"I'll register a company and that gets me residency" is the assumption behind most searches for this topic, and it is wrong in a specific, costly way. Registering an Individual Entrepreneur or a Georgian LLC does not itself grant a residence permit. What it can do is support a separate application, against separate thresholds, filed with a different agency entirely. Here are the actual routes, what each one requires, and the application that still has to happen after the company already exists.
The assumption this entire search category runs on
Someone registers an Individual Entrepreneur or a Georgian LLC, and reasonably enough, expects that having a real, operating Georgian business gets them some kind of legal footing to actually be in the country running it. It does not, at least not automatically. Company registration happens at the public registry, under the Law on Entrepreneurs. A residence permit is decided under an entirely different law, the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, by a different agency, against thresholds that have nothing to do with whether your business exists on paper.
This is the same structural point covered from the tax side in tax residency versus legal residency: Georgia runs separate systems for separate questions, and assuming one settles the other is where the expensive mistakes happen. Here, the mistake runs at the immigration stage, before tax residency ever comes into it: registering the business is not the same act as obtaining the right to live in Georgia long-term, and the two need to be planned as genuinely separate steps.
The routes that actually exist
Three permit categories connect to running a business, and they sit at meaningfully different scales.
The Work Residence Permit
This is the standard route for a foreign national running or working for a Georgian business, whether as an Individual Entrepreneur or as a founder, director or employee of an LLC. It is processed through the Public Service Development Agency and requires actual business documentation behind it, not merely a registration certificate.
The core requirements are financial. Applicants generally need monthly income of at least five times Georgia's minimum subsistence level. Where the applicant is an employer rather than an employee, the underlying business also has to show annual turnover of at least 50,000 GEL per worker it employs, reduced to 35,000 GEL for educational or medical facilities specifically, along with VAT registration or an equivalent certification of genuine trading activity. None of this is satisfied by the registration certificate alone - it requires an operating business with real numbers behind it.
Processing runs on tiered fees depending on how quickly a decision is needed: roughly 300 GEL for standard processing, rising for faster turnaround. This is the route most people mean when they search for "residence permit through business," and it is the one where the gap between registering the company and actually qualifying for the permit is widest.
The IT-sector residence permit
A narrower, more recent category exists specifically for the IT sector, extending to founders registered as small-business entrepreneurs conducting IT-related activity as well as to employees. It asks for at least two years of relevant professional experience and annual remuneration of at least USD 25,000, which has to be documented on two separate occasions at least 30 days apart rather than asserted once.
This route suits a specific profile: a developer, technical founder or IT contractor already earning well above the threshold, for whom the ordinary Work Residence Permit's turnover-per-worker test is either irrelevant or a worse fit than a route built around individual remuneration instead.
The investment route, briefly
A materially larger commitment, a residence permit through direct investment of at least USD 300,000 in a Georgian business, sits at a different tier entirely, with its own five-year term and annual turnover reporting obligations rising to USD 120,000 by the later years of the permit. This is a different question from simply registering and operating an ordinary business, aimed at a substantially larger commitment, and we cover it fully, including how it interacts with the separate question of permanent residence, in Georgia's residence-by-investment guide.
Why registering alone does not get you there
The practical sequence matters more than it might sound. Registering an IE or an LLC is genuinely fast - a matter of days at the Public Service Hall, with no residency requirement of any kind attached to the registration itself, as covered in how to register a company in Georgia. Nothing about that process checks your income, your business's turnover, or your intended length of stay. Residence permit categories themselves are set out in the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, an entirely separate statute from the one governing company registration.
The residence permit application is a separate filing, submitted afterward, with its own documentation: proof of the underlying income or turnover threshold, evidence of the business's genuine activity rather than a shell registration, and the applicant's own passport and background documentation. A newly registered company with no trading history yet is a real problem for this application specifically, since the turnover thresholds are checked against actual, verifiable business activity, not projected revenue. This is exactly why the sequence trips people up: the company can exist, fully and legally, for months before it generates enough activity to support a residence permit application built on its numbers.
Even once a residence permit is granted, it changes only your immigration status - your legal right to be in Georgia. It does not make you a Georgian tax resident. That is decided entirely separately, by 183 days of physical presence in a rolling 12-month period or by the distinct HNWI route, and someone can hold a valid residence permit for years while remaining, for tax purposes, exactly where they always were.
The 2026 Right to Work reform: a new, separate layer
Georgia's parliament passed amendments to the Law on Labour Migration in 2025, introducing a formal work-authorisation system, with the substantial provisions taking effect from 1 March 2026 and a transitional period running to 1 January 2027 for those already working under the old arrangements. Under this framework, a foreign national without permanent residence generally needs a Right to Work authorisation from the labour ministry, in addition to whatever residence permit they hold, before undertaking paid employment or self-employed activity in Georgia.
This is genuinely new, still bedding in, and worth flagging honestly rather than glossing over. Some early commentary on the reform describes exemptions for passive shareholders and for directors of larger, more established companies; the underlying law itself does not spell out those exemptions in the same terms, and the practical application is still settling as the transition period runs. If your plan depends on a specific exemption from the Right to Work requirement, that is worth confirming against current guidance at the time you actually apply, not against how the rule read when it was first announced. This sits on top of the residence permit question covered above, not instead of it - the two are separate authorisations, and neither one substitutes for the other.
