Georgia residence permit by property: the complete 2026 guide

The whole route on one screen

1. Own the propertyRegistered in your name, non-agricultural
2. Get the valuationAccredited assessor, market value over $150,000
3. Build the filePassport, extract, report, family documents
4. ApplyPublic Service Development Agency, while your stay is legal
5. Decision and cardWithin 10, 20 or 30 days by the fee paid
6. Renew every yearWhile you keep the property

Georgia gives a one-year residence permit to a foreigner who owns non-agricultural property in the country worth more than $150,000, and to that person's spouse and children. The permit is renewed every year while the property is kept. That is the whole rule in two sentences; the rest of this guide explains every word in them, the procedure that turns them into a residence card, the costs and the timing, what the permit gives and what it does not, where applications fail, and what happens if you sell. It is written from the text of the law and the official instructions of the agency that issues the permit, with every figure sourced and dated, and it is reviewed by our partner lawyer before the review notice above is removed.

What exactly does the law say?

The property-based permit is not a programme with a brochure; it is one line in the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, and reading that line closely answers most questions before they are asked. Article 15 of the law lists the kinds of residence permit Georgia issues, from work and study permits to the permanent residence permit. One of them, under Article 15(j), is the short-term residence permit, issued to a foreigner who has the property right to an immovable thing in Georgia, except agricultural land, with a market value exceeding the equivalent of $150,000 in lari, and to that person's spouse and child or children. The same article says that the market value is established by a certified assessor of a body accredited by the national accreditation body. Article 16 sets the term: the permit is issued for one year and can be extended. Article 21 sets the end: the short-term residence permit terminates when the right of ownership of the property terminates.

Four practical consequences follow directly from the text. First, the test is ownership, not purchase: a preliminary contract, a reservation or a paid deposit is not a property right, and an application cannot rest on them. Second, the test is market value as found by an accredited assessor, not the price you paid. Third, agricultural land is excluded whatever its value. Fourth, the permit lives exactly as long as the ownership: sell the property and the legal ground for the permit is gone. The consolidated text we read is dated 25 June 2026 on the Legislative Herald of Georgia; laws change, and the "Last checked" date of this guide tells you when we last compared it with the source.

Who qualifies, and what counts towards $150,000?

Any foreign national or stateless person who owns qualifying property can apply; there is no nationality restriction in the article, no minimum age for the owner, no requirement to live in Georgia for a period first, and no requirement to earn income in the country. The threshold is about value and ownership. The table separates what counts from what does not, because most of the questions we receive are about the edges of the rule.

Counts	Apartments, houses, commercial premises and non-agricultural land registered in your name in the Public Registry, in Tbilisi, Batumi, the resorts or anywhere else in Georgia.
Not confirmed	Several properties whose appraised values only pass $150,000 when added together. The article speaks of one immovable thing, so plan on one property above the line until our lawyer confirms agency practice.
Counts, with care	Property owned jointly or held through a company: the share and the structure have to be examined before filing, because the permit attaches to the person who holds the property right.
Does not count	Agricultural land, including the plot under a village house if the plot is registered as agricultural.
Does not count	An apartment you have reserved, are paying for in instalments without registered ownership, or have a preliminary contract for.
Does not decide	The price in your contract. A property bought for more than $150,000 can be appraised below it, and the assessor's market value is the test.

Two edge cases deserve a sentence each. An off-plan apartment counts only once it is registered as your property, which for a new building usually happens after the building is commissioned and the units are registered; until then the purchase is a contract, not a property right, and the timeline of the permit follows the timeline of the building. A property bought jointly with a spouse can support the permit for the family, but the file has to show clearly whose property right it is; the partner lawyer reads the registry extract before the application rather than after a refusal.

How do you get the permit, step by step?

The procedure has seven steps. Most delays come from the steps the applicant controls, not from the agency, so the order matters.

1. Complete the purchase and register it

   The property must be registered in your name at the Public Registry, and you should hold a current registry extract. For a new building, this means after the units are registered, not after the contract is signed.

   Timing depends on the purchase and, for new builds, on the building

2. Check the land category and the likely value

   Confirm from the extract that the property is not agricultural land, and if you are close to the threshold, get an indicative view of the market value before you commission the formal report.

