What changes when the seller is a foreigner?
In Batumi, foreign buyers accounted for 52% of apartment sales in 2025, according to Galt & Taggart, so a resale flat there may well be offered by a foreign owner. Buying from a foreign owner follows the same law as buying from a Georgian: the same registry, the same contract and the same registration. What changes is everything around the seller. Their documents may come from abroad, they may sell through a representative, their marriage may follow a foreign law, the money may need to go to a foreign account, and their tax position is not the same as a resident's.
This explainer covers those differences, so that a purchase from a foreign seller is as safe as one from a local owner.
The differences at a glance
| Question | Georgian seller | Foreign seller |
|---|---|---|
| Identity document | Georgian ID card | Passport; no translation if the details are in English or Russian |
| Documents from abroad | Rarely needed | Apostille or legalisation, plus a Georgian translation |
| Signing by a representative | Possible | Common; the power of attorney must be notarised |
| Seller's tax on the sale | Declared by the seller | Also declared by the seller; a company buyer may have to withhold |
| Marriage and property | Georgian rules on joint property | The spouses' law may be foreign |
| Where the money goes | Usually a Georgian account | Often a foreign account, with bank checks on both sides |
Which documents must a foreign seller bring?
A foreign seller identifies themselves with a passport. Under the Public Registry's instruction, a foreign passport whose details are written in English or Russian needs no translation for registration. The contract itself must be in Georgian; if either party does not know Georgian, a Georgian translation is attached, and the translator's signature is certified before the parties sign.
Any other document issued abroad, such as a power of attorney, a marriage certificate, an inheritance certificate or a foreign company's papers, is accepted by a Georgian notary only with an apostille or, for countries outside the Apostille Convention, consular legalisation, unless a treaty provides otherwise. The registry may also send an apostilled document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a consulate to confirm that it is genuine, citing a rise in forged papers from abroad; one law firm reports that such a check takes about 15 days. Allow for it in your timetable.
When the seller signs through a representative
A seller who lives abroad often sends a power of attorney rather than coming in person. The signature on a power of attorney must be certified by a notary; the Public Service Hall can certify signatures on the sale itself, but not on a power of attorney. Before you pay anything, check that the document:
- was notarised abroad and carries an apostille or legalisation;
- has a Georgian translation certified in Georgia;
- names this property by its address or cadastral code;
- gives the right to sell and, if the representative will take the money, the right to receive the price;
- is recent, and has not been revoked: ask the seller to confirm it directly, by a call you initiate.
Our guide to the power of attorney explains the procedure from the buyer's side.
How is the foreign seller taxed, and does it affect you?
A foreigner who sells a flat in Georgia earns Georgian-source income. Under the Tax Code, the gain on selling a residential flat or house with its land is exempt if it was owned for more than two years, and is taxed at 5% if it was owned for less; the exemption is written for natural persons and is not limited to residents. Under double tax treaties that follow the usual model, Georgia keeps the right to tax gains on property located in Georgia.
If you buy as a private individual, you are not a tax agent and do not withhold anything: the non-resident seller declares the income before 1 April of the following year, and the registry must inform the seller of that duty before registering you. If you buy through a company, the position is different: a company paying certain Georgian-source amounts to a non-resident must withhold tax at source, and pays it itself if it fails to.
To be added by the team: the partner accountant to confirm whether a company buying a flat from a non-resident individual must withhold tax, at which rate, and whether the two-year exemption removes that duty.
One tax point concerns you directly in every case: a tax lien registered on the seller's property follows the property to the new owner unless it is cancelled. Check the extract for liens before signing, and make their removal a condition of payment.
Paying a seller who lives abroad
The lari is the only legal tender in Georgia, and businesses must quote prices in lari; between two private individuals, agree in writing in which currency you pay and at what rate. Notaries and the registry are covered by the anti-money-laundering law, and a notary must check the parties to any one-off transaction above GEL 15,000; banks on both sides will also ask where the money comes from and where it goes.
The safest route when the seller is far away is the notary's deposit: under the Civil Code a payment into a notary's deposit account releases the payer, and the notary hands the money over. You pay into the notary's account, and the notary releases it to the seller once you are registered as the owner. Banks hold notaries' deposits in nominal accounts, so the money is protected if the notary's own account is seized. Pay only into an account in the seller's own name or into a deposit; never to a third person. Our guide to safe payment compares the options.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm when a sale between two non-residents may be priced and paid in a foreign currency, including between two foreign bank accounts.
