Important changes in immigration legislation: what should employers and self-employed foreigners know?

Let's start with the changes that concern the rules for issuing work permits:

The resolution abolished the obligation for a company employing a labor immigrant to post a potential vacancy on the Employment Agency's website before hiring a labor immigrant (obtaining a work permit). Instead of posting a vacancy, if a local employer plans to employ more than 5 foreign citizens during a calendar year or the number of foreign citizens exceeds 5 percent of the total number of persons employed by him (except for cases where 5 percent of the total number is less than 5 people), he is obliged to agree on an annual quota with the Agency in electronic form at least 10 working days before applying for the right to work at the following address: www.labourmigration.moh.gov.ge . For this purpose, a document issued by the Revenue Service, a legal entity under public law, must be submitted, confirming that the annual turnover of the local employer (except for an educational or medical institution) wishing to employ a labor immigrant is not less than 50,000 GEL per foreigner wishing to obtain the right to labor activity, and in the case of an educational or medical institution, the annual turnover is not less than 35,000 GEL per foreigner wishing to obtain the right to labor activity;

The Agency, upon consideration of the request submitted by the local employer, shall determine an annual quota for a specific employer. Within the limits of the number established by the said quota, the local employer shall have the right to submit applications for the right to work for foreigners wishing to be employed with him during the calendar year. The established quota may be increased in the event of a substantiated application by a specific employer regarding the need to increase the quota through the special electronic labor migration system ( www.labourmigration.moh.gov.ge );

It is worth noting that this requirement will not apply to a narrow circle of business entities, including a company with the status of an international company as provided for in Article 23 of the Tax Code of Georgia, as well as a company with the status of an innovative startup as provided for in Article 15​1 of the Law of Georgia "On Innovations";

It is worth noting that failure to agree on a quota with the employment agency is grounds for refusing to issue a work permit.

The changes also affected the circle of persons who were not required to obtain a work permit, namely, under the old regulations, a non-resident person who performs work activities/provides services for the benefit of a non-resident person and this work activity/service is related to the non-resident person's activities outside Georgia - a work permit was not required, however, with the new package of changes, this rule will not apply to cases where this foreigner is an entrepreneur and needs a residence permit to legally stay in the country;

Regarding the procedure for issuing a residence permit in Georgia:

The new changes will address a number of issues that immigration lawyers have been waiting for for a long time.

In particular, before the amendments, it was practically impossible for a non-resident employee of a newly established enterprise or a non-resident founder of a newly established enterprise, after obtaining a work permit, to apply to the Services Development Agency for the appropriate type of residence permit, despite the fact that the law required them to do so, and within 10 calendar days of obtaining a work permit. The reason is as follows: in order to obtain a work residence permit, it is mandatory to submit a document issued by a legal entity of public law - the Revenue Service, which confirms that the annual turnover of the employing enterprise/established enterprise (except for an educational or medical institution) is not less than 50,000 GEL per foreigner applying for a work residence permit, and in the case of an employer/established educational or medical institution, the annual turnover is not less than 35,000 GEL per foreigner applying for a work residence permit (and if the enterprise is not a VAT payer, a certificate from the Revenue Service to this effect and, in addition, another certificate (in practice, a bank certificate) confirming the aforementioned turnover)

Accordingly, since March 1, non-resident founders or employees of registered business entities have been practically prohibited from carrying out labor activities, since they naturally could not have a turnover of 50,000 GEL immediately upon establishment, especially since they did not have the right to legally operate from the time of establishment until obtaining a residence permit. However, with the package of amendments of July 9, this shortcoming has been corrected and the person (founder/entrepreneur/employee) is not required to submit the above-mentioned certificates if the enterprise does not have more than 3 foreign employees, no more than 3 months have passed since its establishment/registration, and the labor residence permit is issued to him for the first time without submitting the aforementioned certificate. In such a case, the person shall submit a certificate issued by the enterprise on the number of foreign employees. In this case, the labor residence permit is issued for a period of 6 months.

From July 1, 2026, significant changes have also been made to the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons.

In particular:

D1 category visa: The essence of the D1 category visa has been clarified and refined. According to the new edition, it is issued to a foreigner, as well as to a foreigner coming to Georgia to carry out entrepreneurial activities in accordance with the Law of Georgia “On Entrepreneurs”, who has received the right to work. In cases specified by a resolution of the Government of Georgia, a visa of this category may also be issued to a person who carries out activities in Georgia that are not subject to the Law of Georgia “On Labor Migration”.

Study Residence Permit: (effective from September 1, 2026) The rule has changed, according to which a study residence permit was issued to both a minor student registered in an authorized educational institution (including a school) and a student registered in a higher education institution. According to the new wording, this permit is issued only to an adult who is studying in a higher or vocational educational program at an authorized educational institution in Georgia. The rules and conditions for enrollment in a vocational or higher education program, as well as for studying, are determined by the legislative acts of Georgia and the resolution of the Government of Georgia.