   Before you spend on documents

3. Commission the valuation

   An assessor certified by a body accredited by the Unified National Body of Accreditation inspects the property and issues a report of its market value. If the value is below $150,000 equivalent in lari, stop here and reconsider.

   The assessor's own time; fee paid to the assessor

4. Prepare the documents

   The application form, a copy of your passport, a colour photograph, the registry extract, the valuation report, and for family members the documents that prove the relationship, legalised and translated into Georgian.

   Foreign documents take the longest; start early

5. Apply while your stay is legal

   Submit the application to the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice, in person at a Public Service Hall or agency office, through a representative with a power of attorney, or electronically where the agency allows it, and pay the fee for the processing speed you choose.

   Fee GEL 300, 450 or 600 for 30, 20 or 10 days

6. Answer any request and receive the decision

   The agency may ask for additional documents. Once the decision is positive, the residence card is produced and collected.

   Within the period paid for, counted from a complete file

7. Renew before expiry

   The permit is valid for one year. Before it expires, apply to extend it on the same ground, showing that you still own the property.

   Every year while you keep the permit

If you prefer someone to run these steps, our residence permit service handles the eligibility check, the valuation, the file, the filing and the renewal. The steps are the same whoever runs them.

How does the valuation work, and why does it decide the outcome?

The law does not accept your contract price, an online estimate or a developer's price list as proof of value. It requires the market value to be established by a certified assessor working for a body that holds accreditation from the Unified National Body of Accreditation, the national accreditation centre that operates under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. In practice this means a valuation report from an accredited inspection body, addressed to you, describing the property and stating its market value at the date of inspection. The report is converted to the dollar threshold at the official exchange rate, because the law speaks of $150,000 equivalent in lari.

The valuation is the single most common reason a property-based application fails, and it surprises owners who paid more than $150,000. Three situations produce a report below the price. A new apartment bought in a tower with many similar units is valued against what those units actually sell for, not against the developer's list price. An apartment bought on instalments carries the cost of the instalment credit in its price, which a market valuation does not include. And a white-frame apartment is valued as a white frame, which is lower than the same apartment finished. If your purchase is close to the threshold, the safe order is to get an indicative view of value before you sign the purchase, not after. If you are already the owner and the report comes in below, the options are to finish the apartment and value it again, to switch to a single property that passes the threshold without help, or to use a different route to residency described further down.

Which documents are needed?

The agency's instructions and the procedure order list the documents; the exact list is checked against the current form before each application, because forms change more often than laws. A typical file for the property-based permit contains the following.

• The application form, completed on the agency's form.
• A copy of a valid passport or other travel document.
• A recent colour photograph in the format the agency specifies.
• The current Public Registry extract showing your property right.
• The valuation report by a certified assessor of an accredited body.
• Proof of payment of the fee for the chosen processing speed.
• For a spouse: a marriage certificate, legalised and translated into Georgian.
• For children: birth certificates, legalised and translated, and where relevant documents on custody or consent.
• For a representative: a power of attorney, notarised and, if issued abroad, legalised and translated.

Documents issued outside Georgia are accepted after legalisation: an apostille if the issuing country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, consular legalisation if it is not. They are then translated into Georgian by a certified translator, often with the translator's signature notarised. The detail that causes most rejected files is not a missing document but an inconsistent one: a name spelled one way in the passport, another in a birth certificate and a third in the translation. Check every spelling letter by letter before anything is translated.

The agency's own lists, one for the owner and one for the spouse and children, are reproduced item by item with notes in our documents checklist, checked on 12 October 2026.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

The state fee depends on how fast you want the decision. The amounts below are from the Public Service Development Agency's page for residence permits, checked on 11 October 2026; they are the agency's fees only, not the assessor's, the translator's or a lawyer's.

Decision within 30 days	GEL 300
Decision within 20 days	GEL 450
Decision within 10 days	GEL 600
Permanent residence permit, for comparison	GEL 500 (30 days) or GEL 650 (20 days)
Other costs you pay directly	Assessor's fee, certified translation, legalisation abroad, notary for a power of attorney

Source: Public Service Development Agency, migration and residence permits page, accessed 11 October 2026.

The periods run from a complete file. A file that the agency returns for a missing or inconsistent document starts again when the gap is filled, which is why a slower fee with a clean file often produces a card sooner than a faster fee with a file that needs a second round. The time you need before filing, for the purchase, the registration, the valuation and documents from abroad, is usually much longer than the agency's period, and it is the part to plan around your stay in Georgia.

