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Destination guide · Outside the EU

Moving to Georgia from the U.S.

The one-year visa-free stay, the residence permits for work, IT, property and investment, the new right-to-work rule, a flat 20% income tax that leaves residents’ foreign income alone, a tax treaty the two governments read differently, and what health coverage, rent, property and paperwork involve, with every figure taken from an official source and dated.

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Rules and figures checked: October 2026Official sources: 77
CurrencyGeorgian lari (GEL)$1 = GEL 2.6021 (National Bank of Georgia, Oct 8, 2026), so GEL 100 is about $38.431
EU / SchengenNo / NoGeorgia is not an EU member and not in the Schengen area2
Visa-free stay1 full yearFor U.S. citizens; health and accident insurance of at least GEL 30,000 since January 1, 202634
Property permitOver $150,000Market value of non-agricultural real estate, since March 1, 2026 (was $100,000)56
U.S. tax treatyDisputedThe IRS applies the 1973 U.S.–Soviet treaty; Georgia’s Ministry of Finance does not list it. No Social Security agreement, as of October 8, 2026789
Citizenship10 yearsOf continuous lawful residence, with tests in Georgian, history and law, and proof you gave up your other citizenship10
What changed, 2025 to 2026

What Has Changed in Georgia, 2025 to 2026

Georgia has made insurance compulsory for visitors, raised the property figure for residence, added an IT permit, made foreign workers obtain a right to work, rewritten the rules for spouses of citizens and cut back its property tax, most of it in 2026. The changes, newest first, as of October 8, 2026.

  • September 30, 2026: families whose income in the previous year was up to GEL 100,000 (about $38,430) became exempt from property tax on buildings, apartments, cars, yachts and aircraft; the exemption had stopped at GEL 40,000. Above it the rate is 0.8% to 1% of market value. The change already applies to the property tax declared in 20261112.
  • September 18, 2026: an amendment to the State Universal Healthcare Program, the last as of October 8, 2026, changed how income is counted; it did not add foreign residence-permit holders to those covered1314.
  • September 1, 2026: spouses of Georgian citizens no longer receive permanent residence at once. They get a spouse residence permit for one year, extended two years at a time up to five, checked by an interagency commission, and permanent residence after five years on the spouse permit, if still married15516.
  • June 23, 2026: the citizenship examinations became 10 multiple-choice tasks in each of Georgian language, history and law, 30 in all17.
  • May 28, 2026: Parliament amended the Law on Tourism: entities engaged in tourism activities must register in a new database, and the fines were rewritten18.
  • April 22 and June 22, 2026: Geostat published the final 2024 census: 3,929,581 people, with Tbilisi up 20.1% and Batumi up 54.2% since 20141920.
  • April 15, 2026: work for non-resident clients or employers, tied to their activity outside Georgia, was taken out of the Law on Labor Migration, so it needs no right to work2122. The criteria for the work residence permit moved into a Government ordinance, which keeps the income test at five times the subsistence minimum and adds the right-to-work decision2324.
  • March 1, 2026: almost every foreigner without permanent residence who works in Georgia, or runs a business there, needs a right to work from the State Employment Support Agency2526. The property figure for a short-term residence permit rose from USD 100,000 to USD 150,0006.
  • February 2026: an amendment of February 4, 2026 to the Law on General Education made the 12th grade optional after a transition27.
  • January 1, 2026: every tourist entering Georgia must hold health and accident insurance of at least GEL 30,000 (about $11,529) for the whole stay428.
  • September 1, 2025: an IT residence permit was created, for three years at a time, for IT specialists paid at least USD 25,000 a year2930.
On this page
  1. Who Georgia suits
  2. Residence routes and money tests
  3. Step by step, in the right order
  4. Cost of living
  5. Health coverage and insurance
  6. Taxes and the treaty question
  7. Renting and buying
  8. Where to live
  9. Registration, numbers, driving, schools
  10. Entry rules and the one-year stay
  11. A 12-month timeline
  12. Questions
  13. Sources
Is Georgia for you?

Who Georgia Suits, and Who It Frustrates

Georgia suits Americans who want a long first stay without paperwork, who live on income from outside Georgia, or who can buy a home worth more than $150,000. It frustrates people who expect a retirement or digital nomad permit, public health coverage, a quick path to permanent residence, or a tax treaty both governments agree on.

In its favor

  • A full year without a permit. U.S. citizens may enter and stay without a visa for one full year35.
  • Foreign income left alone. A resident’s income that does not come from a Georgian source is exempt from Georgian income tax12. By our reading of the Tax Code, that covers U.S. Social Security, U.S. pensions and 401(k) or IRA payouts.
  • A flat 20%, and 1% for small businesses. Personal income tax is a flat 20%; an individual entrepreneur with small-business status pays 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year1231.
  • A home can carry a permit. Real estate worth more than USD 150,000 supports a residence permit for you, your spouse and children, renewable every year56.
  • No inheritance, gift or wealth tax as such. Gifts and inheritances from close family are exempt from income tax3112.
  • Cheap registration. Registering a change of ownership with the Public Registry costs GEL 150, about $5832.

Against it

  • No retirement or digital nomad permit. The law’s list of residence permits has neither5.
  • A right to work for local work. Since March 1, 2026, working for a Georgian employer or running a business in Georgia needs a right to work as well as a permit, with a fine of GEL 2,000 for working without one25.
  • No general public health coverage. The universal healthcare program does not list foreign residence-permit holders, so, by our reading, you need private insurance14.
  • A treaty in dispute, and no totalization agreement. The IRS applies the 1973 U.S.–Soviet treaty to Georgia; Georgia’s Ministry of Finance does not list it78. There is no Social Security agreement9.
  • Ten years to permanent residence, and to citizenship, which takes effect only once you prove you have given up your other citizenship3010.
  • Not in the EU. A Georgian permit gives no right to live in the EU, and the EU Blue Card and EU long-term residence do not apply2.
Residence routes

Which Permit Fits You, and What It Takes in 2026

You can live in Georgia for one full year on your U.S. passport alone: the United States is on the Government’s list of countries whose citizens may enter and stay without a visa for that long35. The year is not a residence permit, and it does not let you work for a Georgian employer or run a business locally; that needs a right to work and a permit25. Entry can still be refused if you have no health and accident insurance, or not enough money to live on and to return5.

Residence permits are issued inside Georgia by the Public Service Development Agency (SDA), at Public Service Halls or online, to people who are lawfully in the country; the visa-free stay counts516. Apply at least 40 calendar days before your lawful stay ends; the investment, short-term property and IT permits, among others, are exempt from that rule16. The SDA’s page lists the documents for each permit, and its fee depends on how fast you want the decision16.

No retirement permit, and no digital nomad permit. Article 15 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens lists every type of residence permit, and none is for pensioners, people with passive income or remote workers5. “Remotely from Georgia”, the 2020 scheme for remote workers, had no official page that we could find as of October 8, 2026, and no 2025 or 2026 legal act we read refers to it, so we treat it as closed; that is our reading, not an official statement. For remote workers, what exists is the visa-free year and, since April 15, 2026, freedom from the right-to-work rule for work done for clients abroad2122.

