Corporate transfer — moving an employee from one position to another, within a country or across borders — affects, from the immigration standpoint, a status built on employment. In Georgia the work residence permit is tied to the employer, and that is precisely why a transfer is not merely an HR matter: it is also a question of preserving the status. This page explains how that link works under the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, and how to plan so that the employee's movement does not damage the status.
How residence is tied to employment
The work residence permit is built on activity: an applicant submits to the Agency a document confirming labour or entrepreneurial activity and an income certificate — monthly income must not be less than five times the average consumer subsistence minimum — while the employer enterprise's turnover must reach at least 50 000 GEL per applicant (for educational and medical institutions — 35 000 GEL). This means the basis of the status is a concrete working relationship — and when that changes, the basis wavers.
The effect of terminating the activity
The law regulates this with a clear norm: an alien's period of stay in Georgia may be terminated where he or she has ceased the activity or relationship on the basis of which the residence permit was obtained. In transfer practice this means: when an employee moves from one employer to another, the permit built on the old relationship terminates concurrently — and within the new employer's frame the status must be arranged or re-arranged anew. In addition, within 6 months of receiving the residence permit an application must be made to the Agency to collect the residence card — an administrative detail that must fit into the transfer plan as well.
Validity and extension
The regime of temporary permits is familiar: first issuance runs from 6 months to 1 year, and extension is possible up to a maximum of 12 years — on the same conditions as those of the permit whose extension is requested. In the transfer context the conditions of extension are transferred to the new employer: substantiating the new turnover and income becomes current precisely at the moment of movement. In a special case the first permit is issued for 5 years — but that is an exception, not the rule.
Building the plan — what the employer must consider
In planning a corporate transfer, four elements fit into one schedule: the moment of ending the old relationship and its effect on the period of stay; the new employer's turnover readiness (the 50 000 or 35 000 GEL threshold per each transferred employee); maintaining the five-times income threshold in the new position; and the timelines for re-arranging the documentation. We note: the corporate-transfer instruments of other jurisdictions, including the corresponding American visa, do not exist in Georgia — the movement is planned within the frame of Georgian norms.
The cessation norm is the axis of this picture: since the term of residence ends together with the cessation of the activity or relationship, each moment of a transfer stands on the border between two statuses — the relationship with one employer ends first, the other begins. The chronology of the application is therefore distributed before the date of the move: a missed step creates a gap in status, a timely one creates continuity. The obligation to apply within 6 months of issuance for the collection of the certificate fits into the same chronology.
The transferability of the extension conditions is the second axis of a transfer: the permit is extended on the same conditions on which it was issued, and with a new employer these conditions are set anew — the turnover threshold with respect to each transferred employee, the fivefold income threshold in the new position. The 5-year exception does not displace the rule, and the 12-year extension ceiling embraces the whole history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the most common questions about corporate transfers.
What happens to the permit when the employer changes?
The period of stay may be terminated where the activity or relationship on whose basis the permit was obtained has ceased — within the new employer's frame the status is arranged anew.
What must the new employer confirm?
Annual turnover of at least 50 000 GEL per applicant (educational and medical — 35 000), and the employee's income of at least five times the minimum.
For what term is the permit issued and extended?
First issuance from 6 months to 1 year; extension up to 12 years on the same conditions; in a special case — 5 years.
What is the 6-month rule?
Within 6 months of receiving the residence permit an application to collect the residence card must be made to the Agency — a detail that must also stand in its place in the transfer plan.
What happens within 6 months of the issuance of the permit?
An application to the agency for the collection of the certificate is established — this administrative obligation must also be written into the transfer plan.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team builds the migration schedule of a transfer: we place the ending of the old relationship, the substantiation of the new employer and the re-arrangement of documentation into one chronology, so that the employee's status is not damaged at the moment of movement. In a written consultation you receive a plan for your group or single transfer. Contact us through the Legal.ge website.