Bank Account in Georgia for Non-Residents in 2026

Below, step by step, are the rules that apply in 2026: who a bank treats as a non-resident, which documents you need, when you can skip the branch visit, what compliance will ask and why banks refuse. How the banks themselves differ is covered in our comparison of TBC, BOG and Credo for non-residents. This article is about a personal account. For a company account, see our guide to opening a corporate bank account in Georgia.

Who counts as a non-resident for a Georgian bank?

There is no single legal definition of a non-resident for opening a personal account. In practice, the bank looks at three separate statuses, and each one affects something different.

Citizenship. Banks label this group in different ways. TBC has a tariff section on opening an account for individuals without Georgian citizenship. Bank of Georgia runs a dedicated non-resident page. Credo serves foreign citizens living in Georgia through its expat service centers.

Residence permit. The anti-money laundering law and the rules of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) treat a foreigner with a Georgian residence permit like a Georgian citizen in several places. For the bank, this is the main thing that changes once you get a permit. Details are in the residence permit section below.

Tax residency. This is a separate status. Under Article 34 of the Tax Code, you become a tax resident if you spend 183 days or more in Georgia in any continuous 12 calendar months ending in the current tax year. The customer due diligence rules are tied to citizenship and the residence permit, while tax residency affects which country the bank reports your account to. How to obtain the status and the certificate is explained in our article on tax residency in Georgia.

Non-resident for a bank: in everyday terms, a foreigner who holds neither Georgian citizenship nor a Georgian residence permit. This group faces the strictest due diligence rules.

Which documents do you need for a personal account

The core document is a valid foreign passport, presented in the original. TBC states on its expat page that under National Bank of Georgia regulations the original identification document must be presented, and that a copy or a photo will not do. According to the bank, a passport and a mobile phone number are enough to open an account.

Which documents a bank may accept from a foreign national to verify identity is set by Order No 2 of the Financial Monitoring Service of 5 June 2020 (Article 5). They are a passport, a residence card or temporary ID card issued by the Public Service Development Agency, or another document that allows you to cross the Georgian border.

Under Article 4 of the same order, the bank records:

• your name, date and place of birth, sex and citizenship
• the passport number, date and country of issue, issuing authority and expiry date
• your personal number, if you have one
• your registration address and actual place of residence

The bank must double-check your address against a reliable source if it doubts its accuracy. Documents in a foreign language that you bring for verification must be translated into Georgian or English, with the translator's signature certified by a notary (Article 17).

Some banks ask for income documents at the start. For citizens of Russia and Belarus, including dual citizens, Bank of Georgia accepts an application for a first account only through kyc.bog.ge. Three documents go with it:

1. The international passport.
2. A bank statement for the last 6 months in English, or another document confirming the source and amount of income.
3. A document confirming professional or business activity, such as a certificate or an employment contract.

Can you open an account without visiting the bank?

The law allows remote checks but does not oblige banks to offer them. Article 12 of the anti-money laundering law lets a bank carry out identification electronically, without direct contact with the client, under NBG rules. Before launching such a process, the bank needs the NBG's written consent.

The current rules were approved by NBG President's Order No 104/04 of 29 April 2025. The order was published on 30 April 2025. Banks that already ran remote onboarding had 9 months to bring their processes in line, which means by the end of January 2026.

Remote checks are noticeably stricter for a foreigner without a residence permit

• For non-residents, only an international biometric passport or an ID document that allows you to cross the Georgian border is accepted.
• Extra verification is required: software that checks the document is genuine, a transfer of at least 1 tetri from another account in your name, or another reliable method. With video identification, the 1 tetri transfer is mandatory.
• For a non-resident client, the bank must find out and document in writing why the client is opening an account outside their own country and whether they plan to use it for transit payments.
• Electronic verification through an attorney is not allowed.
• Citizens of high-risk countries and offshore zones, and people registered or living there, cannot be verified remotely unless they hold Georgian citizenship or a residence permit. The list of high-risk countries is approved by the National Bank (Article 19 of the law).

In practice TBC, Bank of Georgia and Credo ask you to visit a branch

TBC lets you start the application in its mobile bank, but you need to visit a branch with your passport to complete registration. Bank of Georgia's non-resident page tells you to visit a branch if you do not have mobile bank credentials yet. Credo asks people who are not yet its customers to go to an expat service center: there are three in Tbilisi and one in Batumi.