Main residence permits for U.S. citizens, 2026, with the SDA fee for a decision by the 30th, 20th or 10th calendar day. Checked October 8, 2026.
PermitMade forMoney or other testWhat you getFee: day 30 / 20 / 10
Short-term residence (property)Owners of non-agricultural real estate in Georgia5Market value over USD 150,000 (about GEL 390,315), set by a certified valuation; USD 100,000 until February 28, 2026306One year, renewable a year at a time; covers your spouse and children; ends if you sell30GEL 300 / 450 / 60016
Investment residenceInvestors and owners of higher-value property30An investment of at least USD 300,000 under the Law on Investment Promotion, or real estate worth over USD 300,00030Five years; investors show turnover of USD 50,000 in year one, 100,000 in year two and 120,000 in years three to five; owners keep the property. No right to work needed3025GEL 300 / 450 / 600 for every applicant, by our reading; confirm with the SDA16
Work residenceEmployees and the self-employed with a right to work524Income of at least five times the subsistence minimum, about GEL 1,255 a month; employer turnover of at least GEL 50,000 a year per foreign applicant (GEL 35,000 for schools and clinics)2433Six months to one year at first; renewable up to 12 years in all5GEL 300 / 450 / 60016
IT residence (since September 1, 2025)IT specialists with a right to work and two years’ IT experience, or an IT entrepreneur with small-business status3029Pay of at least USD 25,000 a year, in its lari equivalent30Three years, renewable three years at a time up to 12; ends if you spend fewer than 183 days in Georgia in any 12 months30GEL 500 / 750 / 1,00016
Family reunificationThe family of a residence-permit holder5Proof of income, your own or a relative’s; bank funds are allowed516Six months to one year at first5GEL 300 / 450 / 60016
StudyAdults in a higher or vocational program at an authorized institution5See the SDA’s document list16Six months to one year at first; ends if you spend fewer than 183 days in Georgia in any 12 months5GEL 300 / 450 / 60016
Spouse of a Georgian citizen (since September 1, 2026)Spouses of citizens, checked by an interagency commission15Legal income earned in Georgia, or the citizen’s pension or social assistance; bank funds of at least twice the subsistence minimum (about GEL 502) a month1633One year, then two years at a time, five years at most; permanent residence if still married5GEL 500, decided by day 9016

Law: the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, articles 15 and 16, as consolidated to June 25, 2026530; fees and decision days: the SDA’s residence permit page16. In dollars, GEL 300 is about $115, GEL 450 about $173, GEL 600 about $231 and GEL 1,000 about $384, at the National Bank of Georgia rate valid October 8, 20261. For the work permit, the law asks for a right to work since March 1, 2026, and we follow the law2524.

Income check

Do You Meet the Work or IT Permit Pay Test?

The work residence permit asks for income of at least five times the average-consumer subsistence minimum24. The latest monthly figure Geostat had published as of October 8, 2026, for December 2025, was GEL 250.9 (250.9467 in its spreadsheet)3334, so the test is GEL 1,254.74 a month (5 × GEL 250.9467 = GEL 1,254.7335, rounded up to the tetri), about $482, by our arithmetic. The IT permit asks for pay of at least the lari equivalent of USD 25,000 a year30. Enter your monthly pay, in dollars or lari, and, if you know it, your employer’s yearly turnover. Dollars use the National Bank of Georgia rate valid October 8, 2026 ($1 = GEL 2.6021)1.

A pay check only, by our arithmetic. Whether the SDA uses Geostat’s December 2025 figure or an unpublished 2026 one is not stated, so ask when you apply. The turnover line multiplies the GEL 50,000 (or GEL 35,000) by the foreign applicants, which is our reading of “per foreign applicant”. The IT line compares twelve months of your pay with USD 25,000; the SDA converts at its own date’s rate. Both permits also need a right to work, and the IT permit two years of IT experience. Meeting a figure does not mean a permit will be granted.

Retiring: no pensioner permit

There is no retirement or passive-income residence permit5. A retiree’s choices are the one-year visa-free stay, the short-term permit for owners of real estate worth over USD 150,000, the investment permit, or a family route53. We could not confirm in an official text how a new visa-free year is counted after you leave and come back; ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you plan your life around it.

For a retiree who buys, the property permit is the closest fit. It is issued for one year, renewed a year at a time, covers your spouse and children, and ends if you sell; the property must not be agricultural land, and its value must exceed USD 150,000 at market value, set by a certified valuation306. Holding it does not let you work locally: for that you still need a right to work25.

Social Security and pensions keep coming. The SSA says U.S. citizens may receive Social Security payments in Georgia “as long as you are eligible for them”35. How Georgia taxes them, and how the treaty question touches them, is under Taxes.

Remote work for clients abroad

Since April 15, 2026, the Law on Labor Migration does not apply to someone who works for, or provides services to, a non-resident, where that work is tied to the non-resident’s activity outside Georgia, so no right to work is needed for it2221. In a notice of February 26, 2026, the Foreign Ministry said that from March 1 a work permit would be needed “including remotely”36; since April 15, 2026 the law says otherwise, and we follow the law.

That settles immigration, not tax. Services actually rendered in Georgia are Georgian-source income, even when the client is abroad31. So, by our reading, once you are tax resident your pay for work you do while in Georgia is taxed in Georgia, at 20%, or at 1% of turnover if you work as a registered small business12. See Taxes.

Working in Georgia: the right to work

Since March 1, 2026, a foreigner without permanent residence may work, or run a business for gain, only with a right to work plus a work residence permit, a D1 visa or another residence permit25. The right is issued by the State Employment Support Agency2526:

  • Fees. GEL 200 (about $77) for a decision on the 30th calendar day, or GEL 400 (about $154) for one on the 10th working day; an extension costs GEL 20026.
  • Term. Six months to one year at first; extensions of up to a year each during the first five years, then one to five years each. In IT, up to three years, renewable three years at a time26.
  • The self-employed, company partners and contractors included, apply themselves online and must take a video interview; the right is tied to a specific activity26.
  • Employers must first advertise the job on worknet.moh.gov.ge for 10 working days, unless they are an international company or an innovative startup, or the post pays more than GEL 15,000 a month and needs a related degree26.
  • Next step. If you are already in Georgia, apply for the work or IT residence permit within 10 calendar days of receiving the right25.
  • Fines. Working without the right costs the worker or self-employed person GEL 2,000 (about $769), and the employer GEL 2,000 for each worker, doubled for a repeat25.

Two transition dates matter if you were already active. For self-employed foreigners already working on March 1, 2026, enforcement began on May 1, 20262636; labor immigrants registered in the old database must hold the right to work and a residence permit by January 1, 202725. Investment-permit holders need no right to work25.

Investing: the investment permit

An investment of at least USD 300,000 (about GEL 780,630) under the Law on Investment Promotion, or real estate worth more than USD 300,000, brings a five-year investment residence permit30. Investors must show turnover of USD 50,000 in the first year, USD 100,000 in the second and USD 120,000 in each of the third to fifth years; property holders must keep the property30. After five years with the turnover or the property kept, you and your family can receive an unlimited residence permit5. The SDA’s page gives one fee block for the investment permit, GEL 300, 450 or 600, after the family members’ list; by our reading it applies to every applicant, as the same block does for the property permit, so confirm it with the SDA16.

Study and family

A study permit is for adults in a higher or vocational program at an authorized institution, and a family reunification permit for the family of a residence-permit holder; both run six months to a year at first, and the family permit needs proof of income, your own or a relative’s, with bank funds allowed516. Since September 1, 2026, the spouse of a Georgian citizen receives a spouse permit for one year, then two years at a time up to five, with legal income earned in Georgia, yours or your spouse’s, or the citizen’s state pension or social assistance; money in your own bank account counts if it is at least twice the subsistence minimum a month for the permit’s term; the fee is GEL 500 and the decision is due by day 9051516.

Permanent residence and citizenship

  • Permanent residence after 10 years on temporary permits; years on a study permit, for medical treatment or with a diplomatic mission do not count30. The fee is GEL 500 for a decision by day 30 or GEL 650 by day 2016. Minor children of citizens and parents of minor citizens, investment-permit holders after five years, and, since September 1, 2026, spouses after five years on the spouse permit have their own routes530.
  • Citizenship by naturalization after 10 consecutive years of lawful residence, with tests in Georgian language, Georgian history and the basics of Georgian law, and a job, real estate, a business or shares in Georgia10. Since June 23, 2026 each test has 10 multiple-choice tasks17. Decisions are due within three months10.
  • Married to a Georgian citizen: a simplified procedure after five years of continuous lawful residence, with the language and history and law tests10.
  • By exception: the President may grant citizenship for exceptional merit or state interest, which can include an investment that contributes substantially to the economy; no amount is fixed in law10.

