Georgia Work Visa: How to Get the Right to Work and a Labour Residence Permit

Georgia sits at the crossroads of the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and is one of the most important transit countries in the region. It is an EU candidate, but not a member of the European Union, the EEA or the Schengen Area, so a Georgian permit gives no right to work anywhere in Europe.

For years, Georgia was the easiest country in the region to work in: foreigners needed no work permit at all, only lawful presence, and many nationalities could stay visa-free for a full year. That changed on 1 March 2026. This guide explains the new right to work permit, the labour residence permit, the thresholds, the documents, the costs, the timelines and renewal — and gives professional drivers an honest picture of a real regional hub that is no longer friction-free.

What is a Georgian work permit?

Since 1 March 2026, the core document is the right to work — formally, the right to labour activity — issued by the State Employment Support Agency, a public legal entity under the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection. It authorises a foreign national to carry out paid work in Georgia. Working without it is unlawful and carries administrative liability, with fines of 2,000 lari that can fall on the employer, the employee or a self-employed worker alike.

The change came from amendments to the Law on Labour Migration adopted by parliament in June 2025, with the detailed procedure set out in a government resolution of 20 February 2026. Applications opened on 1 March 2026. Before that, foreign citizens faced no special work requirement — they had to be lawfully in the country. After hiring, the employer entered their details in the ministry’s unified database. That is no longer the case: the right to stay in Georgia and the right to work in Georgia are now two separate things, and lawful presence under the one-year visa-free rule does not by itself allow you to work.

Right to work, residence permit, and the D1 visa

Several documents work together. The right to work comes first and is the gateway. The labour residence permit, issued by the Public Service Development Agency under the Ministry of Justice, gives a foreign national the legal right to live and work in Georgia and is applied for at a Public Service Hall or through the Agency’s online portal. Alternatively, a D1 visa covers entry for employment or entrepreneurial purposes. After approval of the right to work, you have a limited window in which to secure the residence permit or the D1 visa.

Who needs the right to work?

The rules apply to almost all foreign nationals who do not hold permanent residence and who are employed by a local employer, work remotely for a local employer, or are self-employed in Georgia. That includes citizens of the EU, since Georgia is not an EU member. The law divides workers into two groups: labour immigrants, meaning anyone employed by a Georgian company under a contract, including remote workers whose work is connected to Georgia; and self-employed foreigners, a broad category covering individual entrepreneurs, business owners, directors, consultants, freelancers and independent contractors. Holders of permanent residence, including a permanent investment residence permit, are outside the scheme. People working remotely from abroad for a Georgian employer do not need a work visa or residence permit.

Types of authorisation

• Right to work (right to labour activity) — the mandatory permit from the State Employment Support Agency.
• Labour residence permit — the residence document allowing you to live and work, issued by the Public Service Development Agency.
• D1 visa — the immigration visa for employment or entrepreneurial purposes.
• D2 visa — for freelancers and those in cultural or educational activity.
• Remotely from Georgia — the programme for digital nomads earning from abroad.

The turnover and salary thresholds

Two financial tests gate the labour residence permit. The employer must demonstrate a minimum annual turnover of 50,000 lari per foreign employee it sponsors, reduced to 35,000 lari per foreign employee for educational and medical institutions. And your own monthly income must be at least five times the official subsistence minimum in Georgia. Recent amendments have softened the turnover rule for new businesses: a company registered no more than three months earlier, employing no more than three foreign workers and applying for the first time, no longer has to submit turnover documents — it provides a certificate confirming the number of foreign employees instead — but in that case, the residence permit is issued for a maximum of six months. Applicants who cannot obtain the standard certificates for objective reasons may submit other reliable evidence of turnover.

Eligibility and the vacancy rule

You need a job offer or employment contract from a Georgian employer before any work authorisation can be issued — the permit cannot be granted to someone still looking for work. Employers must generally post the vacancy first; Georgia’s version of a labour-market test, with exemptions where the company holds International Company status, is an innovative start-up, or the monthly gross salary exceeds 15,000 lari. Self-employed applicants are not required to post a vacancy, but they must complete a mandatory recorded video interview with an Agency representative, conducted in English, to verify the application.

Documents you’ll need

The authorities set the requirements; a typical file includes:

• The employer’s registration details and corporate documents.
• A copy of your passport and personal data.
• A copy of the employment contract.
• A signed declaration of employment intent from the employer.
• Proof of the employer’s annual turnover, unless the new-business exemption applies.
• Evidence that your salary meets the subsistence-minimum multiple.
• Translations or legalisation of foreign documents where required.

Step by step

1. You secure a job offer or contract with a Georgian employer.
2. The employer posts the vacancy unless an exemption applies.
3. The employer — or, if self-employed, you — applies to the State Employment Support Agency for the right to work.
4. Self-employed applicants complete the recorded video interview in English.
5. The Agency approves the right to work.
6. Within the permitted window, you apply for a labour residence permit or a D1 visa.
7. You submit documents at a Public Service Hall or through the online portal, in person, within ten calendar days of applying online.
8. Once approved, you collect your residence card and may begin work.

Processing time

The system is new, so timelines are still settling. Expect several weeks across the two stages, and be aware that the Agency has acknowledged it cannot immediately accommodate every request for the self-employed video interview at current staffing levels. Physical submission must be made within 10 calendar days of the online application, and once a permit is approved, you must collect the residence card within 6 months.

