Visa-Free Entry to Georgia: Who Qualifies and How Long

Cover Editorial5 min read

title: "Visa-Free Entry to Georgia: Who Qualifies and How Long" description: "Georgia offers up to 1 year of visa-free entry to citizens of most Western, EU, and GCC countries. What documents you need, how long you can stay, and what to expect at the border." slug: "visa-free-entry-to-georgia" datePublished: "2026-04-24" dateModified: "2026-04-24" author: "Cover Editorial" heroAlt: "Stamp in a passport at Tbilisi border control" tags: ["visa", "entry-rules", "georgia-regulations"] primaryKeyword: "georgia visa free entry" relatedRoutes: ["/extend", "/exempt"]

Georgia's visa-free rule is unusually generous

Most visa-free regimes let you stay 30 or 90 days. Georgia lets qualifying travelers stay up to one full year on a single entry — no visa paperwork, no registration. You simply show a valid passport at the border and get stamped in.

That makes Georgia one of the easiest countries in the world to live in short- to medium-term as a tourist, digital nomad, or remote worker. The trade-off: Georgia takes its entry conditions seriously, and one of them — travel insurance — became mandatory in 2026 under Decree No. 602. More on that below.

Who qualifies for visa-free entry?

Georgia grants visa-free entry to citizens of 98 countries, including:

  • All EU member states and Schengen-area countries
  • United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
  • Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong
  • Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan
  • All GCC states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman)
  • Many Latin American and African countries

The list updates periodically. Before traveling, check your passport on the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal at geoconsul.gov.ge to confirm your exact status.

If your country isn't on the visa-free list, you'll either need an e-Visa (available online at evisa.gov.ge) or a sticker visa from a Georgian embassy, depending on your passport.

How long you can actually stay

Visa-free travelers can remain in Georgia for up to one full year (365 days) per entry, as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Unlike the Schengen 90-in-180 rule, Georgia's clock is per-entry, not rolling: the day you cross the border is day one, and you get a full year before you have to leave.

A few important mechanics:

  • The clock resets on each re-entry. A quick trip to Armenia, Turkey, or Azerbaijan and back technically restarts the 365-day window, though Georgian border officers may ask questions if they see a clear pattern of border-runs for residency purposes.
  • Overstaying is taken seriously. Fines start at a few hundred GEL and scale up; repeated overstays can result in entry bans.
  • Working remotely is allowed on a visa-free stay. Georgia has no restriction on remote work for foreign employers, which is why it's popular with digital nomads.

If you know your stay will exceed a year, look into Georgia's Remotely from Georgia program, work visas, or residency permits before you arrive.

What you need at the border

A valid passport is necessary, but it's not sufficient. Georgian border officers can ask for any of the following:

  1. A passport valid for the duration of your stay. Six months of remaining validity is the safe standard.
  2. Proof of onward or return travel — a return flight, a bus ticket out, or a departure itinerary.
  3. Proof of accommodation — a hotel booking, Airbnb confirmation, or address where you'll be staying.
  4. Proof of funds — a bank statement or cash. Not always requested, but officers can ask.
  5. Decree 602–compliant travel insurance. Mandatory since 1 January 2026.

The insurance check is the newest of these. If you're not clear on the insurance rule, read Decree 602 explained first — it covers what your policy has to include and what happens if you arrive without one.

Insurance + visa-free: how they fit together

Visa-free entry and Decree 602 are two separate rules that both apply at the border:

  • Visa-free decides whether you need permission to enter.
  • Decree 602 decides what you have to carry with you once you're entering.

In other words, visa-free doesn't exempt you from the insurance requirement. A US, EU, or GCC passport gets you in without a visa, but you still need a policy covering at least 30,000 GEL for the duration of your stay. If your trip later runs longer than expected, you can extend your policy online rather than buy a fresh one.

The only travelers who don't need the insurance are in the narrow group of diplomatic, treaty-based, and airport-transit exemptions described on our exemption check page.

E-Visa and visa-on-arrival

If you're from a country that isn't visa-free, you likely fall into one of these:

  • E-Visa eligible — apply online at evisa.gov.ge, receive approval by email, print or save the PDF to show at the border. Usually processed within a few business days.
  • Visa-on-arrival eligible — available at major Georgian entry points for a subset of non-visa-free passports.
  • Embassy visa required — for passports not covered by the above, book an appointment at the nearest Georgian embassy or consulate.

The geoconsul.gov.ge portal has a passport-checker tool that tells you which path applies to you.

Before you board: quick checklist

Run through this before your flight or bus:

  • [ ] Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned arrival
  • [ ] Confirmed return or onward ticket (or proof of onward travel)
  • [ ] Accommodation booking for at least the first few nights
  • [ ] Decree 602–compliant travel insurance covering your entire stay
  • [ ] If not visa-free: e-Visa printout or sticker visa in passport

Travelers who arrive with all five rarely face questioning at the border. Travelers who skip one of them — most often the insurance — end up buying a policy at a border kiosk at a premium, or being turned back.

Quick summary

  • Georgia grants visa-free entry of up to one year (365 days) to citizens of 98 countries.
  • Visa-free entry does not exempt you from Decree 602 insurance — both apply.
  • Check your passport at geoconsul.gov.ge before traveling.
  • Carry proof of onward travel, accommodation, and insurance — not just your passport.
  • If you plan to stay more than a year, arrange residency before you arrive.

Planning a trip? Get your Decree 602 policy in about two minutes — a compliant PDF and border card arrive by email before you board.