Your U.S. passport. Georgia keeps single citizenship: a naturalized foreigner’s citizenship takes effect only once the Georgian authorities receive proof that you have renounced your other citizenship; only citizenship granted by exception by the President is spared10. For an American, naturalizing therefore means giving up U.S. citizenship.

General information, not advice. Quantum Jetset does not give legal, tax, immigration, financial or investment advice. The SDA decides each permit on its own file; check the official source for your route and, if your case is not simple, speak to a licensed Georgian immigration lawyer.

Step by step

The Order of Operations, Step by Step

Because Americans enter without a visa and apply inside Georgia, you move first and file later35. If you will work locally, the right to work comes before the permit25.

  1. Choose the route by what you will live on: a home worth over USD 150,000 points to the short-term property permit, USD 300,000 to the investment permit, a Georgian job or business to the right to work and the work or IT permit, and income from abroad alone to the visa-free year525.
  2. Buy health and accident insurance with cover of at least GEL 30,000 for your whole stay; the policy can be in English, on paper or electronic428.
  3. Settle the tax questions before you fly: when you would become tax resident, and how the 1973 treaty and Georgia’s rules on foreign income fit together for you127.
  4. Enter visa-free with your insurance and proof that you can support yourself; entry can be refused without them5.
  5. If you will work locally, apply for the right to work: GEL 200 or 400, with a video interview if you are self-employed26.
  6. Within 10 days of the right to work, apply for the work or IT residence permit25.
  7. If you are buying, have the sale made in writing and registered with the Public Registry, from GEL 150, and get the market value certified373230.
  8. Apply to the SDA at least 40 days before your lawful stay ends, unless your permit is exempt from that rule516.
  9. Register your place of residence and obtain your residence card; you receive a personal number38.
  10. Count your days: 183 days in any 12 months can make you tax resident for the whole year; ask your adviser which days count12.
  11. Exchange your U.S. license at a Service Agency branch for GEL 15, with an apostilled confirmation from your state that is no more than 90 days old39.
  12. Put the dates on your calendar: permit renewals, the property tax return by November 1 if you owe it, and your U.S. return and FBAR124041.
Cost of living

What Things Cost, From Official Figures

Georgia uses the lari (GEL), divided into 100 tetri; it does not use the euro. The National Bank of Georgia’s official rate valid October 8, 2026 was $1 = GEL 2.6021 (and €1 = GEL 2.9115)1. We use that rate for every dollar figure on this page, rounded half-up; check the National Bank’s page for today’s rate.

Consumer prices were 5.6% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, as in August, and 0.4% higher than in August; core inflation was 3.7%, or 3.5% without tobacco42. Prices rose 1.1% on average in 2024 and 3.9% in 202543.

Consumer price index, September 2026: change on September 2025 for selected main groups. Checked October 8, 2026.
GroupChange on a year earlier
Transport+18.7%
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels+9.2%
Health+8.0%
Restaurants and hotels+7.3%
Food and non-alcoholic beverages+3.4%
Communication−2.8%
Education−12.5%

Source: Geostat, inflation rate in Georgia, September 202642. Tertiary education fell 32.9%, which pulls the education group down42.

Rents: a rising index, no official level

We found no official rent per square meter for Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi or any other town: Geostat publishes rent only as a price change inside the consumer price index. That change is steep. Actual rents for housing were 10.9% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, alongside electricity, gas and other fuels (+10.5%) and maintenance and repair of the dwelling (+9.8%)42. That is why this page has no rent calculator: budget from current listings, with a margin for a rising market.

Pay

Average monthly nominal earnings were GEL 2,389.3 (about $918) in the second quarter of 2026, 8.0% more than a year earlier: GEL 1,927.0 for women and GEL 2,856.4 for men, GEL 4,400.4 in information and communication and GEL 4,074.1 in finance and insurance44. Geostat says Tbilisi and the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region lead in average earnings44. The residence thresholds we read do not use the minimum wage; the work permit uses the subsistence minimum, GEL 250.9 a month in December 2025, the latest figure Geostat had published as of October 8, 202633.

Electricity, gas and water

Household tariffs are set by the regulator, GNERC, and its tables include VAT45. For electricity, the bands run by monthly use:

Household electricity tariffs of the universal service suppliers, July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, in tetri per kWh including VAT. Checked October 8, 2026.
Monthly useTelmicoEP Georgia Supply
Up to 101 kWh20.261 (about $0.08)19.731
101 to 301 kWh24.05323.731
Above 301 kWh28.53728.227

Source: GNERC tariff table45. The table does not say which areas each supplier serves; that Telmico serves Tbilisi and EP Georgia Supply the rest of the country is our reading of the list of operators. It also does not say whether a higher band’s price applies to the whole month or only to the kWh above each step, so we give no bill estimate; ask your supplier.

For natural gas, GNERC’s maximum consumer tariffs for 2026 and 2027 are 53.971 tetri per cubic meter from Tbilisi Energy (Tbilisi), 56.928 from Socar Georgia Gas and 58.861 from Telavgas (Telavi); that these are the household tariffs is our reading of “consumer”45. Metered water from Georgian Water and Power in Tbilisi costs GEL 0.500 per cubic meter for 2024–2026 (drinking water 0.379 plus wastewater 0.121), or GEL 4.517 per person a month without a meter; Batumi Water charges GEL 0.518 per cubic meter, or GEL 2.626 per person without a meter46.

Public transit in Tbilisi

One fare of GEL 1 (about $0.38) buys 90 minutes of unlimited travel on the metro, buses, minibuses and the Bagebi–University ropeway. Passes cost GEL 3 for a day, GEL 20 for a week, GEL 40 for a month (about $15), GEL 100 for three months, GEL 150 for six and GEL 250 for a year; the fare page says a pass can be bought only on a subscription card, and a Metromoney card costs GEL 247. The GEL 1 fare was in force on October 8, 2026; check fares locally. Discounts, such as 20 tetri for pensioners under Georgia’s Law on State Pension, apply only to people “registered in the capital”, so do not count on them when you first arrive48. We found no official fares for Batumi, Kutaisi or other towns.

Build your own full budget, line by line and in both currencies, in the Relocation Planner workbook.

Health coverage

Private Insurance, the GEL 30,000 Rule, and the Medicare Question

Plan on private health insurance for as long as you live in Georgia. By our reading, the main public program does not cover foreign residence-permit holders: they are not on its list of beneficiaries14. The one exception we found is inpatient care for infectious diseases (below). And since January 1, 2026 you need a policy just to enter as a visitor4.

The universal program does not list foreign residents

The State Universal Healthcare Program, as amended to September 18, 2026, covers holders of Georgian citizenship documents, holders of neutral identity or travel documents, registered residents of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali with a personal number, stateless persons with status, asylum seekers, and people with refugee or humanitarian status. Foreign citizens with residence permits are not on the list14. The last amendment as of October 8, 2026, Ordinance No 450, changed how income is counted, not who is covered13.

One part of the program is wider: inpatient care for infectious diseases also covers “foreign citizens permanently residing in Georgia”, with a co-payment of 30% of the reimbursable amount, capped at GEL 1,500 (about $576)14. Which residence permits count as permanently residing is something we could not confirm.

The insurance you need to enter

Since January 1, 2026, every tourist entering Georgia must hold health and accident insurance for the whole stay, up to a year, with cover of at least GEL 30,000, about $11,529. A Georgian or foreign insurer may issue it, on paper or electronically, in Georgian or English, and the border police may check it4. The U.S. Embassy says the policy must state the parties, the territory covered and the subject of insurance, the start and end dates and the insured risks, and the sum insured and the premium with its place and terms of payment28. Whether a residence-permit holder must keep such a policy is something we could not confirm; see Entry rules.

Insurance check

Does Your Policy Reach GEL 30,000?

If your policy states its limit in dollars, that is fine. Enter your policy’s sum insured, in dollars or lari, and we compare it, exactly, with the GEL 30,000 minimum4 at the National Bank of Georgia rate valid October 8, 2026 ($1 = GEL 2.6021)1.

