What does permanent residence mean in Georgia?
Georgian law gives a foreigner the "right of permanent living" through one specific document: the permanent residence permit. Unlike the one-year permit most property buyers start with, it does not need renewing every year and does not depend on keeping a particular apartment. It is the closest a foreigner can come to settled status without becoming a Georgian citizen, and it is also the status that frees a foreign resident from the need for a separate right to work, which since March 2026 most other foreigners must obtain.
The permit is not granted for buying property. The law lists a small number of routes to it, almost all based on time spent in Georgia or on family ties to a Georgian citizen. Alongside it, the law offers investors a separate document, a residence permit for indefinite stay, after five years on the investment permit. This page sets out each route, how long it takes, what it costs, and the question every property owner asks: does time on the one-year property permit count?
Which routes lead to permanent status?
| Route | Who qualifies | Time needed | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long residence | An alien who has lived in Georgia on a temporary residence permit | The last 10 years | Permanent residence permit |
| Spouse of a citizen | The husband or wife of a Georgian citizen, living in Georgia on a permit for a citizen's spouse | The last 5 years | Permanent residence permit |
| Child of a citizen | A minor child of a Georgian citizen | None | Permanent residence permit |
| Parent of a citizen | A parent of a minor Georgian citizen | None | Permanent residence permit |
| Investor | A holder of the investment residence permit who meets its conditions | 5 years on that permit | Residence permit for indefinite stay |
Periods spent in Georgia for study, for medical treatment or working at a diplomatic mission do not count towards the ten years. A permanent permit ends if its holder becomes a Georgian citizen, because a citizen no longer needs one.
Do years on the property permit count?
This is the point that matters most to owners, and the text does not answer it plainly. The ten-year route counts residence "on the basis of a temporary residence permit". The article that lists the types of temporary permit refers to permits under Article 15(a) to (e); the one-year permit for property owners is granted under Article 15(j) and is not in that list. Read literally, the law may treat the property permit as a category of its own, and years on it might not count towards the ten.
That is a reading of the text, not a decision of the agency, and it is exactly the kind of question that should be settled before anyone plans ten years around it. Until our partner lawyer confirms the agency's practice, an owner who wants permanent status should not assume that renewing the property permit year after year is a path to it, and should look at the investment route or at another temporary permit, such as one for work, alongside it.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm whether years spent on the short-term property permit (Article 15(j)) count as residence on a temporary residence permit for the 10-year permanent route (Article 15(g)), and how the agency treats a mixture of permit types within the ten years.
The investor's route: five years to indefinite stay
The investment residence permit, for property worth more than $300,000 or an investment of at least that amount, is issued for five years. Before it expires, its holder may apply for a residence permit for indefinite stay. On the investment route, the holder must show the annual turnover the law requires for each of the five years; on the property route, the holder shows the property owned throughout the five years. The indefinite permit is a separate document from the permanent permit, with its own legal basis, but for a holder who keeps the qualifying property it offers the same practical benefit: no more yearly or five-yearly renewals.
For an owner whose property is worth more than $300,000, this is the most direct path from buying in Georgia to a settled status. The conditions and the yearly turnover figures are set out in our guide to the investment residence permit.
Permanent permit, indefinite permit and citizenship compared
| Feature | Permanent residence permit | Indefinite-stay permit (investor) | Georgian citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main route | 10 years on temporary permits, or family ties to a citizen | 5 years on the investment permit | 10 years of lawful residence plus an exam |
| Renewal | None: right of permanent living | None while the conditions hold | None |
| Right to work | No separate work right needed | Ask the lawyer | As a citizen |
| Your other citizenship | Kept | Kept | Usually given up, unless an exception applies |
| State fee | GEL 500 (30 days) or GEL 650 (20 days) | Ask at filing; not listed separately | From GEL 65, by speed |
The last row but one is often decisive. Becoming a Georgian citizen normally means giving up your other citizenship, while both residence permits leave it untouched. For many foreign owners, permanent residence is the better end point; our page on Georgian citizenship requirements explains the exceptions.
