If you work in technology and want to make Georgia your home, the IT residence permit deserves a closer look. It has its own eligibility rules, financial evidence and state fees. A technology job title or a Georgian business registration on its own is not enough; the application needs to show how your actual work fits the category.
We help employees, independent professionals and company representatives bring their contracts, experience and payment history together. Start by telling us what you do, who pays you, where the work takes place and whether you already hold Georgian residence. That gives us a useful starting point for explaining the right documents and any work-permission steps.
Three types of IT applicant
- Employees carrying out qualifying IT work, with the relevant work authorisation and registration.
- Individual entrepreneurs registered in Georgia with small-business status and qualifying IT activities.
- People authorised to manage and represent a business holding international-company status in the IT sector.
These groups do not all use the same document list. In particular, the international-company basis requires evidence of the company’s status and your management or representation authority. It should not be presented as if every employee or entrepreneur can use it.
Experience and remuneration for employees and entrepreneurs
The relevant employee and entrepreneur applications require at least two years of qualifying IT work or economic activity and remuneration of at least USD 25,000, equivalent in Georgian lari, received during the preceding year. The payment evidence must show receipt on at least two occasions separated by at least 30 days. A contract showing what a client might pay is different from evidence that you received the remuneration.
Useful papers can include employment confirmations, contracts, invoices, bank statements and documents connecting the payments to your IT work. We look at how the documents fit together and point out missing periods or unexplained differences before you prepare the final translations. You should be able to show both the nature of the work and the payment history.
Does your work fit the IT category?
The employee criteria refer to IT occupations under ISCO-08 group 25 and its subcodes. For small-business entrepreneurs, the published activity codes include 58.21, 58.29, 62.01, 62.02, 62.03, 62.09, 63.1 and 63.12. We compare your registration and actual services with the relevant description. Calling an activity “digital” does not settle the question.
If your work combines software development with consulting, design, management or other services, send a plain description of each part. We can explain what the documents need to establish and whether an ordinary work residence application should also be considered.
Work permission and application timing
The IT residence category sits alongside the current labour-migration rules. The application can require the unique code and evidence relating to the right to work. Your present permit, the type of activity and any statutory exception need to be checked together. A small-business tax status or company registration should not be treated as a substitute for the immigration requirements.
Send your current location, last entry date and the expiry of your present permission before relying on a filing timetable. The current work-permission guide explains exceptions and conditional follow-up deadlines. If a consular application is relevant, we also explain the connection with a D1 immigration visa.
Your IT residence document list
- Passport and evidence of lawful stay in Georgia.
- The application and relevant work-authorisation code or supporting document.
- Experience and remuneration evidence for the employee or entrepreneur basis.
- Small-business status and qualifying activity documents for an entrepreneur.
- International-company status and management or representation documents for that separate basis.
- An electronic colour photograph and proof of the state-fee payment.
Foreign-issued documents may require legalisation or an apostille, subject to treaty exceptions. The IT rules also allow certain electronically verifiable certified documents. We check the format before you pay to courier originals. See the wider document preparation guide for translation and certification points.
Permit length and state fees
The IT residence permit is initially issued for three years. The law allows extensions in three-year periods within the applicable overall limit, provided the conditions continue to be met. Keep your work, payment and registration papers organised from the start so that the next application does not depend on reconstructing several years of activity.
The published state fees for IT residence are GEL 500 for the 30th calendar day, GEL 750 for the 20th and GEL 1,000 for the 10th. These differ from the ordinary work residence processing fees. Legal assistance, translations, certification and the residence card are separate costs; we explain the proposed work we will do and fee in writing before you proceed.
Moving with your family
The IT category includes provisions for qualifying family members. Their application papers include the IT residence holder’s permit and documents proving the family connection, alongside the individual identity and filing documents. Tell us who is moving and their ages so we can prepare the relevant list for each person. Our family residence guide explains why the main applicant’s category matters.
Let us help you prepare
Send a short description of your IT work, employment or business arrangement, years of experience, approximate remuneration received over the last year and your current immigration position. We will explain what needs confirming and give you a clear starting document list. Keep detailed financial statements and identity documents for the next agreed step.