A practical guide to relocation and residence permits in Georgia under the Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity

Unlike the residence-by-investment schemes common across the European Union — where capital thresholds are set in isolation from broader economic participation requirements — Georgia's framework under the Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity ties a foreign national's right of residence directly to documented, qualifying investment activity in the Georgian economy. For private clients, family office advisers, and their principals who are considering relocation to Georgia or seeking long-term residency anchored in a transparent statutory regime, this interlocking structure is both the central advantage and the feature that demands the most careful planning. This guide sets out the procedural sequence, the documentary requirements, and the structural considerations that experienced advisers should address before instructions are given.

A well-prepared application depends on resolving several preliminary questions before any formal submission is made. The following items form the baseline checklist for investor-route residence permit applications:

• Confirmation of the investment vehicle: Georgian legal entity (LLC, JSC, or branch), sole proprietorship, or direct asset holding. The appropriate structure affects both the residence pathway and the applicable tax residency position.
• Evidence of qualifying investment: the Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity defines investment broadly to include capital contributions, property, and intellectual property rights. Advisers should identify which asset category is most readily documentable for their client.
• Source-of-funds documentation: Georgian authorities review the provenance of invested assets. Contemporaneous records from the originating jurisdiction are advisable, even where Georgian law imposes no explicit source-of-funds standard.
• Personal status documents: notarised and apostilled passport copies, civil status certificates, and — where the applicant is relocating from Russia or another CIS country — confirmation of the current residence status in the country of departure.
• Health insurance: private health insurance covering Georgia is typically required for the duration of the permit application process and the permit term itself.

Gathering and legalising these materials in the applicant's home jurisdiction commonly takes four to eight weeks. Advisers should build this into the relocation timeline before the client departs.

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The first procedural step in relocation and residence permits in Georgia under the Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity is establishing the legal or structural vehicle through which the qualifying investment will flow. Georgian company registration is administered by the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR), and the process for a standard limited liability company can in practice be completed within one to three business days when documentation is in order.

For foreign nationals who intend to hold Georgian real estate directly — rather than through a corporate vehicle — registration at NAPR in the capacity of an individual property owner is equally straightforward, and Georgian law does not impose restrictions on foreign ownership of most categories of real estate. However, advisers should note that agricultural land remains subject to ownership restrictions for non-Georgian nationals and legal entities with a non-Georgian majority ownership, a point that occasionally catches cross-border structuring instructions off guard.

Where the client intends to operate a business, the registration step also establishes the Georgian taxpayer identification number (TIN), which will subsequently be required in the residence permit application. The choice of entity form at this stage has lasting implications: a Georgian LLC owned by a foreign natural person has different controlled-foreign-company exposure in the client's country of fiscal domicile than a branch structure.

The Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity establishes both the category and the quantum of qualifying investment. For the residence permit pathway most commonly used by HNWI and their advisers — long-term residence on the basis of investment activity — the threshold has historically been set at a capital value commensurate with genuine economic participation rather than nominal contribution. Advisers should verify the current threshold directly, as it is subject to revision by implementing regulation and may differ depending on whether the investment is in immovable property, a registered business, or other prescribed categories.

Documentation of the investment must be contemporaneous. Bank transfer records evidencing the inward remittance from a foreign account to the Georgian entity or property vendor, combined with the relevant title documentation (extract from the NAPR register for real estate; extract from the Business Registry for a share contribution), constitute the primary evidentiary package. Where the investment involves intellectual property or other non-cash assets, an independent valuation prepared by a licensed Georgian appraiser will be required.

A structural point relevant to multi-jurisdictional clients: the investment must be genuinely at risk in the Georgian economy. Arrangements that technically satisfy the numerical threshold but involve near-simultaneous contractual rights to withdraw the capital have, in practice, attracted scrutiny from permit-issuing authorities. Advisers structuring around this requirement should take qualified Georgian legal advice before the investment is made.

Georgia's residence permits are issued by the Civil Registry Agency (CRA), operating under the Ministry of Justice. The investor-category residence permit application requires submission of: the completed application form; passport and identity documentation; confirmation of the legal basis for residence (the investment documentation assembled in Step 2); proof of accommodation in Georgia; and payment of the prescribed state duty.

The CRA processes standard applications within ten business days of receipt of a complete file. An expedited processing track is available for an additional fee, reducing the processing period. The resulting permit is typically issued initially for a term of one year, with the option to extend provided the investment remains in place and the threshold is maintained. After five years of continuous legal residence on the basis of investor status, an applicant may apply for permanent residence, subject to meeting the further requirements set out in Georgian immigration legislation.

One procedural point that advisers frequently overlook: the application must be submitted in person or through a duly authorised representative holding a Georgian notarial power of attorney. Remote submissions without proper authorisation are rejected. For clients who have not yet entered Georgia, coordinating the initial entry and the application submission requires careful scheduling.

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Residence status and tax residency are legally distinct in Georgia, and conflating them is a planning error that advisers to HNWI clients should avoid. A valid Georgian residence permit does not automatically make the holder a Georgian tax resident. Georgian tax residency is determined by the 183-day physical presence test in any calendar year, or — under an alternative basis available to high-net-worth individuals — by application under the High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) status regime, which allows Georgian tax residency to be established without satisfying the physical presence threshold.

