Georgia Remotely From Georgia Program

Georgia does not currently operate a live digital nomad visa comparable to Croatia's MUP permit or Portugal's D8. "Remotely from Georgia" was a 2020 pandemic registration project. An MFA consular news item dated 7 June 2022 still describes an online form, US$2,000 monthly income proof, six months of insurance, and an 8-day quarantine. That quarantine language is COVID-era, not a 2026 entry programme. Eligible nationalities, including US, UK, EU, and many others, may instead stay visa-free for a full year under Georgia's ordinary visa exemption list. Separate amendments to the Law on Labour Migration took effect 1 March 2026 and require a Work Activity Permit for many kinds of employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurial activity, including remote work as described by Georgia's embassy notices. Check MFA and labourmigration.moh.gov.ge before you treat visa-free days as a work permit.

This guide is for remote workers who searched "Georgia digital nomad visa" or "Remotely from Georgia" and need the 2026 legal picture, not a recycled 2020 blog.

The problem is following a dead registration form, or assuming a 365-day visa-free stamp is the same as work authorization after 1 March 2026.

You will get the history of Remotely from Georgia, the live visa-free rule, the new Work Activity Permit, a worked example, and how Georgia sits next to Schengen.

Key facts

Fact	Detail
Remotely from Georgia	2020 COVID registration; MFA news dated 7 June 2022 still lists quarantine (geoconsul news)
Current stay path	Visa-free up to 1 year for listed nationalities (MFA visa-free table)
US citizens	Visa-free up to 365 days (travel.state.gov Georgia; see our US-Georgia stay guide)
Work from 1 March 2026	Work Activity Permit via labourmigration.moh.gov.ge (Embassy of Georgia in Cyprus, 26 Feb 2026)
Statute	Law of Georgia on Labour Migration (matsne.gov.ge)
Schengen?	No. Georgia days do not count toward Schengen 90/180

What Remotely from Georgia was

In 2020, during COVID travel shutdowns, Georgia promoted "Remotely from Georgia" so foreign remote workers could enter when ordinary tourism was restricted. The MFA consular news item titled "information regarding the project Remotely from Georgia" (published 7 June 2022 on geoconsul.gov.ge) told nationals of 95 countries to fill an online form and receive consent before departure.

That notice asked for:

Copy of a valid passport
Information about a foreign employer
Last-year revenue showing monthly income of at least US$2,000 (or GEL equivalent)
Health insurance valid at least 6 months

It also required an 8-day quarantine and PCR testing at the traveler's expense. That is pandemic border policy. It is not how Georgia processes arrivals in 2026.

The same news page still exists as a historical consular post. It is not a 2026 application portal with a digital nomad visa sticker at the end. Guides that treat Remotely from Georgia as an open DNV with a US$2,000 floor are repeating 2020-2022 material.

Do not email that form and expect a 2026 residence card.

What you use instead: visa-free stay

Georgia's ordinary visa exemption is the stay engine most nomads actually used even while the COVID project existed.

The MFA consular table of visa-free countries lists a full 1 (one) year maximum stay for a long list of passports, including EU states, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and many others. Always confirm your nationality on the live MFA page, because the list is maintained by ordinance and can change.

The US Department of State has long stated that US citizens may enter, reside, work, or study in Georgia without a visa for up to one year. That stay language is why Tbilisi became a nomad hub. Read it together with the 2026 labour-migration amendments below. "Visa-free" answers the entry and stay question. It may not answer the right to work question after 1 March 2026.

Georgia is not in the EU or Schengen. Days in Tbilisi do not count toward the Schengen 90/180 rule. They also do not "reset" Schengen. They only pause your Schengen clock while you are outside the area. See best countries for a Schengen wait.

Other nationalities get 90 days in 180, 30 days, or need an e-visa. Do not copy a US or EU friend's year if your passport is not on the one-year list.

The 1 March 2026 Work Activity Permit

This is the real 2026 change, and it is easy to miss if you only read old nomad blogs.

The Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Cyprus, in a notice dated 26 February 2026, said amendments to the Law of Georgia "On Labour Migration" enter into force on 1 March 2026. According to that embassy notice, any foreign national who intends to be legally employed in Georgia or to carry out labour or entrepreneurial activities (including remote work) must obtain a Work Activity Permit.

The issuer is the LEPL State Employment Promotion Agency under the labour and health ministry. The process is electronic. The embassy pointed to https://labourmigration.moh.gov.ge/.

The consolidated Law on Labour Migration on matsne.gov.ge includes transitional rules: labour immigrants already registered in the ministry database with active status as of 1 March 2026 must obtain the right to work and an appropriate residence permit no later than 1 January 2027.

How the Agency applies "including remote work" to a US employee of a US company sitting in a Tbilisi Airbnb is a facts-and-law question. Embassy wording is broad. Some summaries distinguish:

Work for a Georgian employer or Georgian self-employment / company role
Purely foreign employment with no Georgian entity

Do not guess. Read the Agency portal and, if your work touches a Georgian company, Georgian clients, or a Georgian individual-entrepreneur registration, assume you need the permit until the Agency tells you otherwise.

Exemptions described in professional summaries include permanent residence and investment residence. Those are not visa-free tourist stamps.

How to plan a 2026 Georgia remote stay

Step 1. Check your nationality on the MFA visa-free table or the MFA "do I need a visa" tool. Note the exact maximum stay (1 year vs 90 days vs visa required).

Step 2. Ignore Remotely from Georgia as a live application. Do not wait on a COVID-era consent email.

Step 3. Read current Work Activity Permit rules on labourmigration.moh.gov.ge and the embassy notice that matches your work pattern.

Step 4. If the Agency requires a permit for your activity, apply electronically before you start that activity. Keep the decision PDF.

Step 5. Enter Georgia on visa-free terms or the correct visa. Keep entry stamps or electronic records.

Step 6. Calendar the stay limit (for many passports, day 365) and any permit expiry. Leaving and returning may start a new visa-free period for some passports, but officers can still examine purpose and prior stays. Do not treat border runs as a right.

Step 7. If you need more than the visa-free year, look at a residence permit category that matches investment, work, family, or study. That is not Remotely from Georgia.

Worked example: Sam's 2026 Tbilisi winter

Sam, a US citizen, flies ATL-TBS on 20 September 2026. MFA and the State Department both describe a visa-free stay of up to 365 days, so a lawful presence window runs to about 19 September 2027 if he remains continuously. He works only for a California employer, with no Georgian clients and no Georgian company. Before he signs a 10-month lease he still reads labourmigration.moh.gov.ge because embassy notices from February 2026 mention remote work in the Work Activity Permit. He logs every exit to Armenia or Turkey. Those trips do not add Schengen days, but they do affect how he counts Georgia presence and any permit conditions. He does not file the 2022 Remotely from Georgia quarantine form.

How Georgia interacts with Schengen and tax

Georgia is a common place to wait while Schengen days roll off. That works only if:

Your passport's Georgia stay limit covers the wait
You actually leave Schengen (Georgia is outside it)
You do not overstay Georgia while you wait

Schengen math is rolling 90/180 across the area. Georgia math is a national stay limit. Track both. See how to track days in multiple countries.

Tax: visa-free presence can still create tax residence under Georgian tests if you stay long enough or register a local business. The old nomad lore of "1% small-business tax" applies to people who set up a Georgian individual entrepreneur, which is exactly the kind of local activity the 2026 labour law targets. Get advice before you open a Georgian IE to "save tax."

US citizens file US returns regardless.

Edge cases

Visa-free via a third-country visa. MFA also publishes "other conditions" where holders of certain foreign visas or residence permits may enter Georgia for 90 days in 180 without a Georgian visa. That is not a one-year nomad stay.

Occupation lines and travel warnings. Entry via the Russian-occupied regions is a separate, serious legal issue. Use official crossings from Georgia proper.