Can your family get permits on the same property?

Yes. Article 15(j) extends the short-term residence permit to the owner's spouse and child or children, on the basis of the same property. Each family member applies with their own passport and photograph and with the documents that prove the relationship, and each receives their own card. The family's permits follow the owner's: they are issued for the same term, renewed on the same ground, and they depend on the same ownership. If the owner sells, the ground disappears for everyone.

Two questions come up often. Parents of the owner are not named in the article; a parent who wants to live in Georgia needs a ground of their own. Adult children are named as children in the article, but whether an adult child is included in a particular case, and with which documents, is a point the partner lawyer confirms before filing. For children, schools usually ask for the residence card and the birth certificate when enrolling, which is one more reason to file for the whole family at once.

What does the permit give you, and what does it not?

The permit gives the right to live in Georgia for its term without leaving to restart a visa-free period, to register an address, and to deal with banks, schools, clinics and the authorities as a resident rather than a visitor. For many families it is the document that turns a property purchase into a base. It does not give citizenship or a passport. It does not by itself give permanent residence; that has its own conditions, described below. It does not give the right to work for an employer: under the rules in force since 1 March 2026, most foreign nationals without a permanent residence permit need a separate permit for labour activity, and holders of the property-based short-term permit are not listed among the exemptions in the sources we checked. And it does not make you a tax resident, which is a separate test based on days spent in the country.

Work and tax: the two most common misunderstandings

Work. From 1 March 2026 Georgia requires most foreign nationals to hold a right-to-labour-activity permit before they start paid work, freelance work or business activity in the country, issued through the State Employment Promotion Agency's labour migration portal. The exemptions reported in our sources include refugees and persons with international protection, diplomatic personnel, accredited journalists and holders of a valid investment residence permit; foreign nationals already registered in the labour migration system had until 1 January 2027 to regularise, and enforcement against self-employed foreigners began on 1 May 2026. A property-based permit holder who intends to work in Georgia, including through their own company, should therefore check the labour permit before starting. Working remotely for a foreign employer raises different questions about where the income is taxed, which the next paragraph addresses.

Tax. Georgian tax residence does not follow from the residence permit. An individual becomes a Georgian tax resident for a tax year by spending 183 days or more in Georgia within any continuous 12-month period that ends in that year. A permit holder who spends most of the year abroad may never become a tax resident; a visitor without a permit who stays long enough can become one. Georgia taxes rent from property in Georgia regardless of where the owner is resident, and the rules on how it is declared are on the tax pages of the Invest & money section once confirmed by our accountant. Your tax position at home is a matter for an adviser in your own country.

How does renewal work?

The permit is valid for one year and is extended on the same ground. In practice, renewal means applying before the current permit expires with proof that you still own the property, plus the same identity documents and fee as a first application. Under Article 16(3) of the law, no fresh market valuation has to be submitted by an owner who still holds the property that the permit was granted on. Start early enough that a request for an additional document does not leave you without a valid permit. Keep the property's documents in order between renewals: a change in the registry, such as a new co-owner or a mortgage, is visible on the extract and may need explaining.

Holders who qualified before 1 March 2026 under the old $100,000 threshold are a particular case. According to the sources we checked, the June 2025 amendment allows them to continue renewing while they keep ownership of the property that qualified them. The practical advice is simple: do not sell, gift or restructure the ownership of that property without checking how it affects your renewal, because a new application after a change may be assessed against the current threshold.

What happens if you sell, or the value falls?

Article 21(11) of the law says that the short-term residence permit terminates when the right of ownership of the property terminates. A sale, a gift to a relative or a transfer to a company ends the ground for the permit, and with it the family's permits. If you plan to sell, plan the sale around another ground for staying in Georgia, or around the end of the current term, and take advice before the contract; our resale service begins with exactly this question. A fall in market value is a different matter. Article 16(3) frees an owner who retains the property behind the short-term permit from filing another valuation at each extension, so a later fall in prices does not by itself end the permit. What ends it is the end of ownership.

Beyond the one-year permit: investment, permanent residence and citizenship

The property-based permit is a one-year, renewable status. Three longer routes exist, each with its own conditions.

