Residence permit and the right to work: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Separate the right to STAY from the right to WORK. Stay: visa-free entry allows up to 90 calendar days in any 180-day period (for certain countries the Government may set a longer period) (Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Art. 10). A residence permit is issued only to a foreigner who is lawfully in Georgia (Art. 14).
2. Type of residence permit: a work residence permit grants the right to work and requires income not below five times the subsistence minimum and an employer turnover of at least GEL 50,000 per foreigner (Art. 15). A short-term residence permit is granted to the owner of real estate (other than agricultural land) worth more than USD 150,000, and to their spouse and children (Art. 15). Other types include study, family, investment and permanent residence permits. The review takes up to 30 days from complete submission of documents (Art. 17).
3. Work and business: only a foreigner with a work residence permit, a D1 visa or another residence permit, plus the right to work, may work or run an income-generating business, including as a sole proprietor (Law of Georgia on Labour Migration, Art. 13¹). The right to work is requested by the employer after the contract is concluded (a self-employed person applies personally) (Art. 13⁴). The review takes up to 30 calendar days. The right is tied to the employer (Art. 13⁴). After obtaining the right in Georgia, the work residence permit must be applied for within 10 calendar days at the latest. From abroad, the D1 visa is applied for instead (Art. 13⁵).
4. Refusal: the grounds for refusal include, among others, a criminal conviction within the last 5 years, forged documents, false information, non-compliance with requirements, and security (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Art. 18). A refusal of a residence permit may be challenged by administrative complaint within 1 month of official familiarisation (General Administrative Code of Georgia, Art. 180). A lawsuit to oblige the issuance of a residence permit must be filed within 1 month of receiving the refusal (Administrative Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 23). A repeat application on the same ground may be filed no earlier than 1 month after the refusal (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Art. 19). A decision on the right to work may be appealed to court within 1 month. An appeal does not grant the right to work and does not defer departure (Law on Labour Migration, Art. 13⁵).
5. Where to apply: Public Service Development Agency (residence permit); Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia (right to work); district (city) court.
6. Evidence: passport, documents on the basis (contract, registry extract and appraisal, diploma, marriage certificate), income certificates, translations into Georgian.
7. Traps: applying for a residence permit while the stay is still lawful; running a sole proprietorship or working remotely does not exempt from the right to work; changing employer requires a new right to work.

Be sure to check

• difference between the right to stay and the right to work
• suitable type of residence permit, its conditions and review periods
• procedure for obtaining the right to work and its deadlines
• appeal of a refusal and reapplication