The residence threshold is still $150,000 — checked again today
Since 1 March 2026 a foreign buyer needs Georgian property worth more than USD 150,000 to apply for a residence permit on the strength of that purchase, up from the USD 100,000 that had stood since July 2019. The figure comes from amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons passed in June 2025. The number is the part everyone repeats; the conditions attached to it are the part that costs people their application. Agricultural land does not count, and the figure that matters is an appraised market value, not what the contract says.
Why the figure keeps being quoted wrong
The USD 100,000 level was in force for nearly seven years, from July 2019 until the end of February 2026, which is long enough for it to have been written into a great many agency pages, forum answers and sales pitches that nobody has gone back to edit. A buyer being shown a flat in the low six figures today and told it qualifies is being quoted a rule that expired. The practical test is simple: if a source does not mention 1 March 2026, it is describing the old regime, and anything built on it needs re-checking before money moves.
Market value, established by a certified assessor
The threshold is tested against market value established by a certified assessor from an accredited body — not against the price written into the sale contract. The two can differ in either direction, and the gap is where applications fail. A buyer who negotiates hard and pays USD 155,000 for a flat an assessor values at USD 140,000 has not met the threshold, however genuine the purchase. A buyer who pays over the odds has the opposite problem in reverse. This is the same logic the banks apply to mortgage lending here, and it means the valuation should be commissioned before the deal closes rather than after, when the only remaining options are expensive.
What the money buys, and what it does not
The property route produces a one-year temporary permit, renewable, and it can cover a spouse and children on the same investment. A separate investment residence permit sits at USD 300,000, and a holder whose permit rests on qualifying property above that level may apply for indefinite stay after holding the property right for five years. Citizenship is a different question entirely and generally asks for ten consecutive years of lawful residence. Agricultural land is excluded from the property route, so a plot bought with a view to building is not the same instrument as a finished flat, and that distinction is worth settling in writing before signing.
One timing question nobody has answered
Holders who obtained permits under the USD 100,000 level are reported to be able to renew without a new appraisal provided they keep ownership. What the amendments do not clearly settle is the position of a permit that lapses after March 2026 and is then re-applied for rather than renewed — whether that is treated as a renewal or as a fresh application against the new threshold. If you are in that position, the gap between renewing on time and letting a permit expire is potentially the gap between USD 100,000 and USD 150,000 of required value, which makes the renewal date a thing to diarise rather than discover.
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.