If you cannot travel, a representative with a notarised power of attorney can go to the bank for you. The law allows this: the bank verifies the representative's identity and requires a certified document confirming their authority (Article 10). A power of attorney issued abroad must be apostilled or legalised unless an international treaty provides otherwise (Article 17 of Order No 2). The full process is in our guide on opening a bank account in Georgia remotely. Some banks have exceptions: Bank of Georgia does not open a first account for citizens of Russia or Belarus through a power of attorney.

What bank compliance asks and why

The questions about the purpose of the account and your money come from the law. Article 10 of the anti-money laundering law requires the bank to:

• identify the client and verify the data against a reliable, independent source
• identify the beneficial owner
• establish the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship, meaning what you do and the nature, volume and frequency of the transactions you expect
• monitor the relationship: compare transactions with what the bank knows about you and, where needed, establish the origin of your assets and funds

That is why the questionnaire or meeting usually covers why you need an account in Georgia, what you do, who pays you, how much money will come in and go out and how often, from which countries, where the first deposit comes from, and whether you hold a prominent public position.

Higher-risk clients get more questions from the bank under the law

If the bank classifies a client as higher risk, Article 18 of the law requires it to collect more information on assets and activity and on the purpose of transactions, get senior management approval for the relationship, and take reasonable steps to establish the origin of the client's assets and funds. The law expressly requires enhanced measures for individuals registered or living in a high-risk country (Article 19). For politically exposed persons, their family members and close associates, it sets out specific measures: management approval, establishing the source of funds and enhanced monitoring (Article 21).

Source note

> "It is prohibited to establish or continue a business relationship, or to conclude or execute an occasional transaction, if the accountable person cannot carry out the preventive measures set out in paragraph 1 of this article in the cases provided for in paragraphs 1–4 of Article 11 of this Law. In such a case, the accountable person shall examine whether there are grounds for submitting the report provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 25 of this Law."

Article 10(6) of the Law of Georgia on Facilitating the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism of 30 October 2019, current consolidated version including the amendments of 1 April 2026. Our translation from Georgian. Article 25 concerns reporting a suspicious transaction to the Financial Monitoring Service.

Why do banks refuse and how can you avoid it?

A refusal usually comes down to one of five reasons. The first three follow directly from the law.

1. The check could not be completed. There is no answer on the purpose of the account or the source of funds, the documents do not match the questionnaire, or a translation is not certified. In that case the law prohibits opening the account (Article 10 of the law and Article 15 of Order No 2).
2. Sanctions. If the client is on the UN Security Council sanctions lists applied under Article 41 of the law, or acts on behalf of such a person, a business relationship is prohibited (Article 10(7)).
3. Higher risk. A politically exposed person gets an account only with senior management approval (Article 21), and residents of high-risk countries go through enhanced checks (Articles 18 and 19).
4. The bank's own policy. Banks have their own requirements for certain groups of clients. Bank of Georgia, for example, opens a first account for citizens of Russia and Belarus only after an online application with a statement and proof of employment or business activity.
5. Transactions do not match what you declared. The law prohibits not only opening but also continuing a relationship if the bank cannot carry out its checks, so a mismatch after opening leads to new questions.

Preparing before the visit lowers the risk of a formal refusal

1. Bring your original passport, still valid.
2. Write a short explanation of the account's purpose: where the money will come from, what it will be spent on and the expected monthly turnover.
3. Collect proof of income: an employment contract, client contracts, a bank statement for recent months. Bank of Georgia asks for a 6-month statement in English in its own procedure.
4. Translate foreign-language documents into Georgian or English and have the translator's signature notarised.
5. Give the same answers in the questionnaire and at the meeting. State a realistic expected turnover, because the bank later compares your transactions against it.
6. If a bank refuses, try to understand at which stage the problem arose and fix it before you apply to another bank.

What does an account cost: what the banks publish

There is no single tariff, and the only reliable figures are the ones a bank publishes. This is what the official pages of three banks showed when we checked in November 2026.

TBC. The account is multi-currency and the digital card can be activated straight away. A physical card can be collected at the chosen branch within 1 business day in Tbilisi and 2 business days in other regions. A card not collected within 3 months is destroyed. TBC's tariffs have a separate item on opening an account for individuals without Georgian citizenship, so check the terms there.

Bank of Georgia. Citizens of Russia and Belarus pay a fee for reviewing an account opening application. It is paid in advance or after a positive answer, and it is not refunded if the application is declined. The amount is not stated on the non-resident page. An approval is valid for 30 days, after which the questionnaire and the fee have to be submitted again.

