Georgia digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

Only nationals of countries that the Georgian Foreign Minister has approved for e-visas can apply online.

• Work only for non-resident entities whose activity is outside Georgia
• Nationality on Georgia's e-visa country list
• Travel or health insurance and enough funds for the stay
• No security or immigration-policy objection

Income requirement

You need to show at least No fixed amount; must show sufficient funds. The government resolution sets no income figure; refusal grounds include not having enough money for the stay and return, and no family add-on is set.

Documents you need

• Valid passport
• Online C5 application on the e-VISA portal
• Proof of work for a non-resident employer or client
• Travel or health insurance
• Proof of sufficient funds
• For family: proof of marriage or parenthood

How to apply, step by step

1. Apply on Georgia's e-VISA portal (embassies cannot issue C5 visas)
2. Pay the USD 300 fee
3. Wait about 5 working days for the decision
4. Enter Georgia with the electronic visa

Where and how to apply

The C5 visa can only be obtained online through Georgia's e-VISA portal (www.evisa.gov.ge). Government Resolution No. 184 of 7 May 2026 amended the visa rules so that Georgian embassies and consulates may issue every visa category except C5, so there is no consulate appointment route. Applications are decided by the Consular and Diaspora Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and every C5 visa is issued only with the agreement of the State Security Service. Apply from outside Georgia: the refusal grounds for portal e-visas include the applicant being in Georgia on the day the decision is made. Only nationals of countries on the Foreign Minister's e-visa list can use the portal. You choose your country of passport on the portal to see whether you can apply. Each traveller, including children, needs a separate application, and supporting documents must be in English or Georgian. The portal is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (helpdesk [email protected], +995 32 294 5050).

Timeline

1. Check passport and eligibility Before applying
   The portal requires a passport valid at least 3 months beyond the visa's validity, with two blank pages and issued within the last 10 years. The 5-year C5 validity makes the end date matter.
2. Submit the online application Same day
   Fill in the form on the e-VISA portal, upload the passport data page, photo and supporting documents, and confirm the verification email.
3. Pay the fee At submission
   USD 300 by bank card. The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused.
4. Decision 5th working day; up to 10 working days
   The visa is issued on the fifth working day after submission. If extra checks are needed, the decision is made within 10 working days.
5. Enter Georgia Any time within 5-year validity
   Carry the e-visa, passport, proof of purpose, accommodation, insurance and funds, as border guards may ask for them.
6. One-year stay period Counted from first entry on the visa
   The right to stay for one year starts from the first border crossing on that C5 visa.
7. Appeal a refusal Within 10 working days
   Most refusals can be appealed to the Foreign Ministry, which decides within one month (extendable by one more month). A refusal on immigration-policy grounds cannot be appealed.

Proving your income

Neither the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens nor Resolution No. 184 sets a minimum income. The test is the general one for Georgian visas: lack of enough money to live in Georgia and return home is a refusal ground. The e-VISA portal says funds can be shown with bank statements for the past three months, a reference from your employer stating your position and income, proof of owning real estate, or a dated and signed sponsor letter. For C5 you also have to show that your work is only for a non-resident person or company whose activity is outside Georgia. An employment contract or employer letter, or client contracts and invoices for freelancers, is the obvious evidence. All documents must be in English or Georgian, so anything in another language needs a translation.

Bringing your family

The C5 definition in the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, as amended in April 2026, extends the category to the main applicant's spouse and minor child or children. The portal requires a separate e-visa application for every traveller regardless of age, so each family member files their own application. Each file needs its own fee, insurance and proof of the family link, such as a marriage or birth certificate in English or Georgian. No official extra-funds amount per dependant is published; the general sufficient-funds test applies to the family as a whole. The rules do not separately say whether a spouse on a C5 may work. The category itself only permits activity for non-resident entities, and work for Georgian employers falls under the separate work-authorisation regime.

