A foreign individual entrepreneur in Georgia works with three interlocking legal instruments: the right to conduct entrepreneurial activity, a D1 category immigration visa, and a work residence permit. This page explains how these three elements connect under the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, which income and turnover thresholds apply, and how this route differs from the investment and corporate routes. It is worth saying at the outset: this page is about a self-employed person who lives off his or her own entrepreneurial activity, not an employee working under a contract with an employer.
The right to conduct entrepreneurial activity
Article 28 of the law recognises that an alien may conduct investment and entrepreneurial activity in Georgia in accordance with Georgian legislation. In doing so, the alien has the same rights and bears the same obligations as a citizen of Georgia, unless Georgian legislation provides otherwise. This means that the status of an individual entrepreneur places a foreigner on an equal footing with citizens within the business environment — but the migration status still has to be arranged separately, through a visa and then a residence permit.