The sum only, by our arithmetic. The lari moves against the dollar, so leave a margin: a policy just above the line today may fall below it later. The policy must also cover health and accidents, run for your whole stay, and state the details the U.S. Embassy lists. Ask your insurer for a certificate in English.

Care, capacity and emergencies

In 2025 Georgia had 232 hospitals with 15.2 thousand beds, 2,318 outpatient facilities with 16.8 million doctor visits, and 22.5 thousand doctors and 21.3 thousand nursing staff49: about 5.7 doctors per 1,000 people, by our arithmetic on Geostat’s population estimate50. We found no official figures on waiting times. The U.S. Embassy advises: “If you plan to be in Georgia for more than a few days or travel outside of Tbilisi extensively, you should receive rabies, tetanus/diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, and typhoid immunizations.”51 It publishes a list of English-speaking doctors51. In a medical emergency, call 112 first52.

Medicare does not follow you

Medicare generally does not pay for care outside the United States, and Medicare drug plans do not cover prescriptions bought abroad53. Most Medigap plans include foreign travel emergency coverage, but it pays 80% after a $250 deductible, up to $50,000 in a lifetime, and only for emergencies that start in the first 60 days of a trip (Medicare’s publication of April 2026)54. That is travel coverage, not residence coverage.

Whether to keep paying the Part B premium ($202.90 a month in 2026) is a real decision: if you drop Part B and re-enroll later, the premium rises by 10% for each full 12-month period you could have been enrolled but were not, usually for life55. Decide with your whole plan in view.

Taxes for Americans

Two Tax Systems, and a Treaty in Dispute

Moving to Georgia adds a second tax system; it does not remove the first while you remain a U.S. citizen. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live40. Georgia, by contrast, taxes its residents only on income from Georgian sources: a resident’s income that does not come from a Georgian source is exempt12. For many Americans who live on U.S. income, that difference matters more than any treaty. What follows is the map; the route is a job for a cross-border tax adviser.

The treaty question: two governments, two answers

There is no separate U.S.–Georgia income tax treaty. What there is depends on whom you ask:

  • The U.S. side says the 1973 Soviet treaty applies. The IRS page for Georgia says: “Georgia is one of the former Soviet Republics which are now covered by the treaty with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), formerly known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).”7 IRS Publication 901 lists Georgia among the countries for which the U.S.–U.S.S.R. treaty “remains in effect”56, and the State Department’s Treaties in Force 2026 sends Georgia to its Soviet Union section, which lists the convention on taxation signed on June 20, 1973 and in force since January 29, 197657.
  • Georgia’s side does not list it. The Ministry of Finance says 58 double taxation treaties are in force, and neither the United States nor the 1973 treaty is among them8.
  • Either way, the treaty does little for individuals. It has no article on pensions, Social Security, annuities, IRAs or 401(k)s, and none on a credit for foreign tax. Its article VII says: “This Convention shall not restrict the right of a Contracting State to tax a citizen of that Contracting State.”58

A conflict we cannot resolve for you. The United States regards the 1973 treaty as applying to Georgia; Georgia does not list it, as of October 8, 202678. If you plan to rely on any article of it, ask your adviser how each tax authority will treat your claim. For pensions and Social Security there is no article to rely on, whichever list is right58.

When you become tax resident in Georgia

You are tax resident for the whole year if you are physically in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in that year12. Days abroad for medical treatment, leisure, business trips or study count as days in Georgia, and part-days count as full days. On the other hand, time spent in Georgia for medical treatment or leisure does not count, and days that made you resident in one year are not counted again for the next12. Ask your adviser how this applies to you. The Code also lets a person with significant property or income be granted tax residence without the 183 days, on conditions set by the Minister of Finance; we could not find the conditions in force in an official text as of October 8, 2026, after the old procedure was repealed in 202312.

Income tax: a flat 20%, and foreign income exempt

Personal income tax is a flat 20%, with no brackets and no regional tax; income from renting out a home for people to live in is taxed at 5% if you claim no deductions1231. A resident’s income that is not from a Georgian source is exempt12. Georgian-source income includes31:

  • pay for employment in Georgia, and services actually rendered in Georgia, wherever the client is;
  • services by a Georgian resident to a recipient abroad, unless delivered through a permanent establishment abroad;
  • a pension paid by a Georgian resident;
  • dividends and interest from Georgian payers.

Gains on selling a home owned for more than two years, a car owned for more than six months, and other assets owned for more than two years and not used in business are exempt3112.

Small-business status: 1% of turnover

Any individual entrepreneur, whatever their citizenship, can ask the tax authority for small-business status; the Government may bar certain activities, and we did not find its list12. With the status, Georgian-source income other than salary is taxed at 1% of turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year (about $192,152), and at 3% on all income from the beginning of the month in which gross income passes GEL 500,000, to the end of the year; the status is lost after two years in a row above the limit3112. The return is monthly, filed and paid by the 15th of the following month31. Since March 1, 2026 a foreign entrepreneur also needs the self-employed right to work and a residence permit, and an IT entrepreneur with the status earning at least USD 25,000 a year can use the IT permit2530.

Tax estimate

Estimate Georgia’s Tax on Georgian-Source Income

Choose the kind of income and enter the year’s amount, in lari or dollars. Salary is taxed at 20%; small-business turnover at 1% up to GEL 500,000 and 3% above; rent from a home rented out for living at 5% with no deductions1231. Each figure is rounded to the tetri. Dollars are converted at the National Bank of Georgia rate valid October 8, 2026 ($1 = GEL 2.6021)1.

A simplification, by our arithmetic from the Tax Code. It covers Georgian-source income only: foreign-source income of a resident, such as a U.S. pension, is exempt by our reading and is not entered here. Above GEL 500,000 the estimate puts 1% on the first GEL 500,000 and 3% on the rest. Because the Code applies 3% to all income from the start of the month in which the limit is passed, the true tax can be higher, never lower, so above GEL 500,000 the result is a minimum; ask the Revenue Service. It leaves out deductions, pension contributions, VAT, and U.S. tax.

Examples: Georgian tax on a year’s Georgian-source income, by our arithmetic from the Tax Code as consolidated to September 30, 2026.
Amount a yearSalary at 20%Small business at 1% / 3% (minimum above GEL 500,000)Rent from a home at 5%
GEL 24,000 (about $9,223)GEL 4,800GEL 240GEL 1,200
GEL 60,000 (about $23,058)GEL 12,000GEL 600GEL 3,000
GEL 120,000 (about $46,117)GEL 24,000GEL 1,200GEL 6,000
GEL 300,000 (about $115,291)GEL 60,000GEL 3,000GEL 15,000
GEL 500,000 (about $192,152)GEL 100,000GEL 5,000GEL 25,000
GEL 600,000 (about $230,583)GEL 120,000GEL 8,000 (minimum)GEL 30,000

“Minimum”: 1% on the first GEL 500,000 and 3% on the rest of the year. The Code applies 3% to all income from the beginning of the month in which the limit is passed, until the end of the year, so the true tax can be higher31.

Pensions, Social Security and retirement accounts

Georgia taxes a pension as Georgian-source income when a Georgian resident pays it31. U.S. Social Security, U.S. pensions, 401(k) and IRA payouts, and U.S. dividends, interest and gains are paid from the United States.

Our reading, not an official ruling. Reading the exemption for a resident’s foreign-source income together with the list of Georgian sources, we understand that Georgia does not tax U.S. Social Security, U.S. pensions or 401(k) and IRA payouts received by a Georgian resident1231. We found no Revenue Service guidance on U.S. benefits, so confirm it with an adviser before you rely on it. The United States still taxes these under its own law, and the 1973 treaty does not stop it from taxing its citizens4058.

