The Property-Based Route to Residence
For a foreigner who wishes to live in Georgia in retirement, real estate is one of the most attractive and legally defined routes. The Law on the Legal Status of Aliens provides two instruments in this direction: the immigration visa and the residence permit. Under Article 7, Georgian visas are divided into categories — diplomatic, special, ordinary, immigration and transit — and the property-based category is provided precisely within the immigration visa.
Specifically, a D5 immigration visa is issued to a person who, in the territory of Georgia, owns under the procedure established by legislation an immovable thing (other than agricultural land) whose market value exceeds the equivalent in lari of 100 000 US dollars, as well as to that person's spouse and child or children. The value is determined by a certified appraiser of a body accredited by the accreditation centre. It is worth noting an amendment under which this threshold rises to 150 000 US dollars, effective from 1 March 2026 — so the timing of an application must be planned with this change in mind.
The Short-Term Residence Permit for Property Owners
The types of residence permit are regulated by Article 15. For property owners, the central one is the short-term residence permit, issued to a foreigner who in Georgia owns an immovable thing (other than agricultural land) whose market value exceeds the equivalent in lari of 100 000 US dollars, as well as to that person's spouse and child or children. For the issuance of the short-term permit, the market value of the property is likewise determined by a certified appraiser — a requirement resting on independent expertise rather than the owner's own valuation.
As to duration, Article 16 provides that a short-term residence permit may be issued to a foreigner and its term extended each time by 1 year. If the foreigner ceases to own the respective immovable thing, the permit terminates. At the same time, if the foreigner retains ownership of the property on the basis of which the permit was issued, the foreigner is released from the obligation to submit a re-valuation of the market value. The terms of temporary residence permits may, under the law, be extended up to 12 years in total.