Work permits are compulsory now, and the tour-guide quota is zero

The rule reaches further than people expect. A foreign national without permanent residency needs a permit if they are employed by a local company, if they are a sole trader or freelancer working here, if they are a director or partner in a Georgian company, or if they work remotely for a local employer. Founding a company and running it yourself is not a way round it: founders need a permit for themselves, not only for the people they hire. Permits are issued by sector, so adding or changing the kind of work means a fresh application.

Standard processing within thirty calendar days costs ₾200; ten working days costs ₾400; an extension is ₾200. A first permit runs six months to a year, with yearly extensions for the first five years and extensions of one to five years after that. IT workers can get up to three years at the start. Working without a permit draws ₾2,000 for a first offence, ₾4,000 for a second and ₾12,000 for each one after, and the same ladder applies to changing employer or work type without renewing.

The government set the annual quota at zero for delivery drivers, taxi drivers and tour guides, and at 200 for mountain and ski guides. For a tour operator or a private-experience host, that reshapes hiring: a foreign guide cannot be put on the books in the ordinary way, while a licensed mountain or ski guide competes for a small pool. Anyone building a season around imported guiding staff needs a different plan.

Self-employed people already active on 1 March 2026 were given until 1 May 2026 to comply, so that window has closed. Immigrants whose employment contracts were registered as of 1 March have until 1 January 2027 to obtain both a work permit and any missing residence permit — that one is still open, and it is the deadline worth checking against your own paperwork. A permit alone is not the end of it either: applicants abroad need a D1 visa within thirty days of issue, and those already here need the matching residence permit within ten days.