Your U.S. benefits can follow you. The SSA’s page for Georgia says: “As a United States citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the United States in this country as long as you are eligible for them.”35

Inheritance, gift, wealth and property taxes

  • No wealth, inheritance or gift tax as such. Georgia’s national taxes are income tax, profit tax, VAT, excise and import duty; property tax is the only local tax31.
  • Gifts and inheritances fall under income tax: property you receive as a gift or inheritance is exempt if you are the giver’s first-line heir (spouse, child, adopted child, grandchild, great-grandchild and their child, parent, adoptive parent) or second-line heir (sister, brother, niece or nephew, and their children); it is exempt up to GEL 150,000 a year (about $57,646) if you are a third-line heir (grandparents, and the parents of a grandparent, on the mother’s and the father’s side) or fourth-line heir (uncle, aunt). Other gifts are exempt only up to GEL 1,000 a year; above that, the tax is 20%12. The Tax Code sets these lines itself, for gifts and wills; they differ from the Civil Code’s ranks for inheritance without a will, which, for example, put grandchildren in the first rank only when their parent has died37.
  • Annual property tax, as changed on September 30, 2026. Buildings, apartments, cars, yachts and aircraft are exempt if your family’s income in the previous year was GEL 100,000 or less (about $38,430); above that, the tax is 0.8% to 1% of market value at the end of the previous year, with the rate set within that band by the municipality. Land is taxed separately. The change applies already to the property tax declared in 20261112. Until then the exemption stopped at GEL 40,000, with 0.05% to 0.2% between GEL 40,000 and 100,000; the Herald’s English translation, dated before the change, still showed those figures when we read it on October 8, 20263111.
  • “Family income” for this test includes all income, even income that is exempt31; by our reading, that means a U.S. pension Georgia does not tax still counts toward the GEL 100,000.
  • Dates. The property tax return is due by November 1 and the tax by November 1512.
  • VAT is 18%, and it is built into the price of a new home sold by a VAT-registered developer12. We found no transfer tax on buying; registration fees are under buying.

Pension contributions, and no totalization agreement

Georgia’s funded pension scheme (2% from the employee, 2% from the employer and up to 2% from the state; 4% for the self-employed) covers citizens and foreigners with permanent residence permits only59. The state’s share is 2% on the first GEL 24,000 of yearly pay, 1% from GEL 24,000 to 60,000 and nothing above59. On a temporary permit you are outside it.

There is no totalization (Social Security) agreement between the United States and Georgia: Georgia is not on the SSA’s list, whose newest entry, as of October 8, 2026, is Romania, from September 1, 20269. In plain terms: no agreement decides which country’s system covers your work, and none adds years worked in Georgia to your U.S. record. If you will work in Georgia, as an employee or for yourself, ask an adviser before you start what you will owe in each country.

What you still file in the United States

U.S. filings for citizens living abroad, tax year 2026. Sources: IRS and FinCEN, checked October 8, 2026.
WhatThe rule
Form 1040Due April 15; citizens living abroad get an automatic extension to June 15 (interest still runs from April 15)40.
Foreign Earned Income ExclusionUp to $132,900 of earned income for 2026. It does not cover pensions, Social Security or investment income6061.
Foreign Tax CreditClaim Georgian tax paid on Form 1116; no credit on income you excluded62.
FBARRequired when your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year41.
Form 8938 (FATCA)For taxpayers living abroad: over $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time (single); $400,000 and $600,000 (joint)63.

For U.S. tax preparation and planning, our sister brand eTaxNexus works with Americans abroad.

Questions to take to your tax adviser
  • On which date will I become Georgian tax resident under the 183-days-in-any-12-months rule, given that trips abroad for leisure count as days in Georgia and that time in Georgia for leisure does not?
  • Is my income from U.S. sources, including Social Security, pension, 401(k) and IRA payouts, outside Georgian tax, and should I ask the Revenue Service for a ruling?
  • If I work remotely from Georgia, is my pay Georgian-source, and would small-business status at 1% suit me?
  • Does it matter for me whether the 1973 treaty applies, given that Georgia does not list it?
  • Does the foreign earned income exclusion or the foreign tax credit suit my earnings better?
  • Will my family’s income, counted with exempt income, take us over GEL 100,000 for property tax?
  • Should I sell or restructure U.S. investments before I move?
Renting and buying

Lease Rules, Buying as a Foreigner, and Short-Term Rentals

Renting under the Civil Code

Leases are governed by the Civil Code. In the Herald’s English translation it says37:

  • Deposit: at most three months’ rent. You may pay it in equal monthly installments over three months; it earns interest and comes back with interest, and a contract term to the contrary is void37.
  • Notice: three months, “unless it otherwise follows from the circumstances or from the agreement of the parties”, and always in writing37.
  • Your protection. A landlord may end the lease of a home only for valid reasons, such as a substantial breach, needing it for themselves or close relatives, or your refusal of a market-rate rent increase; a furnished apartment, however, may always be ended with notice37.
  • Leaving early. You may leave a fixed-term lease with one month’s notice only by offering a solvent replacement tenant the landlord can accept37.
  • Unpaid rent. The landlord may end the lease after three months’ unpaid rent37.
  • Staying on, and a sale. If you stay after the term and the landlord does not object, the lease becomes open-ended; if the home is sold, the buyer steps into the landlord’s place37.

We found no minimum lease term in the articles we read37. Registering a lease with the Public Registry is not required by them; if you do register it, by our reading the Registry’s fee for registering an obligation related to real estate applies, GEL 150, 270 or 350 depending on speed32. A landlord who rents out a home for living and claims no deductions is taxed at 5% of the rent31.

Buying: open to Americans, except farmland

Foreigners in Georgia “may own, inherit, or bequeath any property”5. The exception is agricultural land: the Constitution reserves it to the State, local governments and Georgian citizens and their associations, save as an organic law provides64. That organic law lets a foreigner hold agricultural land only by inheritance, or through a Georgian company with a foreign dominant partner, on an investment plan approved by the Government; agricultural land includes pasture, hayfields, arable land and the homestead land category65. The residence-permit thresholds also exclude agricultural land5.

  • Ownership passes on registration. The sale must be in writing, and you own the property only once the Public Registry registers your right37.
  • Registration fee. The National Agency of Public Registry charges GEL 150 (about $58) for a decision in four working days, GEL 270 in one working day and GEL 350 on the day you apply32.
  • No transfer tax. Georgia’s national taxes are income tax, profit tax, VAT, excise and import duty, and its only local tax is property tax, so we found no tax on the transfer itself31. A new home from a VAT-registered developer carries 18% VAT in its price12.
  • Every year. No property tax on buildings if your family’s income in the year before was GEL 100,000 or less; above that, 0.8% to 1% of market value, under the law as changed on September 30, 20261112.
  • Selling. A gain on a home you have owned for more than two years is exempt from income tax31.
Property check

A Home in Georgia: Permit Thresholds, Registration and Yearly Tax

Enter a market value, in dollars or lari, or pick a Tbilisi district and a size to use Geostat’s median asking price for new apartments66. We compare the value with the USD 150,000 of the short-term permit and the USD 300,000 of the investment permit (the value must exceed each)30, show the registration fee32, and, if you enter your family’s income for the year before, the yearly property tax range11. Dollars use the National Bank of Georgia rate valid October 8, 20261.

By our arithmetic. For a permit, the value is the market value set by a certified valuation, and the SDA converts the dollar figure at its own date’s rate; a district median is an asking price for new apartments, not a valuation. Property tax counts all of your family’s income, exempt income included, and the municipality sets the rate within the band; land is taxed separately. Meeting a figure does not mean a permit will be granted.

