How much have the rules changed since 2019?
A great deal. In seven years the property route to a Georgian residence permit has been rebuilt twice: in 2019 the minimum value rose from $35,000 to $100,000, and on 1 March 2026 it rose again to more than $150,000. Around those two changes, Georgia added an IT permit, tightened the rules on work, introduced compulsory insurance for visitors and changed entry rules for several nationalities. Each step answered a particular problem, and each one changed the calculation for a foreign buyer.
This page tells that story in order and draws the lessons from it. Our residency rules tracker keeps the dated list of every change with its legal source and is updated as new changes arrive; here the focus is on why the rules moved, how the agency's practice moved with them, and what the pattern means for someone buying now.
Three eras at a glance
| Feature | Before 5 July 2019 | 5 July 2019 to 28 February 2026 | From 1 March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property value for the short-term permit | $35,000 | $100,000 | More than $150,000 |
| Investment permit | GEL 300,000 | $300,000, five-year permit | $300,000, five-year permit |
| Work in Georgia | Few formalities | Work-based permit with an income test | Right to work required for most foreigners |
| Visitors | One-year visa-free stay for listed countries | Same, with new rules for some nationalities | Same, plus compulsory insurance |
2019: closing the "carousel"
The first overhaul was passed by Parliament on 30 May 2019 and took effect on 5 July 2019, barely five weeks later. As reported by OC Media, officials justified it by what they called a carousel: inexpensive apartments were bought, used for a residence permit and then transferred to the next foreigner who needed one, so that a single property supported a chain of permits. The amendments answered on several fronts at once.
- The property threshold almost tripled, from $35,000 to $100,000.
- The investment permit changed currency and scale, from GEL 300,000 to $300,000, and became a five-year permit.
- Work-based permits gained an income test of at least five times the subsistence minimum.
For buyers the effect was immediate. Apartments that had been bought with a permit in mind no longer qualified for new applications, and the short notice left little time to complete purchases under the old figure. The lesson that many advisers drew then still holds: a residence-driven purchase should clear the threshold with room to spare, not sit just above it.
2022 and 2023: tighter practice without a new law
Not every change comes from Parliament. After 2022 the number of applications rose sharply, and the agency's decisions became stricter for some groups even though the legal text stayed the same. According to PB Services, which analysed agency data for 1 March 2022 to 31 March 2023, Russian citizens filed 10,004 applications in that year; 58% were granted and 34% refused. For permits based on property, the approval rate for that group fell from 51% in 2022 to 29% in 2023, while investment permits stayed at about 70%. Many refusals in that period are reported to have rested on the security grounds of Article 18, which our page on refusals explains.
The point for any buyer, whatever their nationality, is that the published rules are only half the picture. The other half is how the agency applies them at the time you file.
2024 and 2025: entry rules and a permit for IT
- 28 May 2024: citizens of China may stay without a visa for 30 days per visit.
- 17 April 2025: nationals of 17 countries who rely on Gulf residence permits for visa-free entry need permits that are multiple-entry and valid for one year.
- June 2025: Parliament adopted the amendment that would raise the property threshold to $150,000 from 1 March 2026, giving roughly eight months of notice.
- 1 September 2025: a new IT residence permit, for 3 years at a time up to 12, opened a route based on work rather than property. See our IT permit guide.
2026: the second overhaul
Three changes arrived within two months. From 1 January 2026 visitors need health and accident insurance for their stay. From 1 March 2026 the property threshold rose to more than $150,000, and the same day the amended Law on Labour Migration made a right to work necessary for most foreigners who are employed, self-employed or in business in the country. Together they mark a shift: the property permit now gives a right to live in Georgia, and work is treated as a separate question. Our page on the work permit from 2026 covers that side.
The 2026 change also shows how the state treated existing holders. According to EIG Law, permits based on property worth more than $100,000 can continue to be renewed under the earlier valuation rules as long as the owner keeps the property, while new applicants needed to have completed their purchase before the deadline to qualify at the old figure.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm the transitional provision of the 2025 amendment from its text: whether it protects renewals for every holder whose permit was granted before 1 March 2026, and what happens if such a holder sells and buys another property.
