Updated: May 2026
An Attractive Business Environment for Foreign Entrepreneurs
Georgia has become an increasingly popular destination for relocation, thanks to its business-friendly environment, low taxes and simple procedures. The country actively encourages small and medium-sized business, with fast registration and some of the lowest rates in the region.
A popular first step for relocating entrepreneurs is to open an individual entrepreneur (IE) — you operate as a self-employed person without forming a legal entity, and registration takes only one to two days with professional help.
Visa-Free Entry and Getting Started
Citizens of more than 90 countries can enter Georgia visa-free and stay for a full year (Government Ordinance #255, 2015) — ample time to test the waters before committing. You can arrive, explore, open a bank account and register a business without a visa, and decide on a residence permit later.
Favourable Taxation for Small Business
Small Business Status is the headline draw for individual entrepreneurs: annual turnover up to 500,000 GEL is taxed at just 1%. Exceed that ceiling and the surplus is charged at 3% to the year’s end; go over it for two years running and the status is lost. One carve-out to note — since February 2025, construction billed to Georgian companies no longer qualifies. Reporting is light: a monthly turnover declaration with the 1% paid by the 15th, and no full corporate accounts.
For the full thresholds, excluded activities and worked examples, see our Small Business in Georgia guide.
Tax Regimes for IT Companies
Georgia also offers special regimes for technology companies — but these apply to companies (LLCs), not to the individual-entrepreneur 1% scheme. A Virtual Zone company pays 0% corporate (profit) tax on profit from IT and software services supplied to clients abroad. A qualifying IT or maritime business can obtain International Company Status, with 5% corporate income tax, 5% personal income tax on salaries and 0% tax on dividends. There is no blanket income-tax exemption for IT, education or healthcare under the IE small-business regime.
Residence and Citizenship
Most nationalities can live in Georgia visa-free for a year; to stay longer you apply for a residence permit, issued by the Public Service Development Agency (sda.gov.ge) and filed at a Public Service Hall or online via my.gov.ge. Permits are granted on grounds such as work, study, business ownership, investment, property and family reunification, usually with a decision within about 30 days.
Planning to stay for good? Permanent residency opens up after 10 years of continuous temporary residence — study, medical-treatment and diplomatic-posting years don’t count toward the ten. Citizenship by naturalisation takes longer again and adds Georgian language and history exams, with dual citizenship granted only by exception. Our residence permit guide walks through each route.
Comfortable Life in a Hospitable Country
Moving to Georgia is appealing well beyond business. The country is famous for the warmth with which locals welcome newcomers, and for a rich culture reaching back to ancient times — monasteries, cave towns and mountain villages that draw travellers from around the world.
City life, especially in Tbilisi, is lively, with bars, restaurants and clubs for every taste, while Georgian cuisine — celebrated meat and vegetable dishes and excellent wines — is a national point of pride. Day-to-day costs (rent, food, transport, healthcare) remain modest by European standards. See life in Georgia and our guide to Tbilisi.
Location, Infrastructure and Trade Access
Georgia sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, with modern infrastructure and fast internet nationwide. Four Free Industrial Zones — in Tbilisi, Kutaisi (two zones) and Poti — offer preferential terms for export-oriented business.
Trade access is broad: free-trade agreements cover the EU (DCFTA, 2016), EFTA (2017–18), China (2018), Turkey, Hong Kong (2019), the UAE (2024) and most CIS countries, and Georgia has 58 double-taxation treaties in force. In December 2023 the country was granted EU candidate status.
Conclusion
Moving to Georgia opens real opportunities for both business and everyday life — low, simple taxes, quick company registration, broad trade access, affordable living and a famously warm welcome. If you are considering the move, we can guide you through every step.
Thinking about moving to Georgia? Let us guide you.
See also: residence permit Georgia, Georgia tax residency, life in Georgia, guide to Tbilisi, business taxes in Georgia.