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.