The Georgia 1-Year Visa-Free Stay: Everything You Need to Know

Georgia‘s visa policy is genuinely one of the most generous in the world, but in 2026 there is still a steady stream of travellers arriving at Tbilisi airport with the wrong information — a passport that expires in eight months when they plan to stay twelve, no knowledge of the bus route number that changed two years ago, or a vague assumption that “visa-free” means the same thing here as it does in the Schengen zone. It does not. The rules are actually more relaxed, but only if you understand them. This guide covers everything from the moment you land to the moment you consider whether to leave and come back again.

Who Gets the 1-Year Visa-Free Stay (and What It Actually Means)

Citizens of more than 90 countries can enter Georgia without a visa and stay for up to 365 continuous days. This is not a rolling 90-day window like Schengen, and it is not a 180-day maximum like some other destinations. It is a full calendar year from the date your passport gets stamped at the border.

The countries covered by this policy include all European Union member states, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brazil, and many others. The definitive legal source is Decree N 255 of the Government of Georgia, dated 5 June 2014, along with its subsequent amendments. You can verify your nationality’s eligibility at the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at www.mfa.gov.ge.

What “up to 365 days” means in practice: you can arrive, stay for the full year without any obligation to check in with immigration, register at a government office, or renew any document. There is no mid-stay reporting requirement for tourists. You simply enter, live your life, and leave before your 365 days are up — or reset the clock by crossing a border, which we cover in a dedicated section below.

What You Need to Bring to the Border

The entry requirements for visa-free nationals are minimal, but getting each one wrong can cause delays or, in rare cases, a refusal of entry. Here is what immigration officers can legally ask for.

Passport Validity

This is the single most common mistake. For a standard short trip, many countries ask for six months of passport validity beyond your departure date. Georgia does not work that way for the 1-year stay. Your passport must be valid for the entire duration of your intended stay. If you plan to spend 12 months in Georgia, your passport needs at least 365 days of validity from the date you enter. Check your expiry date before you book flights. A passport that expires in nine months is fine for a nine-month stay, but it rules out the full year.

Proof of Onward or Return Travel

Georgia does not officially require a return ticket for visa-free nationals, but individual immigration officers can ask for it. This comes up more often at Tbilisi airport than at land borders. If you are a digital nomad arriving with a one-way ticket and a laptop bag, having a flexible onward ticket — even a refundable bus ticket to Istanbul or a cheap flight to Yerevan — removes the conversation before it starts.

Proof of Sufficient Funds

The widely accepted benchmark is approximately 100 GEL per person per day of intended stay. For a 30-day trip that is 3,000 GEL; for a 90-day stay it is 9,000 GEL. In practice, immigration officers rarely ask visa-free nationals from EU, UK, US, Canadian, or Australian passports to prove this. However, if you are asked, a bank card, a recent bank statement on your phone, or cash on hand all count as evidence. There is no single published official figure for this requirement — 100 GEL per day is the benchmark that has consistently been applied.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is strongly recommended but not a mandatory entry requirement. You will not be turned away at immigration for not having it. That said, healthcare costs for serious illness or injury can be significant, and Georgia’s public hospital system outside Tbilisi and Batumi can be limited in specialist care.

Arriving at Tbilisi Shota Rustaveli International Airport

Tbilisi’s main international airport — officially Tbilisi Shota Rustaveli International Airport, IATA code TBS — handles the vast majority of international arrivals into Georgia. The process is straightforward but can feel slow on busy nights.

The Immigration Queue

After disembarking, follow signs for “Passport Control.” For visa-free nationals, present your passport to the officer. They may ask the purpose of your visit and how long you intend to stay. Answer directly: “tourism” or “long-term stay” are both fine. A stamp goes into your passport with the entry date — keep track of this date because it starts your 365-day clock. After immigration, collect your bags and choose between the Green Channel (nothing to declare) and the Red Channel (goods to declare).

