What is included
- A list, in advance, of the documents the chosen bank asks of a non-resident, so that you arrive or send them once.
- The explanation of the source of funds, prepared with you from your bank statements, sale documents or employment records, in the form banks accept.
- The appointment with the bank and, where the bank allows it, our presence with you or action under a power of attorney.
- Help with the bank's compliance questions during the account opening and during the first transfer.
- Following the transfer of the purchase money from your bank abroad until it has arrived and been documented for the purchase.
- Setting up what you will need as an owner: online banking, a card, payment of utilities and building charges.
Who this service is for
Buyers who need money to arrive in Georgia reliably: to pay a developer in instalments, to pay a seller, to receive rent, to pay utilities and building charges, or to hold the funds for a purchase while the legal check runs. Owning property in Georgia does not legally require a Georgian account, and some purchases are paid from abroad directly to the seller through a Georgian bank; the account becomes useful the moment there is more than one payment or a rent coming back. It is also for buyers whose own bank treats Georgia cautiously and who want the Georgian side of the transfer documented properly so that the home bank's questions can be answered once.
Timeline
Choice of bank
We discuss which banks are practical for your country, your currency and your purpose, and you choose. We do not receive anything from any bank for this.
Documents
You assemble the bank's list with our help: identity, address, the purpose of the account, and the explanation of the source of funds with its supporting papers.
Appointment
The account is opened at the branch, with you present or under a power of attorney where the bank accepts one. The bank's compliance review may take time after the appointment.
First transfer
You send the purchase money from your bank abroad; we provide the Georgian bank with the contract and the explanation it asks for, and answer your home bank's questions with the same package.
Documented
The arrival of the funds is documented for the purchase file and for any later question from a tax authority or a bank at home.
The source of funds, explained
Every bank, in Georgia and at home, is required to understand where money comes from before it moves a large sum, and the question is not a suspicion but a procedure. The explanation we prepare answers it in the way banks expect: what the money is, where it was held, and the documents that show it. Savings from employment are shown with payslips or tax returns and statements; the proceeds of a sale with the sale contract and the statement showing the receipt; a gift with a letter from the giver and their own source; business income with company accounts and distributions. The explanation is written once and used for the Georgian bank, for your home bank and, if asked, for the seller or developer, so that you do not assemble it three times. Where a bank asks for more, we tell you what and why; where a bank refuses, which happens with some countries and some kinds of funds, we tell you early so that another route can be found.
Banks, countries and currencies
| Which bank | Georgian banks differ in their appetite for non-resident clients from particular countries and in their fees. The choice depends on your passport, your residence and your purpose, and we say which banks are practical for you without recommending one over another for our benefit. |
|---|---|
| Currencies | Accounts can hold dollars, euros and lari. Purchase prices are mostly quoted in dollars; utilities, taxes and many rents are paid in lari. The account structure follows what you will actually pay and receive. |
| Your home bank | Outgoing transfers to Georgia are questioned by some banks and restricted by a few. Your country guide describes what buyers from your country typically experience; the explanation of funds answers most questions. |
| Power of attorney | Some banks open accounts for non-residents under a power of attorney, others require the client in person at least once. We tell you which applies to the bank you choose. |
| Fees | Account opening, maintenance, incoming and outgoing transfers and currency conversion are charged by the bank under its tariff and paid by you. The quote lists the expected items. |
What we need from you
- Your passport and, for some banks, a second identity document or proof of address at home.
- Statements and documents that show the source of the funds you will transfer.
- The purchase documents once they exist: reservation agreement, contract, the lawyer's summary.
- Your presence at the branch, or a power of attorney where the bank accepts one.
- Honest answers to compliance questions; a bank that finds an inconsistency closes the file.
Price basis
You get a written quote for this service, normally a fixed fee, set on the basis that the prices and fees page explains. The bank's own charges for opening, maintaining and using the account and for transfers and conversion are third-party costs paid by you to the bank. We receive nothing from any bank for introducing a client, and if that ever changed it would be disclosed on the independence page and in your quote before you chose.