What property costs

Geostat’s residential property price index covers new homes in Tbilisi only, and it is built from asking prices collected from listing websites, not from sales67. In the second quarter of 2026 it rose 0.9% on the quarter and 4.9% on the year, and stood 63.8% above its 2020 average; apartments were up 4.8% on the year and detached houses 5.5%67. The median asking price per square meter for new apartments ranges from about GEL 3,680 in Samgori to GEL 6,730 in Mtatsminda:

Median asking price per square meter of new-build apartments in Tbilisi by district, second quarter of 2026. Checked October 8, 2026.
DistrictGEL per m²About $ per m²
MtatsmindaGEL 6,730.00$2,586
VakeGEL 5,914.27$2,273
KrtsanisiGEL 4,630.24$1,779
SaburtaloGEL 4,307.20$1,655
DidubeGEL 4,183.95$1,608
IsaniGEL 4,088.19$1,571
ChughuretiGEL 4,063.56$1,562
NadzaladeviGEL 4,038.00$1,552
GldaniGEL 3,866.88$1,486
SamgoriGEL 3,680.42$1,414

Source: Geostat, residential property prices in Tbilisi by district66. The same file gives detached houses at GEL 4,656.12 per m² in Vake and GEL 4,408.83 in Mtatsminda66. Dollars are our arithmetic.

We found no official house prices for Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi or any other town: Geostat’s index covers Tbilisi only. Any price per square meter you see for those towns comes from listings or agents, not from an official source.

Short-term rentals

We found no national license for renting out an apartment to tourists, though we did not read the Law on Tourism on this point. On May 28, 2026 Parliament amended that law so that entities engaged in tourism activities must register in a database of tourism-activity entities18; whether that covers someone renting out an apartment is something we could not confirm. Ask the tourism authority before you buy to rent out. Rent from renting out a home for living is taxed at 5% if you claim no deductions31.

Our position on property. We take no developer or property commissions. We may receive a referral fee from some professional partners. It never changes what you pay, and we tell you when it applies.

Where to live

Ten Places, Compared on Official Numbers

Georgia had 3,929,581 people at the census of November 14, 202419, and Geostat estimates 3,941,100 on January 1, 202650. We compare ten places below on their population on January 1, 202668 and on the official station climate table69. We found no official rent or price per square meter outside Tbilisi. Our suggestions are starting points, not verdicts.

Capital and U.S. Embassy

Tbilisi has 1,309.0 thousand people in the city and 1,369.4 thousand in the municipality68, and the census counted 20.1% more people in the capital than in 201420. It is home to the U.S. Embassy52, it is the only city with an official house price index67, and Geostat says it leads, with the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, in average earnings44. In the station table, its January mean is 1.0°C and its July mean 24.4°C, with 560 mm of rain a year69.

Consider: Tbilisi

The Black Sea Coast

Batumi grew fastest of Georgia’s cities between the censuses, by 54.2% to 235,668 people in 2024, and Geostat estimates 246.3 thousand on January 1, 20262068. The western climate is humid and subtropical, with up to 2,500 mm of rain on the coast70; the station table gives Batumi a January mean of 7.1°C and 2,599 mm a year69. There is no official house price index for Batumi67.

Consider: Batumi

Western Cities

Kutaisi, with 153.8 thousand people, grew 9.0% between the censuses6820. Zugdidi has 45.7 thousand in the city and 98.3 thousand in the municipality68. Most of western Georgia gets 1,200 to 1,600 mm of rain a year70; the station table gives Kutaisi 1,394 mm and Zugdidi 1,723 mm69.

Consider: Kutaisi · Zugdidi

Smaller Towns in the East

Telavi (20.0 thousand) and Sighnaghi (1.7 thousand) are in Kakheti, whose population fell 4.6% between the censuses; Mtskheta has 8.0 thousand, Gori 49.4 thousand and Borjomi 10.8 thousand6820. The eastern lowlands have mean annual temperatures of 11–13°C and 400 to 1,200 mm of precipitation70; Borjomi has the coldest January in our table, −2.1°C69. Rustavi, with 130.2 thousand people, grew 5.6%6820.

Consider: Telavi · Sighnaghi · Mtskheta · Borjomi

Population on January 1, 2026 (thousands) and station climate values from the 2008 building norm (observation period not stated). Checked October 8, 2026.
PlaceCityMunicipalityJanuary mean, °CJuly mean, °CPrecipitation, mm a year
Tbilisi (urban)1,309.01,369.41.024.4560
Batumi246.3same as city7.122.82,599
Kutaisi153.8same as city5.223.01,394
Rustavi130.2same as city0.825.0382
Gori49.4120.1−1.222.2518
Zugdidi45.798.34.922.61,723
Telavi20.055.80.522.9794
Borjomi10.824.6−2.119.8653
Mtskheta8.053.8−0.323.2636
Sighnaghi1.728.80.222.3811

Sources: Geostat, population as of January 1 by cities and boroughs68; climate from the building norm “Construction Climatology” (PN 01.05-08, 2008), tables 11 and 15, by weather station69. The climate values are only partly verified as normals: the norm does not state its observation period, and the figures are probably older than 1991–2020. Geostat’s figure for 2024 is warmer: it gives Tbilisi’s annual mean as 13.4°C in 2024 against 11.7°C for 1961–1990, from modeled World Bank data71, while the norm gives 12.7°C69. Compare Georgia with other destinations.

Practical matters

Paperwork: Registration, Numbers, Banks, Driving and Schools

Registering where you live, and your personal number

A foreigner residing in Georgia must register a place of residence and obtain a residence card; both are handled by the Public Service Development Agency, and cards are issued on the 10th business day38. The law names the Agency, not the town hall, so by our reading there is no separate municipal step. A personal number is assigned when you are registered at your place of residence or issued an identity document, a foreigner’s residence card included38.

Your tax number

For tax, a person who is not a Georgian citizen is identified by “the 9-digit identification number issued by the authority as determined under the legislation of Georgia”, and a person is registered for tax by declared place of residence or business31. We could not confirm in an official text the step-by-step way to obtain the number before you hold a residence card; ask at a Public Service Hall.

A bank account

We found no Georgian rule giving foreign residents a right to a bank account, like the basic payment account of EU law, and no National Bank rule on accounts for non-residents. Ask the bank what it needs before you rely on opening one. On the U.S. side, you must file an FBAR when your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year41.

Driving

You can exchange a valid foreign license at any Service Agency branch, without a test; the fee is GEL 15 (about $5.76), and the license is issued “within a few minutes”39. You need39:

  • your passport or residence card, and your U.S. license;
  • a confirmation of the license from the authority that issued it, legalized or apostilled, and not more than 90 days old when you hand it in;
  • a medical certificate on form IV-100/a;
  • proof of payment.

The service is not available remotely39. The rule on the same page about 185 days in the issuing country applies to Georgian citizens and dual nationals, not to foreign citizens39. In Georgia a foreign license is given 100 penalty points; once they are used up, you may not drive on it in Georgia72. How long you may drive on a U.S. license before exchanging it is left to a ministerial order we did not read, so ask the Service Agency.

Pets

We could not confirm the rules for bringing a dog or cat into Georgia in an official text. Georgia is not in the EU, so the EU’s pet rules do not govern entry into Georgia2. Ask the Georgian embassy, the National Food Agency and your airline about vaccination, microchip and certificate rules before you book.

Shipping your household

The Tax Code exempts from import duty goods “including furniture, household goods, one vehicle per family” not meant for business, when you enter Georgia for permanent residence, as shown by a document of the Ministry of Justice; a separate exemption covers up to GEL 15,000 (about $5,765) of non-business goods for a person returning after more than six months abroad31. Until January 1, 2028, the same imports are also exempt from VAT31. Which residence permits count as entering “for permanent residence” is something we could not confirm, so ask customs, or your mover, before you ship.

Schools

Primary and basic education are compulsory, and a child starts primary school at 6 if they turn 6 by September 1527. The Herald’s English translation, consolidated to June 9, 2026, describes primary education as six years (grades 1–6), basic as “4 years – 7-9 classes”, as published, and secondary as two years (grades 10–11) with an optional 12th grade, which stays required for some year groups until the 2028–2029 school year27. State school funding applies to foreign citizens too, and foreigners residing in Georgia have a right to education275. Teaching is in Georgian; teaching in another language needs an international agreement or the Ministry’s approval27.