Queue times depend heavily on the time and the flight schedule. Late-night and early-morning international arrivals can stack up: waits of 20 minutes on a quiet Tuesday and over 90 minutes on a Friday night in peak summer are both realistic. The queue moves steadily — Georgian immigration officers work efficiently — but there is not yet a dedicated fast-track lane for frequent visitors.

Getting Into the City

Once you are through, you have three practical options.

Public Bus #337: This is the route that replaced the old #37 in late 2023 and early 2024. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, connecting the airport to the city centre along a route that passes Rustaveli Avenue, Freedom Square, and Baratashvili Street, terminating at Station Square. The journey takes 40 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. The fare is 1 GEL. You pay by tapping a Metromoney card (available at the airport for 2 GEL to purchase, then top up separately) or by tapping a contactless Visa or Mastercard bank card directly on the reader. There is no cash payment on the bus.

Bolt or Yandex Go: Both apps work at Tbilisi airport. Connect to the airport Wi-Fi or use a local SIM card purchased in the arrivals hall. A ride to the city centre via Bolt typically costs 30 to 50 GEL, depending on time of day and demand surges. Official airport taxis are available outside the terminal but regularly quote 50 to 80 GEL — always use the app instead.

Georgian Railway: There is no direct train service from Tbilisi airport to the city centre. The nearest major station is Tbilisi Central, which you would reach by bus or taxi first.

Buying a SIM Card

Mobile operator kiosks — Magti, Geocell (now operating under the Silknet brand), and Beeline — are located in the arrivals hall before you exit the building. A tourist SIM card with a data package costs between 20 and 40 GEL depending on the plan. Magti has the most extensive coverage across Georgia, including mountain regions. Buy one here if you need it to call a Bolt before leaving the terminal.

Arriving at Batumi International Airport

Batumi International Airport (IATA code BUS) is the main entry point for the Black Sea coast and southwestern Georgia. The immigration process mirrors Tbilisi — passport control, baggage claim, customs — but the airport is significantly smaller and queues rarely stretch beyond 20 minutes even on busy summer days.

Mobile operator kiosks are available in the arrivals hall, covering the same operators as Tbilisi.

Getting into Batumi city centre: The #10 bus connects the airport to the city. The fare is 1 GEL, payable with a Batumi Card (purchased at kiosks near the terminal) or a contactless bank card. The journey takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Bolt and Yandex Go both operate in Batumi; a ride to the city centre costs between 10 and 20 GEL.

The warm salt air hits you the moment you step out of the terminal — a sharp contrast to the dry plateau air of Tbilisi — and the palm-lined boulevard is less than ten minutes away by car. It is a gentle arrival point for Georgia first-timers.

Land Border Crossings: What to Expect

Georgia shares land borders with Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Each has its own character and practical considerations.

From Turkey

The Sarpi-Sarp crossing near Batumi is the busiest land crossing into Georgia and operates 24 hours a day. It handles a mix of tourists, long-haul truck drivers, and locals moving between the two countries. Peak times on summer weekends can mean waits of one to two hours in the vehicle queue, but pedestrian crossings move faster. Other crossings from Turkey include Vale-Posof (near Akhaltsikhe) and Kartsakhi-Çıldır (near Akhalkalaki).

Marshrutkas (minibuses) from Tbilisi’s Ortachala bus station run to the Sarpi border. A seat costs approximately 30 to 40 GEL. From the Turkish side, marshrutkas and private taxis continue into Trabzon and beyond.

From Armenia and Azerbaijan

Key crossings from Armenia include Sadakhlo-Bagratashen and Bavra-Gogavan. From Azerbaijan, the Red Bridge (Tsiteli Khidi) crossing and Lagodekhi-Balakan are the main options. These are all standard land crossings with passport control and vehicle inspection. Wait times are generally manageable outside of national holidays.

From Russia

Upper Lars — the Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars crossing — is the only operational land crossing with Russia for third-country nationals in 2026. It is unpredictable. Winter snow can close it entirely. During peak periods it can back up for many kilometres with trucks. If you are planning to cross here, check current conditions through local sources the day before.