To be added by the team: the fixed fee for the bank account service and typical bank charges for non-resident accounts with their sources, to be supplied by the owner.
Why an application stalls, and how to avoid it
Most delays in opening an account or receiving a transfer come from the same few causes. Documents that do not match: a name spelled differently on a passport and a bank statement, an address on a utility bill that is not the address given to the bank, a statement that is older than the bank accepts. An explanation of funds that is a sentence rather than a file: "savings" with no statements behind it. A transfer sent before the account was fully approved, which arrives and sits in a holding account while the compliance review finishes. A home bank that asks for the purpose of the transfer and receives a vague answer, when the contract and the lawyer's summary were available. A purpose given to the bank that does not match what then happens: an account opened "for personal expenses" that receives a six-figure transfer for a property. We prevent each of these by assembling the file before the appointment, by telling the bank the real purpose, by waiting for approval before the transfer and by sending your home bank the same package. When a bank still refuses, which happens with some countries and some kinds of funds, we tell you early and look at another bank or another route.
Buying through a company
Some buyers hold property through a Georgian company for reasons of tax, succession or business, and a company needs its own account. The bank's questions are then about the company as well as about you: its registration, its directors and shareholders, its purpose and the source of its capital. The decision to buy through a company is a legal and tax decision that the partner lawyer and the accountant advise on before the structure is chosen, as the Buying & law section notes; this service then opens the company's account with the same method as a personal one. We do not recommend a company structure for its own sake, and for most buyers of a single apartment a personal account is simpler.
Cards, apps and paying from abroad
A Georgian account comes with a card and a banking app, and both work from abroad: the app pays utilities, building charges and the management company's invoices from wherever you are, and the card is useful on visits. Rent received into the account can be transferred out to your bank at home under the bank's rules for outgoing transfers, with the lease and the management statement as the documents the bank may ask for. Currency conversion happens at the bank's rate, which is one of the lines between gross and net yield that the Invest & money section describes. We show you how each of these works before you need it, and your contact person answers the questions that come up in the first months.
When you sell
At resale the proceeds arrive in the same account, and the documentation kept from this service, the original source-of-funds file, the purchase contract and the registration, is what your home bank will ask for when the money comes back. The resale service prepares that package with the bank; this service keeps it from the start so that it exists. An account can be closed after the proceeds have left and the last utility bills are paid, or kept if you intend to buy again.
After the account is open
An account that was opened for a purchase becomes the account of an owner. We set up online banking and a card, show you how utilities and building charges are paid through the bank's app or at payment terminals, and, if you rent out the apartment, how rent is received and how the management statement reconciles with the account. For tax, the accountant uses the account's statements when preparing a declaration of rental income, which is why we recommend keeping the property's payments in one account. When you sell, the proceeds arrive in the same account and the documentation of the original purchase, kept from this service, is what your home bank will ask for when the money comes back.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Georgian bank account to buy property?
No. Title passes whether or not you hold a Georgian account, and the purchase money can travel in one transfer from your own bank to the seller via a Georgian bank. An account earns its keep later, for instalments, utilities or rent.
Can a non-resident open an account in Georgia?
Yes, with the bank's documents and a satisfactory explanation of the source of funds. Banks differ in their requirements by country; we tell you which are practical for you.
Can the account be opened without me coming to Georgia?
With some banks, under a power of attorney; others require you in person at least once. We tell you which applies before you decide.
Why does the bank ask where my money comes from?
Because the law requires every bank to understand the origin of large sums. The explanation we prepare answers the question in the form banks expect and is reused for your home bank and the seller.
Do you recommend a particular bank?
We say which banks are practical for your country and purpose. We receive nothing from any bank and would disclose it if we did.
What if my home bank blocks the transfer?
Most questions are answered by the explanation of funds and the purchase documents. Where a bank will not send to Georgia at all, we tell you early and look at another route with you; your country guide describes what buyers from your country usually face.
Change log
- - Service page created with the full description of the bank account service; price basis to be supplied by the owner.