How do you apply for permanent residence?
Check the route and the dates
Count the years from your permits' decision dates, not from your first arrival, and confirm which permit types they were. Gaps between permits may break the chain.
Collect the evidence for your route
For long residence, the permit history; for a citizen's spouse, the marriage and the five years on a spouse's permit; for a child or parent, the civil documents. Documents not in Georgian need a certified translation.
Apply to the Public Service Development Agency
File at a Public Service Hall while your current permit or stay is still valid, using the agency's form and paying the fee for the speed you choose.
Receive the decision and the card
A permanent permit carries the right of permanent living. Keep your address and phone number up to date with the agency, as the law requires of every permit holder.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm the document list for each permanent-residence route and whether the 40-day filing rule of Resolution No 520 applies to it.
Planning ten years ahead
Permanent residence is a long project, and the rules have changed during the decade that many current residents have spent in Georgia: the property threshold has moved twice since 2019, and the right-to-work rules changed in 2026. A sound plan therefore has three features. It relies on a permit type whose years clearly count, rather than one whose status is uncertain. It keeps a complete file from the first day: every decision, card and receipt, so the ten years can be proved without asking the agency to reconstruct them. And it reviews the plan each year against the law in force, which our residency rules tracker records with dates and sources.
What changes once you hold permanent residence?
Day to day, less than people expect, and the differences are mostly about what you no longer have to do. There is no yearly extension and no fee to pay each year, and your right to stay no longer depends on keeping a particular property: you can sell your apartment, move to a rented one or buy elsewhere without touching your status. You can work without applying for the separate right to work that most other foreigners have needed since March 2026. You still keep your own citizenship and passport, and you still have to keep your mobile number and address up to date with the agency, as every permit holder must.
Some things do not change at all. Buying, owning and letting property works the same for a permanent resident as for anyone else. Your tax position is decided by a separate test: a person present in Georgia for 183 days or more in a continuous twelve-month period is a Georgian tax resident for that year, whether or not they hold any permit. And your permit says nothing about your rights in other countries; travel to the Schengen area, for example, depends on your own passport, not on your Georgian status.
Risks and exceptions
- Assuming property years count. The one-year property permit may not count towards the ten-year route; confirm before you rely on it.
- Gaps between permits. A permit that lapses before the next one starts may break the continuity the law requires.
- Mixing up the two settled permits. The investor's indefinite-stay permit and the permanent permit have different bases and conditions.
- Forgetting the other citizenship. Choosing citizenship over permanent residence usually costs your existing nationality.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get permanent residence by buying property?
Not directly. Property gives a one-year permit, or a five-year investment permit above $300,000; the investment permit can lead to indefinite stay after five years.
Does a permanent permit need renewing?
No. It is issued with the right of permanent living. Keep your contact details current with the agency.
Can I work with a permanent permit?
Yes. Holders of a permanent residence permit are not among those who need a separate right to work under the 2026 rules.
What if I marry a Georgian citizen?
After five years living in Georgia on a permit for a citizen's spouse, you can apply for permanent residence.
Do I lose permanent residence if I live abroad?
The provisions we cite set no minimum stay for the permanent permit. Ask the lawyer before a long absence, as practice can differ from the text.
Can I sell my property after I get permanent residence?
Yes. Unlike the one-year property permit, the permanent permit does not depend on owning a particular property, so a sale does not affect it.
Is permanent residence the same as citizenship?
No. You keep your own citizenship and do not vote in national elections; citizenship has its own requirements and exam.
Sources
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Articles 15(g), 15(j), 15(k), 16 and 21), consolidated 25 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Migration and residence permits: permanent residence permit, fees and terms, Public Service Development Agency (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Georgia work permits, Andersen in Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
Change log
- - Explainer published from Articles 15(g), 15(k), 16 and 21 of the law and the agency's fees; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.