Investment residence permit	Article 15(h): an investment of at least $300,000 equivalent in lari, or ownership of non-agricultural property with a market value exceeding $300,000, valued in the same way. Five-year term. After it, a permit for indefinite stay can follow if the conditions are kept, for property holders by keeping the property for the five years. Holders of a valid investment permit are among the exemptions from the labour permit requirement reported in our sources.
Permanent residence permit	Article 15(g): among other grounds, available to foreigners who have lived in Georgia for 10 years on temporary residence permits, not counting periods of study or medical treatment. Fee GEL 500 or GEL 650 by speed.
Citizenship by naturalisation	Organic Law on Georgian Citizenship, Article 12, in the consolidated text we read: lawful residence in Georgia for the last 10 consecutive years, knowledge of the Georgian language, history and basic principles of law, and a job, real estate or business in Georgia. Some secondary sources report a shorter period from 2024; the official text we checked says 10 years, and our lawyer confirms before this line loses its review notice.

For a buyer whose goal is a long-term status rather than a one-year permit, the choice between a $150,000 property and a $300,000 one is therefore a choice between a renewable one-year permit that never becomes more than that by itself, and a five-year permit that can lead to an indefinite one. The arithmetic of that choice belongs to your budget and plans, and the Comparisons section sets it against the residency routes of other countries.

How does the property route compare with the other routes?

The IT employment permit, introduced in September 2025, is reported in our sources as a three-year permit for technology professionals with at least two years' experience and annual income above $25,000; it does not require property at all, and the exact conditions are confirmed by our lawyer before we restate them on a dedicated page. The routes are not exclusive: a buyer can hold an IT permit and still buy property for its own sake, and a property-permit holder can later move to a longer-term ground.

When should you apply? Visa-free stay and timing

Citizens of the countries listed in Government Ordinance No 255 of 5 June 2015 may enter Georgia without a visa and stay for one full year. The list includes Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the United States, the United Kingdom and the member states of the European Union, among many others. For these buyers the year of visa-free stay is usually enough time to buy, register, value and apply, and the application should be filed while that stay is still lawful. Citizens of countries not on the list enter on a visa whose term limits the timing more tightly, and should plan the application with their visa in mind. Filing after a lawful stay has lapsed is a problem that no property solves.

Three typical situations, and the order that works for each

These are not client stories; they are the three patterns we see most often, described so that you can recognise your own and follow its order.

A family buying a finished apartment in Tbilisi to live in. The family arrives on the visa-free year, chooses an apartment, and has the legal check done before paying anything. After the purchase is registered, the assessor values the apartment; because it is finished and in a residential district, the value is usually close to the price. Meanwhile the marriage and birth certificates, legalised before the trip, are translated. The whole family applies together, choosing the processing speed by how much of the visa-free year remains. The cards arrive, the children are enrolled at school with them, and the renewal is diarised for eleven months later.

An investor buying an off-plan apartment in Batumi. The permit cannot be applied for until the apartment is registered, which happens after the building is commissioned. The investor therefore treats the purchase and the permit as two projects with a gap between them. During construction, the visa-free year runs out and starts again with each new entry, and nothing is filed. When the units are registered, the investor commissions the valuation. If the apartment is a white frame and close to the threshold, the investor finishes it first. Only then is the application filed, often by a representative under a power of attorney.

An owner who bought under the old $100,000 rule. The permit was obtained before 1 March 2026 and is renewed every year. The owner's task is to keep the qualifying property and to renew on time. The risk is a change: selling the apartment to buy a larger one, transferring it to a company or gifting it to a child would end the old ground, and a new application would then be assessed under the current rule. An owner who wants to change the property plans the change with a lawyer before signing anything.

How have the rules changed since 2019?

The property route in its current form dates from 2019, when the threshold was set at $100,000 for a one-year renewable permit. In June 2025 Parliament amended the law to raise the threshold to $150,000 from 1 March 2026; Erickson Immigration Group describes it as the third increase in the programme's history. Buyers who wanted to qualify at the old level had to complete their purchase before 1 March 2026, and existing holders may continue renewing while they keep their property. In the same period Georgia introduced the IT employment permit (September 2025) and made labour permits mandatory for most foreign workers (1 March 2026). The direction of travel has been towards higher thresholds and more conditions, which is a reason to read the current text rather than an old article, and to check the date at the top of any guide, including this one. A timeline of changes, with each source, will be kept on the rules change tracker in the Data & reports section.

