Georgia Residence by Investment

Georgia grants a residence permit to a foreign national who holds title to non-agricultural property in Georgia with a market value exceeding USD 150,000, or an investment residence permit to one who has made an investment of at least USD 300,000, with the decision taken on the 10th, 20th or 30th calendar day according to the service fee paid. Both are issued by the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, under the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons.

Georgia operates no citizenship by investment programme. What is on offer is residence, and only residence: no Georgian passport, no Schengen or other third country travel rights, and not a day saved on the road to naturalisation. Read in that light it is among the most efficient residence permits anywhere: modest in cost, decided in weeks rather than years, and free of any obligation to live in the country. Read as a passport strategy, it is the wrong instrument.

What does the Georgian residence permit actually give you?

The permit gives you the lawful right to reside in Georgia while you hold the qualifying asset. It is temporary and renewable, not permanent residence, not citizenship and not a travel document, and your own passport still governs your mobility outside Georgia. Its value is the absence of friction: no minimum presence keeps it alive, decisions take days, and the qualifying asset stays yours rather than being surrendered.

What are the two routes and what do they cost?

Two routes qualify, and they differ by more than price.

• Short term residence permit by property, from USD 150,000. Title to immovable property in Georgia, excluding agricultural land, with a market value exceeding USD 150,000 equivalent in GEL, certified by an accredited appraiser. The threshold rose from USD 100,000 on 1 March 2026, so material quoting the old figure is out of date.
• Investment residence permit, from USD 300,000. Evidence of an investment of at least USD 300,000 made in Georgia, supported by a certified auditor's report, or title to non-agricultural property worth more than USD 300,000 in GEL.

Neither threshold rises with family size: one qualifying property or investment supports the principal applicant and eligible family members. Each person pays the agency's fee, charged per applicant and set in Georgian lari, not dollars: GEL 300 for a decision on the 30th calendar day, GEL 450 on the 20th and GEL 600 on the 10th. We state that fee in lari and never convert it, because the agency publishes no dollar equivalent. Appraisal or audit, the property above the minimum, registration, notary, translation and professional fees sit outside the government schedule.

Which requirements catch applicants out?

• Agricultural land does not qualify in either route, and a purchase made in ignorance of that is hard to unwind.
• The investment permit carries an ongoing business test: annual turnover of at least USD 50,000 in the first year of the investment, USD 100,000 in the second and USD 120,000 in the third, fourth and fifth years. That continuing obligation is why the USD 300,000 route rarely suits a passive investor.
• Renewals must be lodged at least 40 calendar days before the current lawful stay expires, and leaving it late is the most avoidable failure here.
• Documentation is specific. Alongside the title or audit report, the agency asks for proof of lawful presence in Georgia and either a government reference or written recommendations from three Georgian citizens holding representative authority in an active Georgian business.
• Family scope differs between the two permits. The agency describes the investment permit as covering a spouse, a minor child and certain fully dependent persons, and the short term permit in different terms.
• Source of funds and character vetting apply as standard, so expect to evidence lawfully held capital cleanly and completely.

How long does the decision take?

Processing speed is chosen, not assigned: the agency decides on the 30th, 20th or 10th calendar day according to the fee tier paid, one of the few places where timing can be bought openly. What deserves attention is the time before that clock starts, because appraisal, registration, document collection and translation are where real weeks go. The agency does not state a fixed validity for either permit at first issue.

How much time must you spend in Georgia?

There is no minimum physical presence requirement to maintain the property based residence permit. This is a real advantage, and the point where two rules are most confused: the widely quoted 183 day threshold concerns tax residency, not the validity of your permit. You can hold the permit without becoming a Georgian tax resident, and tax residency can arise without a permit.

How is income taxed in Georgia?

Georgia operates a territorial system: foreign source income of a Georgian tax resident individual is generally outside the scope of Georgian personal income tax, while Georgian source income is taxed at one flat rate. Individual Entrepreneurs may apply for Small Business Status, which taxes turnover at a very low percentage up to an annual ceiling. We do not print the rates or the ceiling, because our standard requires every figure to be confirmed against an official government publication and no Georgian Revenue Service page could be confirmed at the time of writing. This is general information and not tax advice.

Can this lead to permanent residence or a Georgian passport?

Permanent residence is available under the general rule to a foreign national who has resided in Georgia for the last 10 years on a temporary residence permit. Commentary suggests the USD 300,000 route arrives sooner, but the agency states the 10 year rule and publishes no investor track. Plan on 10 years until the government confirms otherwise.

Citizenship is more demanding again. Ordinary naturalisation under the Organic Law of Georgia on Georgian Citizenship requires that the applicant has lawfully resided in Georgia for the last 10 consecutive years up to the day of application, and has passed examinations in the Georgian language and in Georgian history and law. Georgia's position on holding more than one nationality is nuanced rather than absolute, and the law treats acquiring a foreign citizenship without permission as grounds for losing Georgian citizenship. Against a permit that asks for no presence at all, the contrast is stark.

Who does this programme suit, and who should look elsewhere?

It suits the entrepreneur or investor who wants a lawful base in a low tax jurisdiction, who is comfortable owning Georgian property or running a Georgian business, and who values speed, low cost and not having to relocate. It is the wrong choice if your objective is a second passport, if you need visa free travel, or if you want a passive holding free of ongoing obligations. If a passport is the goal, the citizenship by investment programmes are the honest comparison. If residence is the goal, weigh Georgia against our golden visa and residence by investment hub, against Armenia next door and against the United Arab Emirates Golden Visa.

Georgia rewards precision, and its pitfalls are all documentary. Speak with us before you buy anything. An hour on structure, valuation and family scope turns this into the straightforward 10 to 30 day process it is designed to be. Book your complimentary consultation with Mirabello Consultancy and we will tell you plainly whether Georgia is right for your family, and what it is not.