The constant in the background: the visa-free year
One rule has stayed in place throughout. Since Government Ordinance No 255 of 5 June 2015, citizens of the countries on its list have been able to stay in Georgia for a full year without a visa. The changes of the last few years have touched its edges rather than its core: a separate 30-day regime for Chinese citizens, stricter conditions for those who enter on Gulf residence permits, and insurance for every visitor from 2026. For most buyers the visa-free year is still the way in, and the time in which to decide whether a permit is worth applying for. Our page on the visa-free stay lists the countries.
Who holds permits today
In February 2026 the Prime Minister told Parliament that, according to preliminary data, 107,307 residence permits were held by citizens of 164 countries. The figure covers all grounds, not only property.
| Citizenship | Permits |
|---|---|
| Russia | 32,129 |
| India (mostly students) | 23,930 |
| Belarus | 3,738 |
| Turkey | 3,645 |
| Iran | 3,331 |
| United States | over 1,000 |
| All countries | 107,307 |
What the pattern tells a buyer
- Thresholds go up, not down. The property figure has risen at each overhaul, and nothing in the history suggests a reduction.
- Notice periods vary. In 2019 there were about five weeks between adoption and entry into force; in 2025 there were about eight months.
- Existing holders have so far been protected while they keep the property, but that protection comes from each amendment's own transitional rules, not from any general rule.
- Practice can tighten before the law does. Approval rates for some groups fell sharply in 2023 without any change in the text.
- Work and residence have separated. Since 2026 the right to live in Georgia and the right to work there are decided under different laws.
How to follow the next change
Watch Parliament, not headlines
A change to the threshold is an amendment to the Aliens Law. It is adopted by Parliament and published in the Legislative Herald with its date of entry into force and its transitional rules.
Check the agency before you file
The Public Service Development Agency updates its document lists and fees on its own pages; read them in the week you apply, not the month you bought.
Read the transition, not only the new figure
Who is protected, from which date and on what condition is set in the amendment itself.
Use the tracker
We record each change with its date and source as it is published.
Risks and exceptions
- Buying at the threshold. A value just above today's figure leaves no margin if the rule moves again.
- Relying on old guides. Articles from before March 2026 quote $100,000 and describe a world without the right-to-work rules.
- Assuming protection is automatic. Each amendment sets its own transition; read it, or ask a lawyer, before you sell or swap a property.
- Ignoring practice. The agency's approach can change faster than the law.
Frequently asked questions
How many times has the property threshold changed?
Twice in the period covered here: from $35,000 to $100,000 in July 2019, and to more than $150,000 in March 2026.
I bought for $100,000 before March 2026. Can I still renew?
According to EIG Law, holders with permits based on property above $100,000 can keep renewing under the earlier valuation rules while they keep the property. Our lawyer is confirming the exact transitional wording.
Will the threshold rise again?
Nobody can say. The history shows two increases in seven years and no decreases, so plan with a margin rather than at the minimum.
Where can I see every change with its source?
In our residency rules tracker, which lists each change by date with its legal source.
Did the 2026 change affect the investment permit?
Its threshold stayed at $300,000; the 2026 changes concerned the short-term property permit, work and visitors.
Today's rules in full are set out in our guide to the residence permit by property.
Sources
- Georgia toughens residency permit requirements, OC Media (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Georgia to increase real estate investment threshold for residence permits effective March 1, 2026, EIG Law, 27 February 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Georgian residence permits issued to Russian citizens: statistics 2022-2023, PB Services (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Georgia issues residence permits to 107,307 foreigners, GBC, February 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Legislative Herald of Georgia, consolidated 25 June 2026 (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Government Ordinance No 255 on visa-free stay, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from OC Media, EIG Law, PB Services and the February 2026 permit statistics; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.