What does a residence permit through property cost in state fees?
The state fee for the permit itself is small and fixed: GEL 300 if you accept a decision by the 30th calendar day, GEL 450 for a decision by the 20th and GEL 600 for one by the 10th, paid to the Public Service Development Agency. The same scale applies to the investment residence permit, and it applies again each time a short-term permit is extended. The other costs around the application are set elsewhere: the Public Registry charges for an extract, notaries charge for certifying translations and powers of attorney, and the accredited valuation firm sets its own fee. This page puts all of them in one place, with the deadlines that decide when each payment is due, so that you can plan both the budget and the calendar.
All amounts are in lari, the currency in which the state charges them. Where a figure is set by a private firm rather than by law, the table says so, and we leave it to the quote you receive. For the ground rules of the permit itself, start with our residency guide.
The fees in one table
| Item | Amount | Who charges it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term residence permit, decision by the 30th calendar day | GEL 300 | Public Service Development Agency | At filing |
| Short-term residence permit, by the 20th day | GEL 450 | Public Service Development Agency | At filing |
| Short-term residence permit, by the 10th day | GEL 600 | Public Service Development Agency | At filing |
| Extension of the short-term permit | GEL 300 / 450 / 600, same scale | Public Service Development Agency | Each year |
| Investment residence permit | GEL 300 / 450 / 600, same scale | Public Service Development Agency | At filing |
| Permanent residence permit | GEL 500 by the 30th day; GEL 650 by the 20th | Public Service Development Agency | At filing, when eligible |
| Valuation by an accredited assessor | Set by the firm | Accredited valuation body | Before filing; not needed again while you keep the same property |
| Certification of a translation by a notary | GEL 6 per signature for one page, down to GEL 2 for long documents | Notary (Resolution No 507, Art. 31) | For documents not in Georgian |
| Power of attorney certified by a notary | GEL 18 from an individual | Notary (Resolution No 507, Art. 31) | If a representative files for you |
| Translation itself | Set by the translator | Translation bureau | Before certification |
| Right to work, if you need one | GEL 200 (30 days) or GEL 400 (10 working days) | State Employment Promotion Agency | Separate from the residence permit |
The agency lists the residence card as a separate service, from GEL 60 for the 10th working day to GEL 150 for the same day. The fee you pay at filing covers the decision; ask at filing whether anything else is due in your case.
The deadlines that matter
| Deadline | Length | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Latest day to apply | At least 40 calendar days before your lawful stay ends | Count back from the end of your visa-free year, visa or current permit |
| Decision | By the 30th, 20th or 10th calendar day, by the fee paid | The period runs from a complete file; a request for more documents can extend it |
| Paper after an online application | Within 10 days | After the recorded video call, the original documents follow by post or in person |
| Appeal against a refusal | 10 calendar days | To a court, from service of the decision (Aliens Law Art. 21-2) |
| New application after a refusal | No earlier than 1 month | On the same ground |
| Validity of the short-term permit | 1 year, extendable each time by 1 year | While you keep the property |
| Validity of the investment permit | 5 years | With yearly proof of turnover on the investment route |
| Visa-free stay for listed nationalities | 1 year | The usual starting point from which the 40 days are counted |
The 40-day rule is the one that catches people. It is written for an application to issue a permit, and it means that a person whose visa-free year ends on 31 May has to file by 21 April, not in the last weeks of May. Our partner lawyer is checking whether an extension falls under the same 40-day rule; until that is settled, plan renewals with the same margin, as our renewal guide recommends.
Which processing speed should you pay for?
The faster options do not improve your chances; they only move the date of the decision. GEL 150 more buys ten days, GEL 300 more buys twenty. The standard 30-day option suits most first applications filed in good time. The faster ones are worth paying for in three situations: when your lawful stay is running out and you filed close to the 40-day line, when you have travel booked that depends on holding the card, or when a family member's application is waiting for a copy of your permit. Note that the clock runs from a complete file, so paying for ten days does not help if a document is missing; the agency's request for it stops the speed you paid for from being of any use until you respond.
