Georgia digital nomad visa (C5)

Article 7 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons describes C5 as a visa for people travelling to Georgia for short-term tourism who may carry out activities only for a non-resident person, where those activities relate to that person's business outside Georgia. In practice this covers employees and contractors of foreign companies who work online while living in Georgia.

The visa is relevant only if your passport needs a visa or your visa-free allowance is shorter than a year. Nationals with a one-year visa-free allowance already have the same length of stay.

The general visa rules require proof of purpose, proof of funds for the whole stay and health and accident insurance; documents must be in Georgian or English, and foreign public documents need legalisation or an apostille. For C5, proof of your employment or contract with the non-resident company and of regular income is the core of the purpose evidence. Missions may ask for more documents or an interview.

A visa does not make you a resident for immigration purposes, and years on C5 do not count towards permanent residence. Anyone planning to settle should look at a residence permit instead. Tax residence is a separate question for the Georgian Revenue Service.

The law allows a C5 visa to be refused on grounds of Georgia's immigration policy, and such a refusal cannot be appealed. A visa can also be refused for lack of insurance or funds.

A C5 visa is an exception to the 90-in-180-day rule: holders may stay for one year, and the visa can be issued as a multiple-entry visa valid for up to five years. The Law on Labour Migration does not apply to work done for a non-resident person in connection with activities outside Georgia, and it also excludes work done fully remotely for a local employer that needs no entry to Georgia. Any job for a Georgian employer or business activity in Georgia, by contrast, needs a right to work.