Credo. An unnamed card is issued on the spot at the service center, and a named card takes 3 business days. Foreign citizens with an active Credo debit card pay a monthly Cross Border Fee that depends on card use in Georgia. It does not apply to Rcheuli premium clients or citizens of Ukraine.

None of these pages states a minimum balance for opening an account.

What changes with a residence permit or tax residency

A Georgian residence permit removes the strictest due diligence restrictions

• Enhanced checks because of residence or registration in a high-risk country are not mandatory for a foreigner with a Georgian residence permit (Article 19(4) of the law).
• The ban on remote verification for citizens and residents of high-risk countries does not apply to permit holders (Article 2(18) of the NBG rules).
• Extra verification during remote onboarding, such as the 1 tetri transfer, applies only to people without Georgian citizenship or a residence permit. For permit holders, the bank checks the data against the Public Service Development Agency database.
• The residence card itself is an accepted identity document (Article 5 of Order No 2).

The standard checks remain: the bank will still ask about the purpose of the account and the nature of your transactions. The grounds and procedure for a permit are in our guide on how to get a residence permit in Georgia in 2026.

Tax residency changes which country receives information about your account

Article 70² of the Tax Code has applied since 1 January 2023. Under it, the bank applies the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) procedures and reports to the Revenue Service each reportable account held by a resident of another jurisdiction, no later than 30 June of the following year. The Revenue Service may pass this information to the tax authorities of countries with which an automatic exchange agreement is in force.

If you have become a Georgian tax resident, tell the bank and provide your residency certificate. The law requires the bank to repeat its checks when material circumstances related to a client change (Article 12).

Frequently asked questions

Can I open a bank account in Georgia without a residence permit?

Yes. A residence permit is not required: TBC, for example, opens an account for expats with a foreign passport and a mobile phone number. Without a permit, remote onboarding is stricter: extra verification is needed, and citizens and residents of high-risk countries cannot be verified remotely. Every client, with or without a permit, goes through the check on the account's purpose and expected transactions.

Can I open an account fully online?

The law allows it if the bank has the National Bank's consent for electronic customer checks. Banks are not obliged to offer it. TBC lets you start in its mobile bank, but you complete the opening at a branch with your passport. Electronic verification through an attorney is not possible, and it is prohibited for citizens and residents of high-risk countries without a permit.

Why does the bank ask where my money comes from?

Article 10 of the anti-money laundering law requires it: the bank must establish the purpose of the relationship, the nature, volume and frequency of transactions and, where needed, the origin of funds. For higher-risk clients, establishing the origin of funds is mandatory (Article 18). If the check cannot be completed, the law prohibits opening the account.

Can a Russian citizen open a Bank of Georgia account through a power of attorney?

Not a first account. Bank of Georgia states that a first account is not opened for citizens of Russia or Belarus even with a power of attorney. The application goes through kyc.bog.ge with a passport, a 6-month statement and proof of employment or business activity. Once an account exists, services through a representative, including opening another account, are available.

What should I do if the bank refuses?

First, work out the reason: a missing document on the source of funds, questionnaire answers that do not match your statement, an uncertified translation, or the bank's internal rules for your citizenship. Fix it, and only then apply to another bank. Each bank has its own requirements for particular groups of clients.

How Legalese handles this

We start with your situation: citizenship, whether you hold a residence permit, where your money will come from and why you need the account. That determines which bank to approach and what to bring.

We then pick a bank that fits your needs, check its current document requirements, help prepare and translate the documents, and go to the bank with you or coordinate the visit. If you cannot travel to Georgia, remote account opening is available as a service.

More on our pages about opening a personal bank account in Georgia and bank cards for non-residents.

Key points

• A non-resident opens a personal account with a foreign passport, and no residence permit is needed
• By law, the bank establishes the account's purpose, the nature of transactions and, where needed, the origin of funds, and it may not open the account without this
• Remote onboarding is allowed under NBG Order No 104/04, but it is stricter for foreigners without a permit, impossible through an attorney and closed to residents of high-risk countries
• Banks' own rules can be tougher: Bank of Georgia does not open a first account for citizens of Russia or Belarus through a power of attorney
• A Georgian residence permit removes the strictest restrictions, and tax residency decides which country receives information about your account under CRS

To review your case before you go to the bank, contact us.