A Critical Warning: Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Entering Georgia through the breakaway regions of Abkhazia or South Ossetia is illegal under Georgian law. Doing so can result in fines or imprisonment. All entries into Georgia must use official Georgian border checkpoints. This rule applies regardless of which government issued you a permit for those territories.

The E-Visa: Who Needs It and How to Apply

If your nationality is not on the visa-free list but your country is eligible for an e-visa — common cases include India, China, and Thailand — you apply online before travelling.

1. Go to the official portal: www.evisa.gov.ge
2. Select your nationality and document type.
3. Complete the application form with your personal details, passport information, and travel plans.
4. Upload a digital passport photo and a clear scan of your passport’s bio-data page. Some nationalities are also asked for proof of accommodation or a travel itinerary.
5. Pay the fee. As of 2026, the standard e-visa fee is approximately 20 USD (around 54 GEL) plus a service fee of approximately 2 USD (around 5 GEL) — a total of roughly 59 GEL. Payment is by Visa or Mastercard.



6. Submit and wait. Standard processing takes five business days. An expedited option is available for an additional fee, reducing the wait to one to three business days.

E-visas typically allow a stay of 30 or 90 days within a 120 or 180-day window, depending on your nationality and the visa type issued. Check the specific terms on your approval letter. Always use the official www.evisa.gov.ge portal — third-party sites that offer to process Georgian e-visas typically charge significantly higher fees for the same result. If your nationality is not covered by either the visa-free policy or the e-visa programme, you need to apply through a Georgian embassy or consulate in your country of residence. Contact details are listed on www.mfa.gov.ge.

Resetting the Clock: Leaving and Re-Entering Georgia

This is the question digital nomads and long-term travellers ask most often, and the answer is simpler than most people expect. When you exit Georgia and re-enter, your 365-day counter resets to zero on the new entry date. There is no minimum time you must spend outside the country before re-entering. You could in theory cross into Turkey at Sarpi in the morning, have a coffee in Hopa, and cross back into Georgia the same afternoon — and your new 365-day period begins on that re-entry stamp.

In practice, most long-term visitors take a genuine trip of a few days or a week — to Istanbul, Yerevan, Baku, or further afield — and return refreshed with a clean slate. There is no official policy limiting how many times you can do this, and as of 2026 there is no record of eligible nationalities being refused re-entry purely on the basis of repeated short exits. However, if an immigration officer has reason to believe you are not a genuine visitor — for example, you have entered and exited many times in quick succession with no apparent tourism purpose — they retain discretion to question you or, in extreme cases, refuse entry. Behave like a genuine long-term visitor and this is not a concern.

Keep a record of your entry stamp dates. If you lose track and overstay your 365 days, you will face a fine at the border on departure. The amount depends on the duration of the overstay.

Staying Longer Than a Year: Your Options

If Georgia has become home and you want to formalise your stay beyond the 365-day mark, a border reset is the simplest short-term solution. For a more permanent arrangement, Georgia offers several temporary residence permit categories:

• Work permit residence: For those employed by or running a Georgian-registered company.
• Student residence: For those enrolled in accredited Georgian educational institutions.
• Family reunification: For those with close Georgian family members.
• Investment/property residence: Georgia has historically offered residency pathways tied to property ownership or business investment, though the specific thresholds have been revised periodically — check current requirements at the Public Service Hall (sda.gov.ge).

Residence permit applications are typically initiated inside Georgia at a Public Service Hall (Sajaroservice). The process requires specific documentation, takes several weeks to process, and grants a different legal status to the visa-free stay. This is a separate, more involved process and goes beyond the scope of entry rules — seek legal advice in Georgia if you are pursuing this route.

2026 Budget Reality: What Entry and Early Days Will Cost You

Here is a clear breakdown of the costs you will encounter from arrival to settling in for the first few days.

