On this page
- The Visa-Free Reality: How Long You Can Actually Stay
- The Tax Case for Georgia: The 1% Small Business Regime Explained
- What It Actually Costs to Live Here in 2026
- The Remotely from Georgia Programme: Who It’s For and How to Apply
- Health Insurance: What You Need and What It Costs
- Internet, Power, and Infrastructure: The Honest Picture
- Frequently Asked Questions
By mid-2026, digital nomad visa programmes across Europe have tightened considerably — Portugal’s D8 now has an income floor above €3,500 per month, Spain’s digital nomad visa involves months of bureaucracy, and Thailand’s LTR visa requires proof of savings that rules out most freelancers. Georgia has quietly become the rational choice for people who want to actually work abroad without fighting red tape. But there is a lot of noise online about what Georgia offers, and much of it is outdated or incomplete. This article covers what you need to know in concrete terms.
The Visa-Free Reality: How Long You Can Actually Stay
Citizens of around 95 countries — including all EU member states, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and most of Asia — can enter Georgia visa-free and stay for up to 365 days within any calendar year. This is not a tourist exemption with a hidden 90-day cap. It is a full year, and it resets.
As of 2026, this policy has not changed, though Georgia’s border agency has become more attentive to people who exit and re-enter immediately in an apparent attempt to chain stays across years. If you leave Georgia briefly and return, border officers may ask about your employment, accommodation, and finances. This is routine for anyone who has spent close to 365 days in the country. Having your rental agreement, proof of remote income, and an onward ticket helps the conversation go smoothly.
If you want legal residency beyond the 365-day visa-free allowance, you have two practical routes. The first is applying for a temporary residence permit, which requires demonstrating income or a registered business in Georgia. The second is registering as an individual entrepreneur (IE) and obtaining a residence permit on that basis. Many long-term workationers go this route after their first year.
One thing worth being clear about: the 365 days is calendar-year based, not rolling. If you arrive on 1 September 2025 and stay until 31 August 2026, you have used all of your 2025 days and most of your 2026 days simultaneously. Plan your entry date accordingly if you intend to stay close to the maximum.
The Tax Case for Georgia: The 1% Small Business Regime Explained
Georgia’s tax system is the reason many financially literate remote workers choose it over competing destinations. The headline figure is 1%, and it is real — but it applies only under specific conditions.
To access the small business (Individual Entrepreneur) tax regime with a 1% income tax rate, you must:
- Register as an Individual Entrepreneur (IE) with the Revenue Service of Georgia
- Have annual turnover below 500,000 GEL (approximately 185,000 USD at mid-2026 rates)
- Earn income from services, not goods trading
- Not have Georgian-sourced clients that trigger local VAT obligations
The 1% rate applies to gross revenue — not profit. There are no deductible expenses under this regime, which is a trade-off. If your margins are high (typical for software developers, writers, designers, and consultants), 1% on gross is an exceptional rate. If your business has high pass-through costs, it is less advantageous.
If your annual turnover exceeds 100,000 GEL, you are required to register for VAT in Georgia. This does not automatically mean you pay Georgian VAT on foreign-client income — services exported outside Georgia are generally zero-rated — but it adds administrative complexity. Most solo remote workers stay comfortably below this threshold.
IE registration takes one visit to a Public Service Hall (სახალხო დარბაზი), costs around 20 GEL in administrative fees, and is typically completed within a day. You will need your passport. Some workationers use a local facilitator for the first time, which costs between 200 and 500 GEL for full setup assistance including Revenue Service registration.
One important note for 2026: Georgia has signed tax treaties with over 50 countries. Whether your home country allows you to use Georgian tax residency to reduce your home-country tax liability depends entirely on your specific situation and nationality. This is not a question Georgia’s system answers — it is a question for a tax professional in your home country. Do not assume that registering as a Georgian IE eliminates your home-country obligations without getting advice specific to your case.
What It Actually Costs to Live Here in 2026
Georgia’s cost of living has risen since 2022, when a wave of arrivals from Russia and Ukraine drove rental prices sharply upward in Tbilisi. By 2026, the market has stabilised, but prices are not as low as they were in 2019. Here is an honest picture.