Residency: the detailed guides

Risks and exceptions

• Valuation below the threshold. The assessor's market value decides, not the contract price; new towers, instalment purchases and white frames are the usual cases.
• Agricultural land. The plot under a house in the countryside may be registered as agricultural land and does not count.
• Filing too early. A reservation, a preliminary contract or an unregistered off-plan purchase is not ownership.
• Filing too late. An application made after your lawful stay has ended starts from a position no property can fix.
• Inconsistent documents. Names spelled differently across passports, certificates and translations are the most common reason a complete-looking file is returned.
• Selling or restructuring. The permit ends with the ownership; a gift or a transfer to a company counts as an end of ownership.
• Assuming the permit allows work. Working in Georgia generally requires a labour permit since 1 March 2026.
• Rules change. The threshold has been raised before and may be again; the law in force on the day of your application is the one that applies.

Frequently asked questions

Is the property-based permit a "golden visa"?

Not in the European sense. It is a one-year renewable residence permit tied to ownership of property worth more than $150,000. It does not lead to citizenship by itself and does not give the right to live elsewhere in Europe.

Can I buy several cheaper apartments to reach $150,000?

That is not confirmed. Article 15(j) speaks of the right to an immovable thing whose market value exceeds the threshold, in the singular, and we have found no official text that allows values to be added up. Some advisers say a portfolio qualifies; our lawyer is checking recent agency decisions. Until then, buy one property that clears $150,000 on its own; our page on several properties and the permit follows the question.

Do I have to live in Georgia to keep the permit?

For the short-term permit, the law sets no minimum number of days in Georgia. Your tax position, however, does depend on days spent in Georgia, and longer-term statuses such as permanent residence and citizenship count years of residence.

Can I apply from abroad?

A representative with a power of attorney can file for you, and some steps can be done electronically, but you must be lawfully in Georgia or able to meet the agency's requirements for your situation. Plan the filing around your stay.

Does a mortgage on the property matter?

The permit rests on your property right, which a registered mortgage does not remove. A mortgage is visible on the extract, however, and its effect on your file should be checked by a lawyer before filing.

Is the threshold in dollars or lari?

The law states it as $150,000 equivalent in lari. The assessor's value in lari is compared with the dollar amount at the official rate, which is why owners close to the line should allow a margin.

Can my parents get permits through my property?

The article names the spouse and children, not parents. A parent needs a ground of their own, such as their own property.

What if the agency refuses?

You receive the reasons. Most refusals relate to value, land category, ownership, legal stay or inconsistent documents, and a new application makes sense only after the reason is answered. Our lawyer advises on whether an appeal or a new filing is the better route.

Sources

1. Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Articles 10, 15, 16, 18, 21), consolidated 25 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
2. On Approval of the Procedures for Reviewing and Deciding the Granting of Georgian Residence Permits, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
3. Migration and residence permits, Public Service Development Agency, Ministry of Justice of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
4. Government Ordinance No 255 on the list of countries whose citizens may enter Georgia without a visa, consolidated 24 February 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
5. Organic Law of Georgia on Georgian Citizenship (Article 12), consolidated 7 March 2025, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
6. Unified National Body of Accreditation, Accreditation Center, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
7. National Agency of Public Registry (accessed 11 October 2026)
8. Georgia to Increase Real Estate Investment Threshold for Residence Permits Effective March 1, 2026, Erickson Immigration Group (accessed 11 October 2026)
9. Georgia raises real estate investment bar for residence permits by 50%, legal.ge (accessed 11 October 2026)
10. Georgia to hike property-based investor visa to $150,000 next month, IMI Daily (accessed 10 October 2026)
11. Georgia introduces mandatory work permits for foreign workers, Andersen in Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
12. Georgia immigration reform: new work permit rules for foreign nationals, Fragomen (accessed 11 October 2026)
13. Georgia: individual residence, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 11 October 2026)
14. Georgia investor residence permits, Healy Consultants (accessed 10 October 2026)
15. Hague Conference on Private International Law, Apostille Convention status table, HCCH (accessed 11 October 2026)
16. There are currently 87,000 apartments under construction in Tbilisi, Colliers Georgia via CBW (accessed 10 October 2026)

Change log

• 11 October 2026 - Complete guide published from the text of the law and the agency's instructions; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.