No Digital Nomad Visa — the Honest Statutory Picture
A dedicated digital nomad visa does not exist in Georgian legislation. No such category appears in the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, and the pandemic-era “Remotely from Georgia” entry arrangement is not the instrument nomads rely on today. What Georgia actually offers is a combination of general instruments: a 1-year visa-free regime for citizens of 95+ countries, an immigration visa ground for foreigners of independent profession (freelancers), a special temporary residence permit for the information-technology sector, and the individual-entrepreneur route with 1% small-business taxation. On this page we map those routes exactly as the statutes define them — including where the law simply has nothing to offer, so that no one builds a relocation plan around a visa that does not exist.
In practice, a nomad rarely needs a lawyer to enter Georgia; the real work begins with long-term legalisation, taxation and family status. That is why the sections below cover not only the entry routes but also the 2026 work-right regime with its remote-work exception, the tax mechanics that draw remote earners to Georgia in the first place, and the family-reunification step that follows a first residence permit.
The Route Map — Four Lawful Ways to Stay and Work
Four routes cover practically every nomad situation, and the first question to ask is what your work actually touches: only foreign clients, or Georgia as well. First, citizens of 95+ countries may stay in Georgia visa-free for up to 1 year, and a foreigner whose labour is carried out fully remotely — where the activity does not require entry into Georgia in order to be performed — falls under the remote-work exception written directly into the Law of Georgia on Labour Migration: such work creates no work-right obligation whatsoever. Second, a nomad who prefers an immigration-visa basis uses the D2 category, which covers foreigners carrying out independent professional (freelance) activity, alongside those active in science, education, culture and sport. Third, IT professionals may apply for the special temporary residence permit for a person employed in the field of information technologies, in force since 1 September 2025. Fourth, the classical route: register as an individual entrepreneur, obtain small-business status and build a work residence permit on that foundation.
- Visa-free 1 year plus fully remote work for foreign clients — no Georgian work right required;
- D2 immigration visa on the independent-profession ground — an immigration status for freelancers;
- IT-sector residence permit — at least 2 years of IT experience and at least 25 000 USD in annual income, with family members covered;
- Individual entrepreneur with small-business status — the 1% tax route to a work residence permit.
The routes are not rivals but rungs of one ladder: many nomads begin visa-free, register an individual entrepreneur once local banking and taxation become necessary, and only then choose between the general work permit and the IT permit as their long-term residence basis. The decisive factors are the form of your activity, the share of Georgian-source income and, for the IT permit, whether your professional profile fits the categories the law names.
The 2026 Work-Right Regime — When It Touches Nomads and When It Does Not
Remunerated work in Georgia is governed, as refined by the amendments effective in 2026 — the most recent of them on 15 April 2026 — by the right to labour activity: only a foreigner holding a work residence permit, a D1 category immigration visa and/or another residence permit issued together with the right to labour activity may perform remunerated labour or entrepreneurial activity and derive economic benefit from it. For nomads the decisive test is whether the work requires entry into Georgia. Fully remote work that does not require entry is expressly exempt from the regime; but the moment the activity becomes local — a Georgian employer, Georgian clients, services delivered inside the country — the work right becomes mandatory. The application is filed with the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs: through the local employer for employed immigrants, or personally by the self-employed foreigner. After the full documentation is submitted the examination may not exceed 30 calendar days, and the service fee is capped at 500 GEL.
Two further rules matter for planning. Working without the right carries a fine of 2 000 GEL — imposed separately on the local employer (for each immigrant), on the immigrant and on the self-employed foreigner — and a repeated violation doubles the fine. And once the right is obtained, the follow-up deadlines are strict: no later than 30 calendar days to apply for a D1 category immigration visa if you are outside Georgia, or no later than 10 calendar days to apply for a work residence permit or the IT-sector residence permit if you are already in the country. A refusal may be appealed in court within 1 month of notification. The full chain — mandatory contract terms, refusal and termination grounds, re-application limits, employer obligations — is analysed on our dedicated page “Work Permit and Work Right in Georgia (D1) — 2026”.
Income, Taxes and the 1% Small-Business Route
Taxation is usually the reason remote earners choose Georgia in the first place, and the small-business regime is the centre of that choice. An individual entrepreneur registered at the Public Service Hall and granted small-business status by the Revenue Service pays 1% tax on gross turnover, up to the 500 000 GEL annual ceiling of the status. On this foundation the work residence permit route expects demonstrable economic activity: an annual turnover of 50 000 GEL per foreigner is the prerequisite figure this route works with. The sequence is practical rather than instant — register the individual entrepreneur, obtain the status, accumulate several months of documented turnover in a Georgian account, and only then file the permit application on that record; the lawyer's task is to keep each step from stalling the next.
Presence and tax are separate questions. Georgia applies the 183-day threshold for tax residency, and nomads who intend to base themselves here deliberately — rather than merely pass through — need the tax-residency certificate, an understanding of the automatic exchange of information (CRS) and a double-taxation plan covering their home state. Banking is the third practical pillar: opening and maintaining accounts as a foreigner is often the slowest step of the whole relocation, and legal support exists precisely to keep it from blocking the permit file.
Family Members and the Long-Term Ladder
Family follows the principal's status. Once you hold a residence permit, your spouse and children are eligible for family-reunification residence permits, and the D4 category is the corresponding visa ground for family members joining a resident foreigner. On the IT route the family is built into the permit itself: all three categories of the IT-sector permit expressly cover family members. On the long horizon, a temporary permit continues while its conditions persist, and years of lawful residence open the naturalisation track; former citizens of Georgia — a recurring profile among long-term foreign residents — have a separate and faster route, described on our page “Restoration of Georgian Citizenship — the Former Citizen's Path (and the 32-2 Temporary Right)”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions nomads ask most often about legal stay and work in Georgia.
Is there a digital nomad visa in Georgia?
No. Georgian legislation contains no digital-nomad category, and the pandemic-era “Remotely from Georgia” arrangement is not today's instrument. A lawful nomad stay is built from the visa-free year, the D2 independent-profession ground, the IT-sector residence permit or the work residence permit through individual-entrepreneur status.
Can I work remotely from Georgia for a foreign employer without any permit?
Yes, where the work is carried out fully remotely and does not require entry into Georgia in order to be performed — the labour-migration law exempts such work from the work-right regime expressly. Your presence is then covered by the 1-year visa-free regime available to citizens of 95+ countries.
What happens when my visa-free year runs out?
You need a residence basis to stay longer: a work residence permit on documented economic activity — in practice the individual-entrepreneur route with 50 000 GEL in annual turnover — the IT-sector permit where your profile fits, or the D2 ground converted into a permit application. Staying on without a basis is what turns a relocation into an immigration problem.
What does the IT-sector residence permit require?
At least 2 years of documented experience in the field and annual income of at least 25 000 USD in GEL equivalent. The permit, in force since 1 September 2025, covers three categories of applicants and their family members.
How will my income be taxed?
An individual entrepreneur with small-business status pays 1% on gross turnover up to 500 000 GEL a year. Tax residency arises under the 183-day rule and should be planned together with the automatic exchange of information and any double-taxation relief before you commit to a structure.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team works the nomad file end to end: a written route-selection memo comparing the visa-free year, the D2 ground, the IT permit and the individual-entrepreneur route for your specific activity; registration of the individual entrepreneur and small-business status; the residence-permit application with turnover evidence; family reunification for your spouse and children; and the tax-residency package — certificate, CRS planning, double-taxation analysis. Work from anywhere, live in Georgia lawfully, with Legal.ge.