Costs and timeline, realistically
Government processing fees for the standard Work Residence Permit and the investment route run on the same tiered schedule: roughly 300 GEL for standard processing at 30 days, rising to around 600 GEL for expedited ten-day processing. The IT-sector permit runs on its own, somewhat higher fee schedule, reflecting its longer standard validity period. None of these figures include the underlying company's own operating costs, accounting, or the time it takes a new business to generate the trading history a Work Residence Permit application actually needs to show.
The realistic timeline, in practice, is longer than the processing fee schedule alone suggests. Registering the company is fast. Building a business with genuine turnover the Agency will accept as evidence, assembling the income or turnover documentation, and then running the permit application itself is a multi-month sequence for most first-time applicants, not a same-week add-on to company registration.
Which route actually fits
For most people running an ordinary service business or consultancy through Small Business Status, the Work Residence Permit is the relevant route, and the real planning question is whether the business's turnover will clear the per-worker threshold and whether personal income clears the subsistence-multiple test, not whether registering the company was worth it. For a technical founder or IT contractor earning well above USD 25,000 a year, the IT-sector permit is often the better-fitting route on paper. For someone making a genuinely large capital commitment, the investment route is a different conversation entirely, covered on its own terms in our golden-visa guide.
What all three share is the same starting fact: none of them are triggered automatically by the act of registering. Opening a Georgian bank account for the new company is a related, similarly separate step worth planning alongside the permit application rather than assuming either one clears the way for the other.
We'll register the structure that actually fits your situation and tell you honestly which residence permit route, if any, is realistic given your income and turnover, before you assume registering the company gets you there on its own.
See what it costs
If the real goal is a settled legal footing in Georgia rather than simply a registered business, it is worth having that conversation before the company is set up, not after, since the activity code and structure you choose can make the difference between a straightforward permit application later and a business that never quite generates the evidence the Agency wants to see.
Key takeaways
- Do not file a residence permit application on the assumption that company registration alone satisfies it - build the turnover or income evidence first, then apply.
- Give a newly registered company time to generate genuine trading history before applying for the Work Residence Permit, since this is the most common reason a first attempt stalls.
- Check the IT-sector permit before defaulting to the standard route if your income already clears USD 25,000 a year - it can be the better-fitting application.
- Confirm your current Right to Work position against live guidance rather than an early announcement, since the March 2026 reform is still settling in practice.
- Do not treat a granted residence permit as evidence of tax residency - check the 183-day count or the HNWI route separately if that is genuinely your goal.
- Decide your structure and activity code with the eventual permit application in mind at registration, not as a correction once the business is already running.
Frequently asked questions
Does registering a company in Georgia automatically give me a residence permit?
No. Company registration and residence permit applications are entirely separate processes run by different agencies. Registering an IE or an LLC creates no automatic right to a residence permit, however the business is structured.
What is the Work Residence Permit and who is it for?
It is the standard residence permit route connected to running or working for a Georgian business. It generally requires monthly income of at least five times the minimum subsistence level, and, for employers, business turnover of at least 50,000 GEL per worker employed.
Is there an easier residence permit route for IT founders?
Yes, a separate IT-sector permit requires at least two years of relevant experience and annual remuneration of at least USD 25,000, documented on two occasions at least 30 days apart. It extends to founders registered as small-business entrepreneurs in IT-related activity as well as employees.
How much investment do I need for a residence permit through my business?
The direct-investment route requires at least USD 300,000 invested in a Georgian business, with its own five-year term and annual turnover reporting requirements. This is a distinct, larger commitment from the standard Work Residence Permit route.
What is the Right to Work requirement that started in 2026?
Since 1 March 2026, most foreign nationals without permanent residence need a separate Right to Work authorisation from the labour ministry before working or being self-employed in Georgia, alongside whatever residence permit they hold. The rule is recent and the detail of who is exempt is still being clarified in practice.
Does a Georgian residence permit make me a Georgian tax resident?
No. Tax residency is decided entirely separately, by 183 days of physical presence in a rolling 12-month period or by the distinct HNWI route. A residence permit changes only your immigration status, not your tax status.
Can I get a residence permit right after registering my company, before it has any turnover?
Not usually. The Work Residence Permit's thresholds are checked against actual, verifiable business income or turnover, so a newly registered company with no trading history yet is a genuine obstacle, even though the company itself is fully and legally registered.
How long does the whole process actually take?
Government processing for the permit itself runs on a tiered schedule from roughly ten to thirty days depending on the fee paid. The longer, less predictable part is building the business activity and documentation the permit application needs, which is typically a matter of months for a newly registered company, not weeks.
What documents does a Work Residence Permit application actually need?
Proof of the qualifying income or turnover threshold, evidence of the business's genuine trading activity, the applicant's passport and background documentation, and housing or address information. The exact documentation varies by whether the applicant is an employer or an employee of the business.
Do I need a residence permit to register or run a Georgian company at all?
No. Registering and running an Individual Entrepreneur or an LLC in Georgia has no residency requirement attached, and plenty of foreign owners run Georgian businesses without ever holding a Georgian residence permit at all.
Is the investment residence permit route the same as the "golden visa" people search for?
Yes, broadly - the higher, USD 300,000 investment tier is what most "Georgia golden visa" searches are actually asking about, though Georgian law does not use that term. It is covered fully, including the property-investment alternative and the route to permanent residence, in our separate guide to that programme.