Dual citizens. If you hold Georgian citizenship, you enter as a citizen, not as a visa-free alien.

IT residence permits. Georgia has had residence categories for IT and investment. Those are residence files, not Remotely from Georgia.

Already in Georgia on 1 March 2026. Transitional deadlines (including 1 May 2026 for some self-employed activity and 1 January 2027 for some registered labour immigrants) may apply. If that is you, use the Agency portal, not this historical programme name.

Common mistakes

Applying to Remotely from Georgia in 2026 as if it were Croatia's MUP permit. It is not.

Copying "US$2,000/month DNV" from a 2021 article. That was the COVID project's income ask, not a current visa.

Ignoring the 1 March 2026 Work Activity Permit because a 2024 blog said visa-free includes work.

Treating a 365-day stay as permanent residence. It is still a limit.

Assuming Georgia days count toward or against Schengen. They do not count toward the 90. They also do not reset it.

Registering a Georgian IE for a tax trick without reading labour-migration rules.

How to track Georgia's 365-day clock

A one-year visa-free stay is long enough to lose count, especially with Armenia weekend trips and Schengen side visits.

Staywise (the visa compliance app for digital nomads) tracks Georgia days and Schengen days as separate limits, with alerts at 7, 3, and 1 day. Passport details stay on your device. Available on iOS. Free trial, then annual subscription. See App Store for current pricing.

See Best Visa Tracker Apps for Digital Nomads (2026).

Download Staywise on the App Store

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Georgia have a digital nomad visa in 2026?

No dedicated digital nomad visa is operating the way Croatia or Spain run one. Remotely from Georgia was a 2020 COVID registration project. The MFA consular news item from 7 June 2022 still describes quarantine, which tells you the page is historical. Eligible passports use Georgia's ordinary visa-free stay (often one full year) and, from 1 March 2026, must check Work Activity Permit rules for employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurial activity.

What happened to Remotely from Georgia?

It was launched so remote workers could enter during pandemic restrictions. The official consular write-up asked for passport copies, foreign-employer details, about US$2,000 per month of income evidence, insurance, and an 8-day quarantine. Ordinary one-year visa-free entry later made the extra registration unnecessary for most listed nationalities. Treat remaining web pages as archives. Do not plan 2026 immigration status around that form.

How long can I stay in Georgia without a visa?

Many nationalities, including US, UK, and EU passports, may stay visa-free for a full year according to Georgia's MFA table. Other passports get shorter stays or need a visa. Confirm your row on geoconsul.gov.ge. The US State Department also states that US citizens may stay up to one year without a visa. A year is still a limit. Residence permits are a different process.

Do I need a Work Activity Permit if I only work for a foreign employer?

Embassy notices from February 2026 say foreign nationals who will be employed in Georgia or carry out labour or entrepreneurial activities, including remote work, need a Work Activity Permit from 1 March 2026. Whether that captures a purely foreign employment relationship with no Georgian entity is a question for the State Employment Promotion Agency portal and qualified local advice. If you have Georgian clients, a Georgian company role, or a local IE, assume the permit applies until you have a written contrary answer.

Does time in Georgia count toward Schengen 90/180?

No. Georgia is outside the Schengen Area and the EU. Days in Tbilisi or Batumi do not add to your Schengen total and do not reset it. You can use Georgia as a place to wait while old Schengen days roll off, but only if your Georgia stay limit covers that wait. Track both clocks separately. A weekend in Armenia is also outside Schengen. A weekend in Greece is not.

About Staywise

Staywise is the visa compliance app for digital nomads. Built by nomads for nomads, it tracks your days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. The in-app AI assistant answers visa questions in plain English. Available on iOS.

Download Staywise on the App Store →

Important: This content is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax regulations, and entry requirements change frequently and vary by individual circumstances. Always verify current requirements with official government sources or a qualified professional before making travel decisions. Staywise tracks your days and surfaces compliance information, but final responsibility for compliance rests with the traveler.