A new D6 visa category has been added: which is issued to a minor who is/is studying at an authorized higher or vocational educational institution in Georgia; to a minor who is/is studying at an authorized general educational institution in Georgia until he/she completes his/her full general education. If the foreigner is a minor, this visa category may also be issued to his/her parents/legal representatives and minor siblings until the foreigner reaches the age of majority; (to be effective from September 1, 2026)

Grounds for termination of a study residence permit: (will enter into force on September 1, 2026) The draft law establishes a new obligation that did not exist before: the validity period of a study residence permit is terminated if the person is not actually present on the territory of Georgia for 183 days or more than 183 days within any continuous 12 calendar months.

Permanent residence permit and status of spouse of a citizen of Georgia: (will enter into force on September 1, 2026) The rules for issuing a permanent residence permit are changing. According to the current version, the spouse of a citizen of Georgia could directly apply to the State Services Development Agency for a permanent residence permit after marriage registration. According to the changes, a new status is being established - “Residence permit of the spouse of a citizen of Georgia” , which will be issued for a period of 1-1 year, for 5 years, before obtaining a permanent residence permit. After 5 years, the person will be able to request a permanent residence permit.

Other grounds for issuing a permanent residence permit: A permanent residence permit is issued to a minor child of a citizen of Georgia, to a parent of a minor citizen of Georgia, as well as to a foreigner who has lived in Georgia on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the past 10 years. This 10-year period does not include the period of residence in Georgia for the purpose of study or treatment, and the period of work in diplomatic or equivalent missions.

Prevention of sham marriages: To prevent sham marriages, the bill establishes methods for verifying the validity of a marriage, including interviews, visits to the couple's place of residence, and more.

Information Technology (IT) Residence Permit: The essence of the IT residence permit has been clarified and is formulated as follows: a temporary residence permit for a person employed in the field of information technology is issued to a labor immigrant who has received the right to work, and his family members; to a foreigner who is registered in Georgia as an entrepreneur with the status of a small business, has received the right to work, carries out activities specified by the resolution of the Government of Georgia in the IT field, and his family members; as well as to a person authorized to manage and represent an international company operating in the field of information technology, who has received the right to work, and his family members.

A person authorized to manage an international company shall submit to the Agency a document confirming the relevant authority. A labor immigrant or an individual with small business status shall submit to the Agency a document confirming at least 2 years of experience in carrying out labor or economic activities in the IT field, as well as a certificate confirming that his annual salary is not less than the equivalent of 25,000 USD in GEL. In cases specified by a resolution of the Government of Georgia, a permit of this category may be issued to a person whose activities are not subject to the Law on Labor Migration. The procedure for submitting the necessary documents shall be determined by a resolution of the Government of Georgia.

Grounds for refusal to issue a visa/residence permit: The most frequently used grounds in practice (Article 18, paragraphs "a" and "c") have been clarified and formulated as follows:

a) there are sufficient grounds to assume that his/her residence in Georgia is inappropriate in order to ensure the protection of the interests of the state and/or public security;

c) there are sufficient grounds to assume that he/she is carrying out activities that pose a threat to the state security and/or public order of Georgia;

Additional grounds for expulsion from Georgia: The following points are added to the grounds for expulsion of an alien from Georgia:

i) he/she violated the conditions of the right to labor activity provided for by the legislation of Georgia;

j) He/She has carried out labor activities without the right to labor activities.

Certificate of Legal Stay of an Alien in Georgia (Article 213): (Shall enter into force on September 1, 2026) The amendments to the law establish a new type of requirement, according to which, in order to receive state and/or private services (except for medical services), an alien may be required to present a certificate of legal stay in Georgia.

The aforementioned certificate shall be issued by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or another state agency specified by a government decree. In case of failure to submit the certificate, the service provider shall make a decision to refuse to provide the service. The list of state and/or private services for which submission of this certificate shall be mandatory shall be determined by the Government of Georgia.

Note: At this stage, it is not known exactly for which services the document will become mandatory, and the term of its issuance and validity are also unclear, although the estimated fee specified in the explanatory note is 50 GEL.

There is also a change regarding the appeal of the decision . According to the current wording, the refusal of the State Services Development Agency to issue a residence permit can be appealed within 1 month from the date of posting the decision on the website. According to the draft law, any decision made by the Agency on the basis of this law can be appealed in court, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, within 10 calendar days from its delivery.

To combat illegal migration, the draft law also established and amended numerous procedural issues regarding the procedures for the detection, detention, temporary placement, and expulsion of foreigners illegally present in the country, which can be found in detail in the relevant legal acts.

Note: The article discusses some of the amendments that have been enacted. To view the full current legislation related to these issues, please see:

1. Law of Georgia on Labor Migration

2. Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons

3. Resolution of the Government of Georgia No. 520 on Approval of the Procedure for Considering and Deciding on the Issue of a Residence Permit in Georgia (September 1, 2014)

4. Resolution of the Government of Georgia No. 70 on Approval of the Procedure for Issuing the Right to Labor Activity to Labor Immigrants and Self-Employed Foreigners (February 20, 2026)