Webinar Summary: Immigration Risks for IT Companies in Georgia

11 November 2026 | Online

On 11 November, the Association of Georgian Virtual Zone Persons, in cooperation with JUST Advisors, held a webinar entitled “Immigration Requirements and Risks for IT Companies in Georgia.”

The speakers were Nikoloz Gogiashvili, Lawyer at JUST Advisors, and Shorena Kopaleishvili, Chairperson of the Association of Georgian Virtual Zone Persons.

The webinar focused on recent changes to Georgia’s immigration and labour legislation and their impact on IT companies, the employment of foreign nationals, and the activities of individual entrepreneurs.

Key Topics Discussed

The webinar covered:

• Different employment models in IT companies, including the legal status of individuals working in Georgia and abroad;

• Circumstances in which foreign nationals are required to obtain a Work Permit and a Residence Permit;

• The Work Permit application process for foreign employees;

• Requirements for obtaining and renewing Residence Permits for employees and individual entrepreneurs;

• Documentation requirements for newly established companies and newly registered individual entrepreneurs;

• Implementation timelines for the new requirements and conditions of the transition period;

• Rules governing the engagement of temporary specialists and interns;

• Potential migration inspections, penalties for non-compliance, and the steps employers and HR teams should take to meet legal requirements.

Particular attention was given to employees of Georgian companies working remotely from other countries and the documents that may be required to confirm their actual place of work.

Questions Raised by Participants

The webinar included an active discussion, with participants raising a number of practical questions about the implementation of the new requirements, including:

• How should employees of Georgian companies who work remotely from outside Georgia and are not required to obtain a Work Permit be registered on the Ministry of Labour’s portal?

• What documents are required to confirm an employee’s actual place of work if they work remotely for a Georgian company from another country, such as Serbia?

• Are employees of Georgian companies who perform their work outside Georgia required to obtain a Work Permit?

• If a Work Permit remains valid but the Residence Permit has expired, is the renewal procedure the same as the procedure for obtaining a new Residence Permit?

• When can an employee legally start working: once the decision to grant a Residence Permit has been issued, or only after receiving the physical Residence Permit card?

An Important Issue for Companies with Virtual Zone Status

Participants also raised a systemic issue affecting companies with Virtual Zone status.

To obtain a Work Permit, companies must submit an official document issued by the Revenue Service of Georgia confirming that their annual turnover exceeds GEL 50,000 (or GEL 35,000 for educational and medical institutions).

However, according to one of the participants, the Revenue Service is unable to issue this document to companies with Virtual Zone status because the relevant data is not available in its information system.

As a result, companies that meet the established financial threshold may still face the risk of being denied a Work Permit simply because they cannot obtain the required supporting document.

Participants highlighted the importance of addressing this issue, as it may affect companies with Virtual Zone status.

Further Communication

The Association will continue engaging with industry experts on the matters discussed during the webinar.

Association members who have further questions or require additional clarification on the topics covered are welcome to contact the Association. The webinar presentation will be shared with members upon request.