Starting from early March 2025, there was a change in the conditions for obtaining a work residence permit in Georgia. Previously, all foreigners wishing to work in the country were required to confirm the employer's annual turnover — 50,000 lari for each foreign employee. For educational and medical institutions, this threshold was lower — 35,000 lari. However, for newly opened companies, such a document is simply impossible to obtain by definition: a young business cannot have annual turnover at the moment of its creation. This created a logical deadlock: entrepreneurs who registered a company in Georgia were required to prove income that they physically could not have earned during the period of their business's operation.
A government resolution issued on July 9, 2025, resolved this dilemma, but only for a narrow category of applicants. The new regulation addresses the issue of confirming turnover for companies that meet three conditions simultaneously. First, the company must have been registered no more than three months ago — the countdown starts precisely from the date of registration, not from the date of the residence permit application. Second, the company's staff should employ no more than three foreign employees. Third, the specific individual is obtaining a work residence permit for the first time in their life — in other words, their status has not previously been extended or reissued.
If all these conditions are met, instead of the usual package of documents including financial statements and bank statements, only an employer's certificate is required. This document is prepared on the company's letterhead and contains information about the number of foreign employees working in the organization. No financial documentation, bank statements, or proof of turnover is required. This approach is an officially established norm, not a gray scheme or loophole — the mechanism is legalized by a government resolution and is applied as a direct rule for a specific category of business.
The application process consists of four stages. First, you need to register a company or individual entrepreneur (IP) if this has not yet been done — from this moment, the three-month period begins to count. Then an employer's certificate regarding the number of foreign employees is prepared. After that, a package of documents is submitted for issuing a work permit and work residence permit with the certificate instead of financial documents. The applicant should note that the processing institution verifies the enterprise category by size on the Reportal.ge portal, so it is worth checking the company's profile in advance. As a result of successful submission, the foreigner receives a residence permit for a period of six months — twice shorter than the usual annual term.
There are important restrictions that must be considered. The three-month threshold is counted precisely from the date of company registration, not from the date of the residence permit application. If the company is already more than three months old, the benefit no longer applies, and confirmation of a standard turnover of 50,000 lari per year will be required. It is important to understand that the benefit applies only once. In six months, when the issued residence permit expires, you will need to either confirm a turnover of 50,000 lari for each foreign employee or find another basis for extending the status. Furthermore, you cannot hire a fourth foreign employee before the expiration of this six-month period — the condition is checked not only at the time of document submission, and the appearance of an additional employee on the staff may call into question the validity of the benefit.
There are three most common mistakes when submitting documents. The first is incorrect counting of the three-month period from the date of application submission instead of the date of company registration. The second is forgetfulness about the fact that the benefit is one-time and lasts only six months. The third is hiring a fourth foreign employee before the expiration of the six-month period. Potential applicants, before submitting documents, should ensure that their case meets all three conditions — this will be cheaper than receiving a refusal after submission.
State fees when using this scheme remain the same as when submitting documents for a work permit and residence permit in the usual manner. Savings are achieved solely through a simplified package of documents, not through a reduction in state fees. For a specific calculation of the amount, it is recommended to clarify the figures for your individual case. The new resolution creates a real opportunity for foreign entrepreneurs to start business activities in Georgia without the need to prove income that they have not yet earned, which significantly simplifies the launch of a new business and the attraction of foreign personnel at the early stages of company development.