Every tourist entering Georgia has needed insurance since 1 January — at least 30,000 lari of cover, and a child cannot ride on a parent's policy

From 1 January 2026, all tourists entering Georgia must hold travel medical insurance. The minimum sum insured is 30,000 lari, the policy may be issued by a Georgian or a foreign insurer, and it must be presented on paper or on a screen, in Georgian or English. It has to cover the whole stay including the day of arrival and the day of departure. The policy document itself must state the parties to the contract, the territory covered, the subject of the insurance, start and end dates, the risks insured, the coverage limits, and the premium with the amount, place and terms of payment. Georgia's Law on Tourism is the cited basis; the implementing decree, No. 602, was adopted on 26 December 2025 — five days before it bound anyone.

The exemptions listed are narrow: holders of diplomatic and special visas; holders of diplomatic, official, service and special passports; accredited diplomatic, consular and international-organisation staff and their accredited family members; people whose entry is provided for under Georgia's international treaties; and drivers on international road freight and passenger transport. Ordinary tourists from the countries that enjoy visa-free entry are not exempt — visa-free and insurance-free are two different things, and conflating them is the most common error of all.

A September round-up in Georgia Today — written, it should be said, by someone who sells policies — lists four. Assuming visa-free entry means no insurance is needed. Assuming a child is covered by a parent's policy: every person entering needs a policy in their own name, infants included. Assuming a policy from home automatically qualifies: it has to provide at least 30,000 lari of medical and accident cover for every day of the stay and be readable in English or Georgian, and plenty of home policies carry limits or trip-length caps that do not clearly meet that. And leaving it until arrival: policies bought at the airport can carry a waiting period — the author's own excludes anything in the first six hours after purchase.

Put one line in the booking confirmation: Georgia requires travel medical insurance of at least 30,000 lari for every traveller, in their own name, in English or Georgian, covering arrival to departure. That single sentence prevents the version of this problem that lands on you — a family arriving at the airport at midnight, one child uninsured, and a host on the phone. Published penalties are not spelled out in the official notice, and the practical consequence described by sellers is questions at the border and buying a policy on the spot, so the honest framing to a guest is that this is a document to have ready, not a formality to argue about. If you need the authoritative text rather than a summary, the requirement sits under the Law on Tourism and the December 2025 decree.