Your U.S. services from Georgia

  • The U.S. Embassy is at 29 Georgian-American Friendship Avenue, Didi Dighomi, Tbilisi 0131; telephone +995 32 227 7000; consular hours Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.52
  • For life-threatening medical emergencies the Embassy says to call 112 first, Georgia’s single emergency number52.
  • Services include passports and notarials, and lists of English-speaking doctors and of attorneys51.
  • When we read the Embassy’s site on October 8, 2026, its banner showed the State Department’s Travel Advisory at Level 1: “Exercise normal precaution in Georgia”52.
Entry rules

Outside the EU and Schengen: Georgia’s Own One-Year Rule

Georgia is not a member of the EU and not in the Schengen area2. It sets its own entry rules. Its law gives visa-free foreigners a general stay of 90 days in any 180, and lets the Government list countries whose citizens may stay for a full year30. The United States is on that list: U.S. citizens may enter and stay in Georgia without a visa for one full year3.

  • Insurance, since January 1, 2026. Every tourist must hold health and accident insurance with cover of at least GEL 30,000 (about $11,529) for the whole stay, up to a year, from a Georgian or foreign insurer, on paper or electronic, in Georgian or English; the border police may check it428. The Law on Tourism, which requires it, defines a tourist as a visitor who stays overnight, for no more than a year, and is not employed by a resident entity73.
  • Once you hold a permit. The ordinance lists no exemption for residence-permit holders; whether you must still carry the GEL 30,000 policy once you live in Georgia on a permit is something we could not confirm473. Carry one: the law separately lets border officers refuse entry to anyone without health and accident insurance or enough money to stay and return5.
  • Funds. Entry can be refused to someone without sufficient funds to reside in Georgia and return home5; no amount is given in the article we read.
  • A new year. We could not confirm in an official text how a new one-year stay is counted after you leave and return. Ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and do not plan on leaving and coming back as a substitute for a permit.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System and ETIAS are Schengen-area systems; Georgia is not in Schengen2, so by our reading neither applies when you enter Georgia itself. Trips from Georgia into the Schengen area follow the Schengen rules for short stays: up to 90 days in any 180-day period74. Since April 10, 2026 the EU’s Entry/Exit System has been fully operational at Schengen borders; holders of a residence permit or long-stay visa from a country that operates the system are not registered75. By our reading a Georgian permit does not exempt you, and you are recorded as a short-stay visitor each time you enter.

As of October 8, 2026, ETIAS, the EU travel authorization for visa-free visitors, is not yet in operation and no applications are collected; the EU says it will announce the start date several months ahead, and the fee has been set at €2076. The regulation exempts holders of residence permits covered by the Schengen Borders Code and of national long-stay visas issued by Schengen states77; Georgia is not in Schengen2, so by our reading a Georgian permit will not exempt you once ETIAS starts. The Schengen, EES and ETIAS section of our FAQ explains the 90/180 count.

Timeline

A Realistic Twelve Months

Built from the rules above. The SDA decides most permits by the 30th, 20th or 10th day, depending on the fee you pay16, but we found no official figures for how long the whole process takes in practice. So the plan files early in your visa-free year, not at its end.

Months 12–8 before

Decide and test

Choose the route and run the numbers: the property value against USD 150,000, or your pay against the work or IT test3024. Book a session with a cross-border tax adviser on the 183-day rule, the foreign-income exemption and the treaty question1278. Plan a scouting trip.

Months 7–3 before

Prepare

Compare private health policies: you will need one to enter, with cover of at least GEL 30,0004, and, by our reading, the public program will not cover you once you live there14. Ask your state’s licensing office how to get an apostilled confirmation of your license, which Georgia accepts only if it is no more than 90 days old39.

Months 2–1 before

Documents and shipping

Gather the documents the SDA lists for your permit16. List your household goods: the import duty exemption for people entering for permanent residence needs a Ministry of Justice document, and we could not confirm which permits count, so ask customs before you ship31.

Month 0

Arrive

Enter visa-free with your insurance policy4. If you will work locally, apply for the right to work; then apply for the permit within 10 days2526.

Months 1–3 after

Permit and registration

File with the SDA, register your place of residence and collect your residence card1638. If you are buying, register the purchase with the Public Registry and get the valuation for the property permit3230.

By month 12 after

License, taxes, renewal

Exchange your U.S. license39. Once you pass 183 days that count, you are tax resident for the year12; put the U.S. return (June 15 for Americans abroad), the FBAR and any permit renewal on the calendar40415.

Questions

What Americans Ask Us About Georgia

How long can I stay in Georgia without a residence permit?

One full year. The United States is on the Government’s list of countries whose citizens may enter and stay without a visa for one full year, as consolidated to February 24, 20263. Since January 1, 2026 a visitor must also hold health and accident insurance of at least GEL 30,000 for the whole stay4. We could not confirm in an official text how a new year is counted after you leave and return; ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Is there a retirement visa or a digital nomad visa?

No. The law’s list of residence permits has no retirement, passive-income or digital nomad permit5. “Remotely from Georgia”, the 2020 scheme, had no official page that we could find as of October 8, 2026, so we treat it as closed. Retirees can look at the property permit (real estate over USD 150,000) or the investment permit (USD 300,000)30.

Can I work remotely for my U.S. employer from Georgia?

Since April 15, 2026, work for a non-resident employer or client, tied to its activity outside Georgia, needs no right to work2122. Tax is separate: by our reading, pay for work you do while in Georgia is Georgian-source income, taxed at 20% once you are tax resident3112.

How much property do I need to buy for a residence permit?

Real estate other than agricultural land, worth more than USD 150,000 at market value, set by a certified valuation, for a one-year short-term permit renewable each year; the figure was USD 100,000 until February 28, 2026306. Property worth more than USD 300,000 can support the five-year investment permit30.

Do I need insurance to enter Georgia?

Yes, as a visitor. Since January 1, 2026 every tourist must hold health and accident insurance with cover of at least GEL 30,000, about $11,529, for the whole stay; a foreign insurer’s policy in English is accepted, and the border police may check it428. Whether you must still carry such a policy once you hold a residence permit is something we could not confirm; the law also lets border officers refuse entry to anyone without health and accident insurance5.

Will Georgia tax my Social Security, pension or 401(k)?

By our reading of the Tax Code, no. A resident’s income that is not from a Georgian source is exempt, and a pension is Georgian-source only when a Georgian resident pays it1231. That is our reading, not an official ruling; we found no Revenue Service guidance on U.S. benefits. The United States still taxes them40.

Is there a U.S.–Georgia tax treaty?

As of October 8, 2026, the two governments say different things. The IRS and the State Department treat the 1973 U.S.–Soviet income tax convention as still in effect for Georgia75657; Georgia’s Ministry of Finance does not include the United States in its list of 58 treaties in force8. The 1973 treaty has no article on pensions, Social Security, IRAs or 401(k)s, and it lets each country tax its own citizens58.

Is there a Social Security (totalization) agreement?

No, as of October 8, 2026: Georgia is not on the Social Security Administration’s list of agreement countries9. So no agreement decides which country’s system covers your work there, and none adds your Georgian work periods to your U.S. record. The SSA says U.S. citizens may still receive their Social Security payments in Georgia35.

Can I use Georgia’s public health care?

Not in general. The State Universal Healthcare Program covers citizens, holders of neutral documents, stateless persons with status, asylum seekers and refugees; foreign residence-permit holders are not on the list14. The one exception we found is inpatient care for infectious diseases, which also covers foreign citizens permanently residing in Georgia, with a 30% co-payment up to GEL 1,50014. Plan on private insurance.

Can Americans buy property in Georgia?

Yes. Foreigners may own, inherit and bequeath property5. Agricultural land is the exception: a foreigner may hold it only by inheritance, or through a Georgian company on a Government-approved investment plan6465. Ownership passes when the written sale is registered with the Public Registry, for GEL 150 in four working days3732.

How long until I can become a Georgian citizen?

Ten consecutive years of lawful residence, with tests in Georgian language, history and law, and a job, real estate, a business or shares in Georgia; if you are married to a citizen, five years of residence under a simplified procedure10. Citizenship takes effect only once you prove you have given up your other citizenship, unless the President grants it by exception10.

