarely) D1 at least 40 days before your visa-free time runs out.

Sources

• Remotely from Georgia — Government of Georgia — official program page, income thresholds, and registration.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia — official consular and visa information.
• Revenue Service of Georgia — tax residency rules, individual entrepreneur registration, and small-business status.
• Tax Code of Georgia — 1% small-business turnover tax and territorial income treatment.
• Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) — where D-series residence permits are filed once you decide to move to real residency.