A worked budget for a first application
Take a buyer who files the first application alone, on one apartment, without a representative, paying for the standard 30-day decision. The state fee is GEL 300. The documents are in English, so the passport pages and any other foreign document need a Georgian translation; for a ten-page translation, the notary's certification of the translator's signature costs GEL 4 under the tariff, plus a GEL 5 register fee, on top of the translator's own fee. The valuation fee is quoted by the firm. If the same buyer files through a representative, a notarised power of attorney adds GEL 18, plus any apostille or legalisation of a power of attorney signed abroad, which is charged in the country where it is signed.
| Item | GEL |
|---|---|
| State fee, 30-day decision | 300 |
| Notary's certification of a 10-page translation | 9 |
| Power of attorney, if a representative files | 18 |
| Fixed official items in total | 300 to 327 |
The fixed official items are modest. The variable ones, the valuation, the translator and any professional help, make up most of the real cost, which is why the quotes are worth collecting before you start.
To be added by the team: typical market prices for the valuation and for translation of a standard set of documents in Tbilisi and Batumi, from the agency's own recent quotes, and the partner lawyer's confirmation of whether the residence card fee is charged on top of the permit fee.
How do fees work for a family?
Each family member files a separate application, and each application carries its own fee, so a couple with two children pays four fees, not one. The family members' applications rely on a copy of the owner's permit, so the order matters: the owner's decision comes first. If the whole family needs to be settled by a fixed date, paying for the faster decision on the owner's application can save more time overall than paying for speed on everyone's. The details of who can join the owner are in our page on family members and the residence permit.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm the fee scale for family members' applications under the short-term permit, which the agency's page does not list separately.
What you pay in the years after the permit
Once the permit is granted, the costs settle into a yearly cycle. Each extension is a new application on the same fee scale, so the state fee recurs every year for as long as you hold the short-term permit. The valuation does not recur while you keep the same property, which removes the largest variable cost after the first year. A fresh registry extract is the one document worth ordering before every extension, because it shows that the property is still yours and still free of anything that would raise questions. Translations recur only when a foreign document changes, most often a new passport. For a family, the cycle repeats for each member, a few weeks after the owner's extension. Five years on the short-term route therefore cost five state fees per person and one valuation; the investment permit, if your property qualifies for it, replaces those five fees with one.
How often do these figures change?
The figure that has moved is the property threshold, from $35,000 to $100,000 in July 2019 and to $150,000 on 1 March 2026. Our residency rules tracker records every such change with its date and source, and this page will be updated whenever the agency changes its fees. Each figure here shows the date we last checked it.
Risks and exceptions
- Paying for speed with an incomplete file. The period runs from a complete file; a missing document makes the faster fee useless.
- Missing the 40-day line. Filing later than 40 days before your stay ends risks a refusal or a gap in your lawful stay.
- Untranslated documents. Documents not in Georgian need a certified translation; budget for them at the start.
- Assuming one fee covers the family. Each person files and pays separately.
Frequently asked questions
Is the fee refunded if the permit is refused?
The fee pays for the review of the application, not for a positive decision. Ask the agency at filing about its refund practice; we have not found a published refund rule.
Can I pay from abroad?
An extension can be applied for electronically from abroad, and the fee is paid as part of that application. A first application is filed in Georgia.
Does the faster option make approval more likely?
No. It changes only the date by which the agency decides.
Do I pay again every year?
Yes, each extension of the short-term permit is a new application with the same fee scale, but without a new valuation while you keep the same property.
Are the fees paid in dollars?
No. The agency, the registry and notaries charge in lari. Only the property threshold is expressed in dollars, converted to its lari equivalent.
Is the investment permit more expensive?
The state fee is the same scale, GEL 300, 450 or 600, and the permit lasts five years instead of one.
Sources
- Migration and residence permits: fees and terms, Public Service Development Agency (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Government Resolution No 520 on the procedures for residence permits (Articles 3, 13, 16 and 17), consolidated 26 August 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Articles 15 and 16), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Government Resolution No 507 on notarial tariffs (Article 31), consolidated 30 May 2022, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 13 October 2026)
- Health Ministry clarifies new procedure for granting work rights to foreign nationals, 1TV (accessed 13 October 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from the agency's fee list, Resolution No 520 and the notarial tariff; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.