The HNWI tax residency regime requires, among other things, ownership of Georgian real estate or other qualifying assets above a specified value, and sufficient income or wealth to satisfy a means test set by the tax authority. For clients relocating from Russia, where exit from Russian tax residency is a parallel planning concern, Georgian tax residency can serve as the incoming anchor jurisdiction — but only if the Georgian position is formally established and evidenced, including through an official Georgian tax residency certificate issued by the Revenue Service. The certificate is necessary to support treaty relief claims or to demonstrate to Russian tax authorities that a competing residency position exists.

Advisers should approach the cross-border Georgia–Russia dimension of tax residency planning with particular care, given the complexity of exit procedures from Russian fiscal domicile and the varying positions Russian tax authorities have taken on recognition of competing foreign tax residency certificates.

The investor residence permit is not a set-and-forget instrument. Ongoing compliance obligations attach from the date of issue and must be tracked through the permit term. The principal obligations are: maintaining the qualifying investment at or above the threshold; renewing the permit before expiry (typically on an annual basis in the initial years); and — where Georgian tax residency has been established — meeting any filing and reporting obligations to the Georgian Revenue Service.

For clients who seek to progress to permanent residence, the five-year continuous residence requirement is the most commonly underestimated constraint. Prolonged absences from Georgia can interrupt the continuity of residence for this purpose, even where the annual permit is renewed. Advisers managing clients with genuinely international lifestyles should model the client's anticipated travel pattern against the continuity requirement before committing to Georgia as the primary residency anchor.

The Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity also contains investor protection provisions — guarantees against discriminatory regulatory treatment and against expropriation without compensation — that are relevant to clients making longer-term asset commitments in Georgia. Understanding these protections forms part of the complete advice picture for any HNWI considering Georgia as a primary or secondary jurisdiction for asset holding.

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• [Market Entry and Company Formation in Georgia](/jurisdictions/georgia/company-formation/)
• [Private Wealth and Structuring in Georgia](/jurisdictions/georgia/private-wealth/)
• [Tax in Georgia: what foreign investors need to know](/jurisdictions/georgia/tax/)
• [Asset Protection in Georgia](/jurisdictions/georgia/asset-protection/)

Q: How long does the Georgia investor residence permit process typically take from start to finish?

A: The full process — from document preparation in the applicant's home jurisdiction through to permit issuance in Georgia — commonly takes between six and twelve weeks. Documentary preparation (notarisation, apostille, translation) typically accounts for four to eight weeks, and the Civil Registry Agency processes complete applications within ten business days on the standard track. An expedited track is available at additional cost. The timeline extends if the investment vehicle must first be established: Georgian company registration can be completed in one to three business days, but investment documentation accumulates over a longer period. Advisers should treat ten to twelve weeks as a prudent working estimate for a well-prepared application.

Q: What documents does a foreign national need to submit for a Georgian investor residence permit?

A: The core documentary package comprises: a valid passport and certified translation; the investment documentation confirming the qualifying investment under the Law on Promotion and Guarantees of Investment Activity (NAPR extracts, bank transfer records, valuation report if applicable); confirmation of accommodation in Georgia; private health insurance covering the permit period; and payment receipts for the state duty. Applications submitted by an authorised representative additionally require a Georgian notarial power of attorney. All foreign-language documents must be translated into Georgian by a certified translator. Documents issued abroad generally require apostille certification unless the issuing country has a bilateral agreement with Georgia dispensing with that requirement.

Q: What happens if the qualifying investment falls below the required threshold after a permit has been granted?

A: The Georgia residence permit issued on investor grounds is conditional on the qualifying investment being maintained at or above the applicable threshold throughout the permit term. A material reduction — for example, disposal of the relevant real estate or withdrawal of capital from the registered entity — may constitute grounds for non-renewal or, in some circumstances, early revocation. The relevant authority has discretion in how it responds to a threshold shortfall; the outcome depends on the circumstances and the extent of the shortfall. Permit holders who anticipate changes to their investment position should take qualified Georgian legal advice before making any disposal or structural change, and should not assume that a temporary shortfall will go unnoticed given that NAPR and Business Registry data are accessible to the Civil Registry Agency.

Vetrov & Partners is a Russian boutique law firm established in 2009, recognised by Pravo-300 for eight consecutive years and listed as a trusted adviser by the German Consulate General in Novosibirsk. The firm advises private clients, family offices, and their advisers on cross-border structuring, tax residency matters, and asset protection across CIS and adjacent jurisdictions, including Georgia.

The firm's Tax Residency & Relocation practice coordinates with qualified local counsel in Georgia and other jurisdictions to provide a consolidated advisory service for clients managing residency transitions, investment structuring, and multi-jurisdictional wealth arrangements. Partner-direct involvement on every engagement.

Enquiries: info@vetrovpartners.com | WhatsApp / Telegram: +7 (983) 510-38-76 | t.me/vitvetcom

This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice under Russian or any other applicable law. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Vetrov & Partners is a Russian-qualified law firm. For matters governed by foreign law or requiring local admission in another jurisdiction, we collaborate with trusted counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vetrovpartners.com.

— Nino Beridze Contributing Regional Analyst — Georgia, Business Relocation & Tax Structuring vetrovpartners.com/contributions/

Nino Beridze is a contributing regional analyst advising on business relocation, investor residence, and tax structuring matters in Georgia. She collaborates with Vetrov & Partners on cross-border matters involving CIS-based clients relocating to or structuring through Georgian jurisdictions.