Health insurance

Travel or health insurance is required. Not having it is a listed ground for refusing a Georgian visa. The e-VISA portal says the policy must cover any health-related costs and death, and must be valid throughout Georgia. The rules do not fix a minimum sum insured. Because the C5 allows a stay of up to one year, buy cover that starts on your entry date and lasts for the whole planned stay. The portal links to an e-insurance service where a Georgian policy can be bought online.

Cost and processing time

The fee is uSD 300. Processing takes issued on the 5th working day; up to 10 working days if more checks are needed. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• There is no residence card or registration step: the C5 is a visa, not a residence permit, so keep the e-visa and passport with you.
• Count your days: the one-year stay right runs from your first entry on that visa, and a new C5 cancels the old one and starts a fresh year from its first entry.
• Track tax days separately: 183 days in Georgia in any continuous 12-month period makes you a Georgian tax resident for that tax year.
• If you invoice clients as a freelancer, look at registering as an individual entrepreneur and then applying to the Revenue Service for small business status.
• Do not take jobs or clients in Georgia on the C5. Work for Georgian employers or local self-employment needs a separate work authorisation under rules in force since 1 March 2026.
• Keep your insurance valid and your proof of foreign income up to date, since border officers can ask for them on every entry.

Tax

Georgian tax residency depends only on presence. Under Article 34 of the Tax Code, a person who is physically in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-calendar-month period ending in a tax year is resident for that whole year. The visa type does not matter. Article 104 treats income from employment in Georgia, and fees for services actually performed in Georgia, as Georgian-source income. Work done from a laptop in Tbilisi can therefore be Georgian-source income even when the employer or client is abroad. The standard personal income tax rate is 20% (Article 81). Individuals registered as entrepreneurs can apply for small business status: taxable income is then taxed at 1%, rising to 3% once gross income from the activity exceeds GEL 500,000 in the year (Article 90). The C5 rules themselves are silent on tax. Get advice before relying on any exemption, especially for salaried employees of foreign companies, who have no Georgian employer to withhold tax.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

Time on a C5 does not build toward permanent residence. The C5 is a short-term (tourist-purpose) visa, not a residence permit. Under the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, a permanent residence permit is available to a foreigner who has lived in Georgia for the last 10 years on temporary residence permits. Periods of residence for study or medical treatment do not count. To start that clock you would need a temporary residence permit on another ground. Examples are work (after work authorisation), family ties or the investment residence permit, which requires an investment of at least USD 300,000 in GEL equivalent.

Why applications get refused

• Immigration policy: the rules allow a C5 refusal simply on Georgia's immigration-policy grounds, decided with the State Security Service, and that refusal cannot be appealed.
• Being inside Georgia on the day the e-visa decision is made.
• No travel or health insurance, or not enough funds to live in Georgia and return home.
• Incomplete, false or wrongly submitted documents or information, including documents not in English or Georgian.
• Doubts about the purpose, for example signs of work for Georgian employers or clients, or suspicion that you will overstay or break the visa conditions.
• An immigration record: an entry ban, unpaid fines for unlawful stay, removal from Georgia in the last three years, or offences committed during an earlier stay.

Cost of living in Tbilisi

1-bedroom rent

GEL 1,350–2,600 a month in the centre (average about GEL 1,800) and GEL 910–1,650 outside the centre (Numbeo, updated 12 Nov 2026)

Coworking desk

About GEL 300–500 a month for a flexible desk at spaces such as Impact Hub, Terminal or Lokal; day passes around GEL 40 (coworking guides, early 2026)

Home broadband of 60 Mbps or more usually costs GEL 40–75 a month (Numbeo, Nov 2026).

Good to know

• Applications are approved in agreement with the State Security Service and can be refused on immigration-policy grounds
• Work for Georgian employers or local clients is not covered
• The old 'Remotely from Georgia' COVID-era scheme is no longer running

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

100 passports can enter Georgia visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Georgia visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

Legislative Herald of Georgia – Government Resolution No. 184 (7 May 2026)

Not yet confirmed on an official source: documents, eligibleOnly, tax. Check these with the consulate before you apply.