Tax residency and taxpayer status (tax ID) are two distinct concepts obtained through separate procedures.
Two Grounds for Georgian Tax Residency
1. 183 Days in Georgia
An individual is considered a Georgian tax resident if they spend 183 days or more in the country within a 12-calendar-month period. The purpose of the stay also matters: if the stay is demonstrably temporary, residency is not assigned even if 183 days are exceeded.
Under Article 34.4 of the Tax Code of Georgia, the following periods are not counted toward actual presence in Georgia:
- Time spent as a person with diplomatic or consular status, or as a family member of such a person.
- Time spent as an employee of an international organisation or foreign state operating in Georgia (except Georgian citizens), or as a family member of such a person.
- Time spent in transit through Georgia.
- Time spent in Georgia for treatment or rest.
The following periods are counted toward actual presence: time spent outside Georgia specifically for treatment, rest, business trips, or studies.
2. High-Net-Worth Individual (HNWI) Programme
To obtain tax residency under the wealth criterion, one of the following conditions must be met:
Option A:
- A residence permit or ID plus confirmation that assets exceed 3,000,000 GEL or annual income for the last three years exceeds 200,000 GEL.
- Since April 15, 2023, it is additionally required to confirm assets of at least USD 500,000 equivalent located within Georgia (real estate, shares in Georgian companies, Georgian bank deposits, cash in accounts, or other forms of ownership). Prior to this date, confirming 3,000,000 GEL anywhere in the world was sufficient.
Option B:
- Documents confirming assets above 3,000,000 GEL or annual income above 200,000 GEL for the last three years plus income from Georgian sources of at least 25,000 GEL during one calendar year.
Applications may be submitted without a Georgian residence permit. The Revenue Service reviews the application and, if approved, issues a response within 7 business days. Tax residency is granted per tax period; renewal requires submitting updated documents.
How the 183 days are counted
The rule in Article 34 of the Tax Code works like this:
- A person who has actually stayed in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in the current tax year is a resident for that entire tax year.
- Any day spent in Georgia counts as a day of stay, however many hours you were there. The days of entry and exit both count.
- Time spent outside Georgia specifically for treatment, leisure, a business trip or education is included.
- Time spent in Georgia with diplomatic or consular status, in the service of an international organisation or a foreign state, in transit, or for treatment or leisure is not included.
So what matters is not the calendar year but any window of 12 consecutive months. Entry and exit dates are worth checking against the stamps in your passport rather than from memory.
Other grounds for residency
Beyond 183 days and the high net worth programme, the Tax Code provides two more cases (Article 34):
- A Georgian citizen with no residency elsewhere. If a Georgian citizen's residency cannot be established in relation to any country, they are treated as a Georgian resident on application to the tax authority.
- A foreign national in other cases. The Minister of Finance of Georgia may define cases and a procedure in which residency is granted to a foreign natural person.
A detailed walkthrough with examples of counting days is in our article on tax residency in Georgia.
Important Note
Obtaining Georgian tax residency does not exempt individuals from tax obligations in other countries where they reside or regularly visit. This depends on the legislation of each specific country and is not determined solely by the duration of stay. Each case requires an individual approach, as double taxation avoidance provisions vary significantly by country.
Frequently asked questions
Do the days of entry and exit count?
Yes. Under Article 34 of the Tax Code, a day of actual stay is any day spent in Georgia, irrespective of how long you stayed that day. So both the day of entry and the day of exit count towards the 183 days.
Do I become a resident for the whole year?
Yes. A person who stayed in Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year is a resident for that entire tax year, not only from the moment the 183 days were reached.
Does time abroad count?
Partly. Time spent outside Georgia for treatment, leisure, a business trip or education is included in the period of stay. Time spent in Georgia itself for treatment or leisure, on the other hand, is not counted.
Can I become a Georgian resident without 183 days?
Yes, in several cases. These are the high net worth programme described above, residency for a Georgian citizen who has no residency in any country, and the cases the Minister of Finance defines for foreign nationals.