Georgia Remote Worker Visa: Your Affordable Gateway in 2024

Written by Giorgi Mshvidobadze, Georgian tax consultant, coffee obsessive, and lifelong Tbilisi local who still gets butterflies whenever the Caucasus peaks glow pink at sunset.

For a country roughly the size of West Virginia, Georgia punches far above its weight in the global remote-work arena. Fast fibre, low overheads, famously liberal immigration rules, and wine that (according to our grandmothers) cured Noah’s hangover—what’s not to love?

But rumours spread quickly in nomad circles, and so do half-facts.
“Is the Remote Worker Visa still active?” “Did they crank up taxes for 2024?” “Can I apply from my phone while queuing for boarding?”

Grab a khachapuri (carb loading is research, right?) and let’s separate folklore from fine print. I’ll guide you through the latest 2024 updates, the evergreen 183-day tax rule, step-by-step online registration, and the real cost of living in Tbilisi—sprinkled with practical, occasionally cheeky, commentary from someone who files Georgian tax returns for a living.

Why Remote Workers Keep Flocking to Georgia

1. Visa-free entry for 95+ nationalities (up to 1 year) makes it absurdly easy to “test-drive” before committing.
2. Zero language barrier for bureaucracy—most forms now have English versions, and fluent clerks patrol the Public Service Hall like customer-service ninjas.
3. Fast, cheap internet: 100 Mbps is the norm; 1 Gbps home fibre costs €18/month.
4. Low taxes if structured right—read on for the 1 per cent small-business regime.
5. Strategic time zone (UTC +4): overlap with both Europe and Asia during business hours.
6. Mountains, Black Sea, wine country all within a half-day drive. Your Instagram will never know rest.

“Georgia might just be the only country where you can ski and sunbathe on the same weekend — and file a flat 1% tax return before Monday.”

New for 2024: What Changed & Why It Matters

When parliament sipped its year-end Saperavi and passed amendments in December, three noteworthy tweaks slipped in:

1. Minimum Income Threshold Adjusted to USD 22,000/Year

The Remote Worker Visa—officially the “Remotely From Georgia” programme—kept its famously low bar (€24K previously). Indexation aligned with inflation nudged it to $22K or roughly ₾57,000 annually. That’s still gentler than Croatia, Portugal, or Malta.

2. Mandatory Local Health Insurance

Starting March 2024, newcomers must show proof of coverage valid in Georgia OR purchase a local policy within 30 days of arrival. Prices start at ₾120/month; the up-market packages also cover dental emergencies (trust me, you will bite on a walnut churchkhela sooner or later).

3. Digital Stamping & Biometric Collection

The days of paper stamps smudging your passport are ending. Applicants submit biometrics at Tbilisi or Batumi Service Halls; your residence card arrives by courier in 10–14 days. Tip: book the earliest morning slot—queues materialise after 11 AM.

Nothing else changed: no quota, no points system, no interviews about your grandparents’ maiden names.

Eligibility in Plain Georgian (Well, Almost)

To qualify, you must:

• Hold a valid passport from a country on Georgia’s visa-free list.
• Prove remote employment or freelance income outside Georgia. Contracts, invoices or platform payouts all work.
• Meet the USD 22K annual income floor (≈ $1,850/month).
• Purchase local health insurance if you don’t have international coverage that spells out Georgia.
• Have no criminal record—self-declaration suffices unless red-flagged in Interpol databases.

Married? Your spouse and kids can piggy-back on your permit without meeting the income test—just bring marriage/birth certificates apostilled in advance.

The Georgian Tax Angle & the 183-Day Sweet Spot

I get more DMs about the 183-day rule than about where to find the best khinkali (Mtskheta, trust me). Let’s demystify.

Residents vs. Non-Residents

1. Tax Resident = You spend 183+ days in Georgia within any rolling 12-month period.
2. Non-Resident = You spend 182 days or fewer.

Why care? Because residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents only on Georgian-sourced income (rare for remote workers).

The Individual Entrepreneur (IE) 1 % Regime

Here’s the magic combo:

1. Register as an Individual Entrepreneur (takes 30 minutes, costs ₾20).
2. Opt into Small Business Status if annual turnover is below ₾500,000 (≈ $190K).
3. Pay a flat 1 % tax on gross revenue up to ₾500K, zero on dividends, and a token ₾50 monthly pension contribution.

You can be both tax resident and enjoy the 1 % rate—Georgia is generous like that.

Practical Scenario

Maria, a Spanish UX designer, invoices €60K a year. She moves to Tbilisi on 1 February, stays the full year, registers as an IE. Her 2024 tax bill?
€60,000 × 1 % = €600. Beats Barcelona’s 24 % any day.

But Wait—Double-Tax Treaties

Georgia holds treaties with 57 countries. If your home country is on the list, credit mechanisms usually avoid double taxation. If not, plan your >183-day window wisely.

(Reminder: This isn’t individual tax advice. I have never met your accountant, and maybe they are a sweetheart who bakes cookies, but their signature, not mine, goes on your return.)

Step-By-Step: Applying for the Remote Worker Visa Online

Bookmark this—bureaucracy is less intimidating when turned into a checklist.