Accommodation
- Budget (shared flat or studio outside the centre): 900–1,400 GEL per month in Tbilisi; 600–900 GEL in Kutaisi or Batumi off-season
- Mid-range (one-bedroom apartment, decent building, central area): 1,500–2,500 GEL per month in Tbilisi; 1,000–1,800 GEL in Batumi or Kutaisi
- Comfortable (modern two-bedroom, renovated, city centre): 2,800–4,500 GEL per month in Tbilisi’s Vake or Vera districts
Utilities — electricity, gas, water — typically add 150–350 GEL per month depending on season. Georgian winters are cold and older buildings are poorly insulated, so heating costs in January and February can push utility bills toward the higher end of that range.
Day-to-Day Expenses
- Local restaurant meal: 15–35 GEL
- Mid-range restaurant, two people with wine: 120–200 GEL
- Monthly groceries (cooking most meals): 400–700 GEL
- Metro or bus single fare in Tbilisi: 1 GEL (the metro network expanded in 2025 with new stops serving Didi Digomi and Gldani extensions)
- Bolt or Yandex taxi across central Tbilisi: 8–18 GEL
- Co-working day pass: 30–60 GEL
- Co-working monthly membership: 300–600 GEL
Realistic Monthly Budget Totals
- Budget: 2,200–3,000 GEL/month (basic apartment, cooking at home, occasional eating out)
- Mid-range: 3,500–5,500 GEL/month (comfortable apartment, mix of eating out and cooking, some travel within Georgia)
- Comfortable: 6,000–9,000 GEL/month (well-located modern apartment, active social life, regular travel)
For context, the Georgian lari traded at approximately 2.7 GEL to 1 USD in mid-2026. The budget tier above converts to roughly 800–1,100 USD per month — a figure that is genuinely difficult to match in Western Europe or Southeast Asia’s major cities.
The Remotely from Georgia Programme: Who It’s For and How to Apply
Georgia’s government launched the Remotely from Georgia programme in 2020, and it has been updated several times since. In 2026, it functions as a soft-landing package rather than a visa category — you still enter on the standard visa-free allowance or an e-visa, but the programme provides access to a curated set of benefits.
Eligibility in 2026 requires:
- Employment by a foreign company or self-employment with foreign clients (no Georgian-sourced income at the time of application)
- Minimum monthly income of approximately 2,000 USD, demonstrated through bank statements or employment contracts
- Health insurance valid in Georgia
- A planned stay of at least 90 days
What the programme actually provides varies — it has historically offered SIM card assistance, a welcome pack, and facilitated access to banking. In 2026, the programme’s most practical benefit is a letter from the Georgian government confirming your status, which can help when opening a Georgian bank account. Bank account access for non-residents remains one of the genuine friction points in Georgia, and this letter makes a noticeable difference.
Application is online through Georgia’s official investment portal. Processing takes five to ten working days. The programme is not mandatory — many workationers skip it entirely and manage fine — but if you plan to stay long-term and want the smoother banking path, it is worth the hour it takes to apply.
The income floor has been a point of criticism. At 2,000 USD per month, the programme targets mid-to-senior-level remote workers rather than early-career freelancers. If you do not meet the threshold, you can still live and work from Georgia freely under the visa-free regime — you simply will not have programme status.
Health Insurance: What You Need and What It Costs
Georgia does not have a universal public health system that covers foreigners. The country’s public hospitals exist, but quality varies significantly, and you do not want to rely on them without insurance. This is not a scare story — Georgia’s private medical sector is genuinely good in Tbilisi and adequate in other major cities — but you need private cover.
For short-to-medium stays, international travel insurance with health cover works. For stays of three months or more, a locally purchased Georgian health insurance policy is substantially cheaper and provides better coverage for the Georgian private hospital network.