Fees

Budget for the state fees for the right to work and the labour residence permit, any D1 visa fee, and the cost of translating and legalising documents. The heavier financial burden falls on the employer through the turnover requirement rather than on fees. Confirm current amounts with the Public Service Development Agency before you pay.

Validity and renewal

A labour residence permit is typically issued for one year initially and can be renewed as long as the job and thresholds continue to be met. There are two notable variations: IT professionals can receive a three-year term rather than the standard one-year term, and the new-business route caps the permit at six months. Renewals are submitted through the Public Service Development Agency’s website, with documents filed in person shortly afterwards.

After you arrive

Collect your residence card within the six-month window, keep your right to work and your residence permit aligned with your actual job, and remember that both the employer and the worker are subject to a 2,000-lari fine if work is carried out without authorisation. Employers are obliged to ensure their foreign staff hold active, valid documentation throughout the employment.

Common reasons for refusal

The most common problems are an employer that cannot show the required turnover per foreign employee; a salary below five times the subsistence minimum; the vacancy not being posted where required; an incomplete file; or starting work on the strength of lawful presence alone, which no longer suffices. Practitioners have flagged one structural gap: a newly established company or a start-up-stage self-employed foreigner may struggle to meet the 50,000-lari turnover threshold, and although the new short-permit route eases this, formal guidance is still developing.

Tips to get approved

Do not rely on the old regime or on the one-year visa-free rule — check the current requirements before you start any work. Confirm early on that your employer can provide evidence of turnover for each foreign employee and that the salary meets the subsistence-minimum multiple. Sequence matters: obtain the right to work first, then the residence permit or D1 visa, and adhere to the 10-day and 6-month deadlines.

Your rights as a foreign worker

Once authorised, you work under a Georgian employment contract with the protections of Georgian labour law, and the new framework is intended to bring foreign workers into the formal system and track labour migration transparently. Income tax is flat-rate, living costs are low, and family members can apply for residence on family grounds. The trade-off is that compliance is now enforced, with fines on both sides of the employment relationship.

For professional drivers in Georgia

Georgia is a genuine regional trucking country, and its geography is the reason. It is the land bridge of the Middle Corridor, the trans-Caspian route carrying freight between Central Asia, China and Europe through the Caucasus, and its Black Sea ports at Poti and Batumi are the outlet for that trade. Its borders run in every useful direction: Turkey at Sarpi, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south — for which Georgia is the only open freight corridor, since Armenia’s Turkish and Azerbaijani frontiers are shut — and Russia at Upper Lars, the single road crossing over the Caucasus, which is frequently congested. So the work is real—two honest cautions. First, the door is no longer open the way it was: since 1 March 2026, a driver needs the right to work and, for anything sustained, a labour residence permit, with an employer turnover test and a vacancy-posting rule that a driving salary will not exempt you from. Second, a Georgian permit carries no EU rights whatsoever, and wages are low by European standards. Georgia is a serious regional hub and a legitimate place to drive, but it is a Caucasus career, not a European one.

• Browse driver vacancies in Georgia.
• Register a driver profile.
• For employers — recruitment and compliance support

Work permits by region in Georgia.

The rules are national and run by the State Employment Support Agency and the Public Service Development Agency, wherever you work. Still, Georgia’s regions differ in industry and in where the freight moves — the Black Sea ports, the Middle Corridor east toward Azerbaijan, and the single Russian crossing at Upper Lars.

Tbilisi

The capital and by far the largest job market, the administrative centre where permits are handled, and the hub of the national road network. Driver jobs in Tbilisi.

Adjara

The Black Sea region around Batumi, with a major port, the Turkish border crossing at Sarpi and a large tourism economy — one of the busiest areas for freight and coach work. Driver jobs in Adjara.

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

Western Georgia around Zugdidi and the port of Poti, the country’s main cargo gateway and the western end of the Middle Corridor. Driver jobs in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.

Imereti

The central region around Kutaisi, with an international airport, a free industrial zone and manufacturing on the main east-west highway. Driver jobs in Imereti.

Kvemo Kartli

The southern region bordering Armenia and Azerbaijan carries the road and rail traffic of the Middle Corridor and Armenia’s only open freight route. Driver jobs in Kvemo Kartli.

Shida Kartli

A central region on the main east-west highway, with agriculture, food processing and heavy transit traffic. Driver jobs in Shida Kartli.

Kakheti

The eastern wine region bordering Azerbaijan, with agriculture, viticulture and cross-border trade. Driver jobs in Kakheti.

Samtskhe-Javakheti

A southern mountain region on the Turkish border, on the route of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. Driver jobs in Samtskhe-Javakheti.

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

The region north of Tbilisi containing Upper Lars, the only road crossing to Russia over the Caucasus — a critical and often congested freight point. Driver jobs in Mtskheta-Mtianeti.

Guria

A small western coastal region between Batumi and Poti, with agriculture and tourism. Driver jobs in Guria.

Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti

A sparsely populated mountain region in the north-west, with a very small local labour market. Driver jobs in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti.

Related guides

• EU work visa — overview
• Georgia residence permit
• Health insurance in Georgia
• Georgian citizenship

Official government sources

• Public Service Development Agency — labour residence permits and renewals.
• Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Protection — labour migration and the right to work.
• Legislative Herald of Georgia — the Law on Labour Migration and resolutions.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa policy and the D1 and D2 visas.

Information only — not legal or immigration advice. Georgia’s labour migration rules changed on 1 March 2026, and guidance is still being developed. Always confirm current requirements with the official Georgian authorities before you apply or pay anyone.