Sanctions and bank checks
Banks apply their own sanctions screening to sellers and buyers. In 2023 the National Bank of Georgia decided not to apply foreign sanctions to Georgian citizens without a court ruling, while TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia said they would apply all international sanctions. A payment to or from a person or a bank under sanctions may be blocked or delayed. If your seller or their bank could be affected, ask your own bank before you pay any deposit.
The seller's marriage
Under the Georgian Civil Code, property acquired during a marriage is the spouses' joint property unless a marriage contract provides otherwise. For foreign spouses, the Law on Private International Law first looks to the law of their common nationality, then to their common habitual residence, then to the closest connection; spouses may also choose, in a notarised agreement, the law of either spouse's nationality or residence or the law of the place where the property is. The transfer of the property itself follows Georgian law, because the flat is in Georgia.
In practice, ask whether the seller is married, when the flat was bought, and whether there is a marriage contract. Where the flat may be joint property, ask for the spouse's notarised consent or signature. Our guide to joint ownership explains the Georgian rules.
When the seller inherited the flat
Succession to a foreign national follows the law of their nationality at death, and for a person who lived abroad it opens in the country where they lived. The heir therefore usually holds a foreign inheritance certificate, which needs an apostille and a translation. The flat must first be registered in the heir's name; until it is, the heir cannot sell it. Check the extract for the heir's registration, and if several heirs share the flat, all of them must sign.
The seller's residence permit, and yours
A seller who holds a residence permit based on the flat loses its basis when their ownership ends, which happens on the day you are registered as owner. That is the seller's matter, but it can explain a seller's timing. If you want your own permit, you need your own valuation by an accredited valuer showing a value above $150,000: the rule that spares an owner a new valuation applies only to someone who keeps the same property. See our page on the $150,000 threshold.
A purchase from a seller abroad, step by step
Order the extract
Check the owner's name against the passport, and look for liens, seizures and mortgages.
Collect the seller's documents
Passport copy, apostilled power of attorney, marriage or inheritance papers as needed.
Have them translated and checked
By a notary in Georgia, allowing time for any registry verification.
Agree the money route
Currency, rate and a notary deposit or escrow, confirmed with your bank.
Sign the contract
In Georgian with a translation, at a notary or the Public Service Hall.
Register and release the payment
The price reaches the seller only after you appear on the new extract.
Risks and exceptions
- A forged or revoked power of attorney. Confirm it with the seller directly.
- Paying a third person. Pay only the seller's own account or a deposit.
- An absent spouse. Joint property may need the spouse's consent.
- A tax lien. It follows the flat if not cancelled.
- Blocked payments. Sanctions screening can stop a transfer.
- Delays. Verification of foreign documents can add weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying from a foreigner riskier than from a Georgian?
Not in law; the extra risks come from documents, representatives and payments abroad, and each can be checked.
Does a foreign seller's passport need translating?
Not for registration if its details are in English or Russian.
Can the seller sign from abroad?
Yes, through a representative with a notarised and apostilled power of attorney.
Do I have to withhold the seller's tax?
Not as a private individual; a company buyer may have to.
Does the seller pay tax on the sale?
Not if the flat was owned more than two years; otherwise 5% of the gain.
Can I pay into the seller's foreign account?
Your bank decides what it will send; a notary deposit until registration is the safer route.
What if the seller is married?
Ask for the spouse's notarised consent where the flat may be joint property.
Can I use the seller's valuation for my residence permit?
No; a new owner needs a new valuation.
Sources
- Law of Georgia on Notaries (Articles 38, 54-56), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Instruction on the Public Registry, Minister of Justice Order No 487 (Articles 20, 56, 57), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia (Articles 81, 82, 104, 134, 153, 154, 239), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Private International Law (Articles 32, 45, 55), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 183, 434-435, 1158-1160, 1324, 1326), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Facilitating the Prevention of Money Laundering (Articles 3, 11), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Larization measures, National Bank of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Notary's deposit account becomes more protected, Notary Chamber of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Public Registry's verification of foreign apostilled documents in Georgia, Andersen in Georgia, 15 September 2025 (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Sector snapshot: Batumi residential real estate, Investor.ge, 20 April 2026 (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Georgians protest National Bank decision not to apply Western sanctions, OCCRP, 21 September 2023 (accessed 14 October 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from the Law on Notaries, the Public Registry instruction, the Tax Code, the Law on Private International Law and the AML law.