Typical costs in 2026 for locally issued Georgian health insurance:
- Basic plan (outpatient and emergency, 30,000 GEL annual coverage cap): 80–130 GEL per month
- Mid-range plan (broader outpatient, hospitalisation, some dental): 150–250 GEL per month
- Comprehensive plan (higher caps, specialist access, dental, sometimes maternity): 300–500 GEL per month
The main Georgian insurers — Imedi L, Aldagi, and GPI — all issue policies to foreign nationals with a Georgian address. The process is straightforward and can often be completed online or at a branch in under an hour. Policies are typically issued in Georgian but key documents are available in English on request.
If the Remotely from Georgia programme requires proof of health insurance, a locally issued policy satisfies this requirement. International policies from companies like SafetyWing or Cigna Global also qualify, though their per-month cost for comparable coverage is usually higher than local equivalents.
Internet, Power, and Infrastructure: The Honest Picture
Georgia’s internet infrastructure is genuinely strong in Tbilisi and the major cities, and genuinely unreliable in rural areas and smaller towns. This distinction matters if you are planning to work from somewhere other than the capital.
In Tbilisi, home fibre connections are fast and affordable. A 100–200 Mbps fibre plan from Magticom, Silknet, or Telenet costs 30–60 GEL per month. Speeds are real, not advertised fiction — video calls and large file transfers work without issue on a standard plan. The 2025 rollout of additional fibre infrastructure in Tbilisi’s older districts has addressed the patchy coverage that affected parts of Avlabari and Isani through 2024.
Power cuts remain a reality in some older residential buildings in Tbilisi and across much of the country outside the capital. In the city centre and modern apartment buildings, outages are rare. In older Soviet-era blocks, a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your laptop and router is worth having. The cost is 200–400 GEL for a basic unit and pays for itself quickly in avoided frustration.
Mobile data is excellent and cheap. A Georgian SIM from Magti or Geocell with 20–30 GB of data costs around 25–40 GEL per month. For backup connectivity during any home internet outage, mobile data is a reliable fallback — 4G coverage in Tbilisi is near-total, and 5G rollout across central Tbilisi was substantially complete by early 2026.
Outside Tbilisi, the picture changes. Batumi has solid coverage and decent fibre options, though speeds can dip in the heavy tourist season from June to August when the network is under load. Kutaisi has improved considerably since 2024, with competitive fibre now available across most of the city. Smaller towns like Gori, Telavi, and Akhaltsikhe have basic broadband but not the kind of redundancy you want for a full working week with client calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I really stay in Georgia for a full year without a visa?
Yes, if your nationality is on Georgia’s visa-free list — which covers about 95 countries including the US, UK, EU states, Canada, and Australia. The allowance is 365 days per calendar year. It is not a tourist-only exemption. You can work remotely during this period without any special permit.
Do I have to register as an Individual Entrepreneur to work remotely from Georgia?
No. You can work remotely for a foreign employer or clients without any Georgian registration. IE registration is relevant only if you want to access Georgia’s 1% small business tax regime or need a Georgian legal entity for invoicing purposes. Many workationers skip it entirely.
Is the 1% tax rate legitimate, or is there a catch?
The 1% rate is real and legal under Georgian law for qualifying Individual Entrepreneurs with turnover below 500,000 GEL annually. The catch is your home country — Georgian registration does not automatically exempt you from home-country tax obligations. Get country-specific tax advice before restructuring your finances around Georgian registration.
How difficult is it to open a Georgian bank account as a foreigner?
It has become more selective since 2022. TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia both require proof of local address, income documentation, and sometimes Georgian IE registration or Remotely from Georgia programme status. The process is easier with programme status or IE registration than without. Allow one to three weeks and visit branches in person rather than relying on online applications.
Is Georgia safe for solo workationers, including women travelling alone?
Georgia consistently ranks as one of the safer countries in the region by independent safety indices. Street crime is low in Tbilisi and other major cities. Solo women working and living in Tbilisi report feeling safe, though as in any city, normal urban awareness applies in quieter areas late at night. The expat and wokationer community in Tbilisi is active and welcoming.
📷 Featured image by Chris Lawton on Unsplash.