Can I drive on my U.S. license?

You can exchange it without a test at a Service Agency branch for GEL 15, with an apostilled confirmation from the issuing state that is no more than 90 days old and a medical certificate39. How long you may drive on the U.S. license before exchanging it is something we could not confirm in an official text; ask the Service Agency.

Sources

Every Figure on This Page, and Where It Comes From

We use official sources only: Georgian laws, Government ordinances and ministerial orders as published by the Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne), in its official English translation or, where that translation lags a 2025 or 2026 change, in the authentic Georgian text; the Public Service Development Agency, the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Agency of Public Registry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Parliament, the National Bank of Georgia, Geostat, the energy and water regulator GNERC, the National Environmental Agency and the Tbilisi Transport Company; the EU; and U.S. federal agencies, the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. Georgian-language titles are given in English. Each source was read on the date shown; where a page carries its own date, the title says so. Where official texts disagree, we say what each one says and which we follow. If you spot something that has changed, email [email protected].

  1. Official exchange rates: USD 1 = GEL 2.6021, valid October 8, 2026. National Bank of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  2. EU countries: membership, euro area and Schengen dates. European Union. Official page. Checked .
  3. Government Ordinance No 255 of June 5, 2015: countries whose citizens may enter and stay in Georgia without a visa for one full year (consolidated to February 24, 2026, English). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  4. Government Ordinance No 602 of December 26, 2025 on the mandatory health and accident insurance of tourists (in force January 1, 2026; Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  5. Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, official English translation consolidated to June 25, 2026. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  6. Law No 863 of June 26, 2025 amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens: property threshold of USD 150,000 from March 1, 2026 (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  7. Georgia: tax treaty documents (page updated August 9, 2026). Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  8. Double taxation treaties in force. Ministry of Finance of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  9. U.S. international social security agreements: dates in force. Social Security Administration. Official page. Checked .
  10. Organic Law on Georgian Citizenship, Georgian text consolidated to June 25, 2026. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  11. Law No 1874 of September 30, 2026 amending the Tax Code: property tax of individuals (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  12. Tax Code of Georgia, Georgian text consolidated to September 30, 2026. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  13. Government Ordinance No 450 of September 18, 2026 amending the State Universal Healthcare Program (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  14. Government Ordinance No 36 of February 21, 2013 on the State Universal Healthcare Program, consolidated to Ordinance No 450 of September 18, 2026 (PDF, Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  15. Law No 1803 of June 25, 2026 amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens: the spouse residence permit from September 1, 2026 (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  16. Residence permits: types, documents, fees and terms. Public Service Development Agency of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  17. Order No 1214 of the Minister of Justice of June 19, 2026 (in force June 23, 2026) on the citizenship examinations in Georgian language, history and law (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  18. Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Tourism (May 28, 2026). Parliament of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  19. 2024 Population and Agricultural Census of Georgia: finalized results (April 22, 2026, PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  20. Main results of the 2024 Population and Agricultural Census (June 22, 2026, PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  21. Law No 1509 of April 15, 2026 amending the Law on Labor Migration: remote work for non-resident clients and employers (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  22. Law on Labor Migration, Georgian text consolidated to June 25, 2026: article 1(4) (work for non-residents abroad). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  23. Law No 1510 of April 15, 2026 amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens: work residence permit criteria set by Government ordinance (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  24. Government Ordinance No 146 of April 2, 2026 amending Ordinance No 520: income and turnover tests for the work residence permit (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  25. Law on Labor Migration, official English translation consolidated to June 25, 2026. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  26. Government Ordinance No 70 of February 20, 2026 on the procedure for the right to work, consolidated to July 9, 2026 (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  27. Law on General Education, official English translation. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  28. Georgia to require insurance for all tourists starting 1/1/2026 (December 31, 2025). U.S. Embassy in Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  29. Law No 670 of June 12, 2025 amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens: the IT residence permit, in force September 1, 2025 (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  30. Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Georgian text consolidated to June 25, 2026. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  31. Tax Code of Georgia, official English translation (it may lag the Georgian text). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  32. Fees and terms: immovable property registration fee. National Agency of Public Registry of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  33. Subsistence minimum: monthly values to December 2025. Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  34. Subsistence minimum, monthly series (XLS): average consumer, December 2025. Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  35. Your payments while you are outside the United States: the result for a U.S. citizen in Georgia. Social Security Administration. Official page. Checked .
  36. Change in labor migration legislation (notice of February 26, 2026). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Embassy of Georgia to Japan. Official page. Checked .
  37. Civil Code of Georgia, official English translation: article 183 and articles 531 to 575 on leases. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  38. Law on the Procedure for Registering Citizens of Georgia and Aliens Residing in Georgia, official English translation. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  39. Exchanging a driving license issued abroad: foreign citizens (Georgian). Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  40. U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  41. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). FinCEN, U.S. Treasury. Official page. Checked .
  42. Inflation rate in Georgia, September 2026 (PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  43. Consumer price index (inflation): annual averages. Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  44. Average monthly nominal earnings of employees, second quarter 2026 (September 15, 2026, PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  45. Tariffs: electricity and natural gas for consumers, including VAT. GNERC, the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission. Official page. Checked .
  46. Tariffs: water supply for households, 2024-2026, including VAT. GNERC, the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission. Official page. Checked .
  47. Fares: travel cards and passes (page dated June 3, 2019, showing the GEL 1 fare). Tbilisi Transport Company. Official page. Checked .
  48. Fares for discount groups registered in the capital (page dated July 11, 2019). Tbilisi Transport Company. Official page. Checked .
  49. Indicators of health care, 2025 (July 29, 2026, PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  50. Number of population as of January 1, 2026 (PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  51. U.S. citizen services: passports, notarials, doctors and attorneys, health advice. U.S. Embassy in Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  52. Contact us: address, telephone, consular hours and emergencies. U.S. Embassy in Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  53. Travel outside the U.S. Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked .
  54. Medicare coverage outside the United States (Product 11037, April 2026). Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked .
  55. Avoid late enrollment penalties. Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked .
  56. Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties (updated April 30, 2026). Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  57. Treaties in Force 2026 (PDF): Georgia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. U.S. Department of State. Official page. Checked .
  58. Income tax convention between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, signed June 20, 1973 (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  59. Law on Funded Pensions, official English translation: who takes part, and the contribution rates. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  60. Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  61. Foreign earned income exclusion: what is foreign earned income. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  62. Foreign tax credit. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  63. Do I need to file Form 8938? Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked .
  64. Constitution of Georgia, official English translation: article 19 (agricultural land). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  65. Organic Law on Agricultural Land Ownership, official English translation: article 4. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  66. Residential property prices of 1 m2 for flats in Tbilisi, by districts (XLSX). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  67. Residential property price index, second quarter of 2026 (July 23, 2026, PDF). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  68. Population as of January 1 by cities and boroughs (XLSX). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  69. Building norms and rules PN 01.05-08 “Construction Climatology” (Order No 1-1/1743 of the Minister of Economic Development, August 25, 2008): tables 11 and 15 by weather station (Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  70. Climate of Georgia: general description (Georgian). National Environmental Agency of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  71. Air temperature, table B-1 (XLSX; Geostat cites the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal as its source). Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Official page. Checked .
  72. Law on Traffic, official English translation: penalty points on a foreign driving license. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  73. Law on Tourism, official English translation: article 12 (mandatory insurance for tourists) and the definition of a tourist. Legislative Herald of Georgia (Matsne). Official page. Checked .
  74. Entry and exit requirements for non-EU nationals (90 days in any 180-day period). Your Europe, European Union. Official page. Checked .
  75. Entry/Exit System fully operational from 10 April 2026: who is exempt. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Official page. Checked .
  76. ETIAS, the EU travel authorization for visa-free visitors. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Official page. Checked .
  77. Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS. EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked .

General information, not advice. Quantum Jetset does not give legal, tax, immigration, financial or investment advice. Rules and costs change; check the official sources above and speak to a qualified professional before you act. Next scheduled review: April 2027.

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