A residence permit connected to a spouse in Georgia unites two entirely different legal tracks: temporary stay in the status of the spouse of an alien holding a residence permit, and permanent residence in the status of the spouse of a Georgian citizen. The difference between these tracks is not formal but fundamental — the type of permit differs, the terms differ, and so does the degree of stability. This page explains both tracks on the basis of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, including the validity periods, and shows exactly where the border between the temporary and the permanent runs.
A spouse as a family member
The precondition of both routes is the statutory definition of a family member. Under the law, a family member is the spouse of an alien or of a stateless person — and, in exactly the same way, the foreign spouse of a Georgian citizen. This means marriage works in both directions: just as the spouse of an alien, the spouse of a citizen holds family-member status; only the permit consequences differ. The definition also covers a minor child and, in defined cases, a parent, but the focus of this page is specifically the spouse route.
Temporary residence for a spouse
For the spouse of an alien holding a residence permit, the law provides a temporary route: a residence permit for the purpose of family reunification is issued to the family members of an alien holding a residence permit. This is the track under which a spouse bases his or her own legalisation on the status of a husband or wife who is a foreign resident. The nature of this route is temporary: the permit is extended step by step on the same conditions under which it was issued, and its basis depends on the continuation of the spouse's status.
Permanent residence for the spouse of a citizen
For the foreign spouse of a Georgian citizen the law produces a categorically different result: a permanent residence permit is issued to the spouse of a Georgian citizen. This is the permit granted with the right of permanent residence, creating a status fundamentally different from temporary permits. The same norm issues a permanent residence permit to the citizen's minor child and to the parent of a minor Georgian citizen, as well as to an alien who has lived in Georgia for the last 10 years on the basis of a temporary residence permit — within which periods of living for study or treatment and periods of work in diplomatic representations are not counted.