The appraiser's figure decides the permit, not the contract price
The property threshold for a Georgian residence permit has been $150,000 since 1 March 2026, up from $100,000. The part that catches buyers is how the figure is measured: it is the market value set by a licensed appraiser, not the price written in the purchase contract. An appraisal costs roughly $100 to $300 and takes two to five working days, and it can come back below what was paid, which is grounds for refusal. Ownership registered before 1 March 2026 keeps the old $100,000 threshold, including at renewal — but selling that property moves any later application onto the new figure.
Value it before you buy, not after
The order of operations is the whole lesson. If the appraisal is done after the purchase and comes in under the threshold, the money is already spent and the only remedies are buying more property or waiting for the market. Commissioning the valuation while the deal is still conditional costs a few hundred dollars and two to five days, and it converts the central risk of the whole exercise into a known number before any of it is irreversible. For a buyer whose main reason for buying is the permit rather than the flat, that sequence is not a precaution, it is the transaction.
What the appraiser is actually looking at
The stated criteria are comparable local sales, the condition of the property, the surrounding infrastructure, how liquid the asset is, and the type of property. Three of those five are about the neighbourhood rather than the unit, which explains why two flats of the same size and finish can value differently by a margin that matters at a threshold. Liquidity in particular tends to penalise the unusual: a very large apartment, an odd layout, a building with few comparable sales. A buyer shopping specifically to clear $150,000 is better served by an ordinary, easily comparable property than by a distinctive one at the same price.
Two flats can be added together
Multiple properties can be combined to reach the threshold, provided each is registered in the official registry. That opens a route that is often cheaper than one large unit: two modest flats in ordinary buildings are easier to value, easier to let and easier to sell one at a time than a single showpiece at the same total. It also spreads the risk that one valuation disappoints. The trade is more paperwork, two sets of bills and two tenancies to manage, which is a real cost for an owner who does not live here and is the reason the single-unit route stays popular.
The grandfather clause has an expiry you control
An owner who registered before 1 March 2026 renews against $100,000, which is a quiet advantage worth knowing you hold. It ends if the property is sold: a later application is then measured against $150,000. For anyone in that position who was thinking of trading up, the permit is part of the price of the move, and the sensible calculation includes whether the replacement property clears the higher figure on an appraiser's report rather than on the asking price. Selling first and buying later is where this goes wrong.
Written by us from the source linked above, not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures and rules change — confirm anything that matters before acting on it.