At the Airport (Tbilisi)

• Bus #337 to city centre: 1 GEL
• Bolt ride to city centre: 30–50 GEL
• Tourist SIM card (with data): 20–40 GEL
• Metromoney card (transit card, reloadable): 2 GEL to purchase, plus top-up

At the Border (Land Crossing by Marshrutka)

• Tbilisi to Sarpi (Turkish border) by marshrutka: 30–40 GEL

E-Visa (if applicable)

• Standard e-visa fee: approximately 54 GEL
• Service fee: approximately 5 GEL
• Total: approximately 59 GEL

Daily Budget Benchmarks

• Budget tier: 100 GEL per day is the official benchmark. In reality, budget travellers in Tbilisi can live on 80–120 GEL per day including accommodation in a hostel dorm, local food, and public transport.
• Mid-range tier: 200–350 GEL per day covers a private room in a guesthouse or mid-range hotel, restaurant meals, and occasional taxis.
• Comfortable tier: 400–600 GEL per day for boutique hotels in Old Tbilisi, a mix of restaurant dining and wine bars, and private transport.

Common Mistakes That Cause Problems at the Border

These are the situations that actually slow people down or cause stress at Georgian immigration. None of them are hard to avoid once you know about them.

Passport Expires Before Your Planned Departure

The most frequent issue. Double-check your passport expiry date against every date in your travel plan — not just your flight home, but the full period you might stay. If there is any chance you want to use the full 365 days, your passport must be valid for all 365 of them.

Assuming the Old Bus #37 Still Runs from Tbilisi Airport

The route changed to #337 in late 2023 and early 2024. The old number no longer exists. If you search outdated travel forums, you will still find #37 mentioned. The correct bus in 2026 is #337.

Entering via Abkhazia or South Ossetia

This has been mentioned, but bears repeating because some travellers encounter tours or local fixers who make it sound straightforward. It is not. It is illegal under Georgian law, and the consequences are serious.

Not Having Any Cash or a Functioning Card

Bolt and Yandex Go require a working payment method on the app. The airport bus requires a contactless card or a Metromoney card. If you arrive with no cash, no local SIM, and a bank card that has not been set up for international use, you will struggle to get into the city efficiently. Sort your banking before you fly.

Overstaying the 365 Days

Your entry stamp date is the start of the clock. 365 days later, you need to be out of the country or have changed your legal status. An overstay is not a catastrophe — it results in a fine at the border — but it creates a record and unnecessary expense. Track the date.

Using a Third-Party E-Visa Site

If you need an e-visa, use only www.evisa.gov.ge. Unofficial sites rank highly in search results and charge two to five times the official fee for the exact same result. The official site is functional, straightforward, and considerably cheaper.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I work in Georgia on the 1-year visa-free stay?

Georgian law does not prohibit remote work for a foreign employer while on a visa-free stay — this is why the country is popular with digital nomads. However, working for a Georgian employer or running a locally registered business without the appropriate work permit or residence status is a different matter. For remote workers earning income from abroad, the visa-free stay is generally considered adequate in 2026.

Do I need to register my address with Georgian authorities when I arrive?

No. Tourists and long-term visitors on the visa-free stay are not required to register with any government office upon arrival or during their stay. Some accommodation providers — particularly hotels — record passport details for their own records, but this is not a mandatory government registration process for visitors.

What happens if I overstay my 365-day visa-free period?

You will be fined at the border when you depart. The fine amount depends on how long you overstayed. Short overstays of a few days typically result in a modest fine, while longer overstays carry higher penalties. Pay the fine, exit, and if you re-enter, your new 365-day period begins from that re-entry date. A history of overstays could attract greater scrutiny on future entries.

Is there a minimum time I must spend outside Georgia before re-entering to reset the visa-free period?

No minimum time outside Georgia is required before re-entry. The 365-day clock resets the moment you receive a new entry stamp, even if you only spent a few hours across the border. That said, very frequent short exits with no apparent travel purpose could draw questions from immigration officers, who retain discretion at the border.

Can I enter Georgia on a passport that expires in six months if I only plan to stay for one month?

Yes. The requirement is that your passport is valid for the entire duration of your intended stay. If you plan to stay for one month and your passport has six months of validity remaining, you are well within the requirements. The one-year validity concern applies only if you plan to use the full 365-day visa-free period.

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📷 Featured image by Daria K on Unsplash.