Permit and card: what is the difference?
The residence permit is a decision of the Public Service Development Agency: it gives you the right to live in Georgia on a particular ground for a particular period. The residence card is the document that proves it. Under the law on registration and identity documents, a residence card certifies three things: your citizenship, your identity and your place of residence in Georgia. When the card is issued, you are also given a Georgian personal number, the identifier that most Georgian institutions use to recognise a person.
That combination, a recognised identity document and a personal number, is what changes daily life. This page explains what the card does in practice, what it does not do, how to obtain it and how to keep it valid.
What the card does for you
- Entry without a visa while it is valid. Article 10(4) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens lets holders of a Georgian residence permit enter Georgia without a visa for the whole validity of the permit. You are no longer counting a visa-free year from your last entry.
- Equal treatment as a resident. Article 25 of the same law gives aliens residing in Georgia equality with citizens in rights, freedoms and obligations, except where a law provides otherwise.
- A personal number. Banks, mobile operators, utility companies, schools and public registers all identify people by it, and many online public services are built around it.
- A local identity document. For everyday identification inside Georgia, the card is often accepted where you would otherwise show your passport.
- Proof of your address. The card records your place of residence, which helps wherever an address in Georgia has to be shown.
In practice: where the card helps
| Situation | What changes with the card |
|---|---|
| Returning to Georgia from abroad | Entry without a visa for the whole validity of the permit |
| Opening or keeping a bank account | A resident's identity document and personal number; banks still run their own checks |
| Mobile, internet and utilities in your name | Contracts can be made on your personal number |
| Enrolling children at school or kindergarten | Schools usually ask for the card together with the birth certificate |
| Public services online | Services that identify users by personal number become available |
| Renewing your permit | The card's end date tells you when to start; the deadline is 40 calendar days before it |
To be added by the team: the owner to add which banks and service providers our clients have used with a residence card in 2026, from the agency's own files, and the partner lawyer to confirm which public online services accept a resident's personal number.
Banks deserve a note of their own. A card makes opening an account easier, but it does not replace the bank's own checks on the source of your money. Our guide to opening a bank account explains what the banks ask for.
What the card does not do
- It does not give a right to work. Work has needed its own permission for most foreigners since 1 March 2026, and the property permit is not one of the exemptions. See our page on the work permit from 2026.
- It does not make you a tax resident. Tax residence follows the days you spend in Georgia, not your card. The difference is explained in our page on tax residency and residence permits.
- It does not open other countries' borders. A Georgian card gives no visa-free entry to the Schengen area or anywhere else; your passport decides that.
- It is not a travel document. You still cross every border, including Georgia's, with your passport.
- It does not lead to citizenship by itself. Citizenship has its own conditions, set out in our page on Georgian citizenship.
How to get the card
Article 20(2) of the Aliens Law obliges you to obtain the residence card within one month of receiving the permit. The agency treats the card as a service of its own, with a fee that depends on how quickly you want it.
| Ready by | Fee |
|---|---|
| 10th working day | GEL 60 |
| 5th working day | GEL 80 |
| 3rd working day | GEL 100 |
| 2nd working day | GEL 120 |
| Same day | GEL 150 |
For a temporary card the agency asks for the decision granting the permit, two photographs, which can be taken at the agency for GEL 5 a set, and your foreign identity document. A temporary card is valid for as long as the permit; a permanent residence card is valid for five years.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm whether the card fee is charged in addition to the permit fee for every grant and extension, or whether the card is included when the permit is issued.
Cards for your spouse and children
Every alien granted a residence permit obtains a card of their own, whatever their age, so a family of four collects four cards and pays four fees. For a child, the agency adds the birth certificate to the list of documents. Family members hold permits on the ground of the main holder's permit, which means their cards run on the same calendar: when the owner's permit is extended, theirs need extending too, and each extension ends with a new card for each person. Collecting all the cards on the same visit saves a second trip to the Public Service Hall. Our page on family members covers their applications.
The card at the border, and when you are abroad
When you come back to Georgia, show your passport together with the card; the border officer checks that your permit is still valid. Plan trips around the card's end date. If it expires while you are away, the card no longer gives you entry, and you need another basis to come in, such as the visa-free stay if your nationality has one. Resolution No 520 allows a foreigner who is outside Georgia to file electronically only to extend an existing permit, not to apply for a new one, so an owner who travels a great deal should file the extension well before leaving.
When the permit changes or ends
The temporary card lives and dies with the permit behind it. If you sell the property that supports a short-term permit, the permit ends and the card loses its basis with it; our page on selling or a fall in value explains the sequence. If you move from the property permit to the investment permit or to permanent residence, the new decision brings a new card with a different validity. In every case the card in your wallet should match the decision the agency holds.
A new card every year on the property permit
The short-term permit on the property ground is granted for one year and extended a year at a time, and the temporary card lasts as long as the permit. In practice the property owner's calendar therefore has one event a year: file the extension at least 40 calendar days before the card's end date, receive the new decision and collect the new card. The investment permit, granted for five years, needs this far less often. Our page on annual renewal follows the cycle in detail.
Keeping the card valid and accurate
The card has to tell the truth about you. The law on registration requires it to be replaced when your place of residence or name changes, when it contains an inaccuracy or when it becomes unfit for use, including when it is lost or damaged. Separately, Article 20-1 of the Aliens Law requires a permit holder to tell the agency straight away about a new mobile number or a new actual address. Both obligations are easy to forget after a move within Tbilisi or from Tbilisi to Batumi, and both matter at the next extension, when the agency compares what it holds with what you file.
Risks and exceptions
- Not collecting the card in time. The law gives one month from the permit.
- Moving without updating. A new address means a new card and a notice to the agency.
- Treating the card as a work permit. Work needs its own permission since 2026.
- A card that expires during a trip. Without a valid card you need another basis to enter Georgia.
- Travelling on the card. Borders are crossed with a passport; the card only proves your status in Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get a Georgian personal number?
Yes. The law on registration assigns a personal number when a residence card is issued to you.
Can I enter Georgia on the card without a visa?
Yes, for the whole validity of your permit, showing the card together with your passport.
How long is the card valid?
A temporary card lasts as long as the permit, so one year on the property permit; a permanent residence card lasts five years.
What if I lose the card?
Apply for a replacement at the agency. The law treats a card that is lost or unfit for use as one that must be replaced.
Can I extend my permit while I am abroad?
Yes, electronically. Resolution No 520 lets a foreigner who is outside Georgia file online only to extend a permit; a new permit has to be applied for from inside the country.
Do my children get cards too?
Yes. Every alien granted a residence permit obtains a residence card, whatever their age.
Sources
- Law of Georgia on the procedure for registering citizens of Georgia and aliens residing in Georgia, and for issuing an identity (residence) card and a passport (Articles 11, 12, 15 and 18), Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 26 November 2025 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Articles 10, 20, 20-1 and 25), Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 25 June 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Residence card: fees, documents and validity, Public Service Development Agency (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Migration and residence permits, Public Service Development Agency (accessed 13 October 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from the law on registration and identity documents, the Aliens Law and the agency's residence card service; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.