Before You Start

Have the following PDF scans ready:

• Passport, colour, full page
• Proof of income (latest three months’ bank statements, contract, or payslips)
• Digital photo 3 × 4 cm
• Health insurance certificate
• Address in Georgia (hotel booking or rental agreement)

The Application Flow

1. Go to https://visa.gov.ge and create an account.
2. Choose “Apply for D5 – Remotely From Georgia”.
3. Upload documents. The portal accepts up to 5 MB per file—compress if needed.
4. Pay the ₾300 state fee online (Visa/Mastercard work fine).
5. Receive confirmation email within minutes; background checks take 5–10 business days.
6. Get pre-approval letter, print it, and show it at airport immigration.
7. Within 30 days of landing, schedule a biometrics visit at the Service Hall.
8. Pay ₾50 for the residence card; courier delivery is free.

Congratulations—you now have legal residency for 1 year, renewable twice (total 3 years). After that, pathways to permanent residency open up if you fancy a longer romance with khinkali.

What Happens After Arrival?

Opening a Bank Account

Week 1 to-dos typically start with banking. I’ve laid out the nitty-gritty, including currency hedging tips, in our detailed guide on opening a local bank account in Georgia as a foreigner. The TL;DR: bring your residence card, passport, and about 40 minutes of patience. Bank of Georgia and TBC both allow account setup in GEL, USD, and EUR with multi-currency Visa cards that would make Revolut blush.

Registering as an Individual Entrepreneur

Hop back to the Service Hall (yes, again) and:

1. Fill form F-21 (available in English).
2. Pay ₾20 fee; pick up your registration slip in two hours.
3. Walk 50 metres to the Revenue Service desk, request Small Business Status.
4. Link your bank account for online tax payments (no, crypto wallets don’t count—yet).

Average door-to-door time: 3–4 hours. Bring headphones.

How Much Does Life in Tbilisi Really Cost?

Let’s rip off the Band-Aid. Below are median monthly expenses for a single remote worker in 2024, pulled from real client budgets and my own rent receipts.

Move outside Vera/Saburtalo and rent plummets by 20–30 %. Couples can share most fixed costs; families should budget another ₾1,000 for international schooling.

Hidden Costs Tourists Miss

• Winter gas bills: Tbilisi apartments are concrete fridges. ₾250/month is normal in January.
• Importer’s premium on tech: A new MacBook costs 15 % more than in Berlin. Bring your gadgets.
• Grapes in October: You’ll buy crates for the harvest festival and wonder where your salary went.

Daily Life & Community

Georgia’s remote-work scene evolved from scrappy Facebook groups into a structured ecosystem:

• 15+ high-end coworking spaces (Terminal, LOFT, Impact Hub)
• Weekly Tech & Toast meetups—half networking, half supra (feast)
• Telegram channels for everything from snow forecasts to language swaps
• Direct Sofia–Tbilisi, Warsaw–Kutaisi budget flights feeding weekend escapes

You’ll quickly find your tribe, though be warned: Georgians will treat you like family by the second lunch, which involves more toasting than a wedding.

Common Pitfalls & How to Dodge Them

1. Overstaying the 1-year visa-free stamp — leads to ₾180 fine and awkward border stories. Your residence card fixes this.
2. Not separating business and personal transactions — the Revenue Service frowns on cryptic Revolut top-ups. Open a GEL account early.
3. Misunderstanding the 183-day calculation — it’s rolling, not calendar-based. Keep a travel spreadsheet.
4. Assuming your Airbnb host registered you — by law, YOU must file your address at the Public Service Hall within 30 days of moving flats.
5. Ignoring double-tax treaty paperwork — claiming foreign tax credits after the deadline is like squeezing wine from stone.

How Georgia Stacks Up Against Other Remote-Friendly Schemes

You might be flirting with Estonia’s e-Residency or Portugal’s D8. As someone who files returns for clients in multiple jurisdictions, here’s my two-tetri comparison.

For the full Estonian picture, I recommend our deep-dive: Estonia e-Residency for freelancers—worth it?.

Reader Q&A Lightning Round

Q: Do I have to speak Georgian?
A: No, but gamarjoba (hello) unlocks smiles. Young Georgians speak English; older generations default to Russian.

Q: Can I buy real estate as a foreigner?
A: 100 % yes, except agricultural land. Transaction costs hover around 2 %.

Q: Are crypto gains taxed?
A: As of 2024, private individuals pay zero capital-gains tax on crypto held >365 days. Short-term trading is taxed at ordinary rates.

Q: How safe is Tbilisi?
A: Street crime is low; crossing the road is the bigger hazard. Traffic lights are… aspirational suggestions.

Final Thoughts

From a purely fiscal perspective, Georgia offers remote workers one of the most forgiving regimes on earth—1 per cent headline tax and a hassle-free, three-year renewable residency. Factor in mountains, supra culture, and rents that won’t haemorrhage your EUR or USD salary, and the equation becomes a no-brainer.

Of course, no move is plug-and-play. You’ll wrestle with transliterated street names and maybe mispronounce khvanchkara wine (extra consonants are part of the fun). Yet every client who has taken the leap tells me the same thing: the warm welcome outweighs the paperwork.

Ready to see if Georgia fits your life plan? Spend two minutes on BorderPilot’s free relocation planner, and you’ll receive a tailored roadmap—tax scenarios, visa timelines, and cost projections as personal as a toast at a Georgian supra.

ერთად ვნახოთ! – let’s find out together.