Migrant Rights

My residence permit has expired — does the visa-free year start again?

residence-permitvisa-freeoverstayexpiryvisa-runforeigners-rights

No. The visa-free period does not switch on by itself when a residence permit expires. It opens only when you enter Georgia visa-free, that is, after crossing the border. While you live on a residence permit and do not leave, no visa-free year is running. If you stay after the last day of the permit, you are in the country without a lawful basis, and the overstay counts from the next day.

Where this comes from

  • Article 5 of the Law on Aliens: the grounds for stay are a visa, a residence permit, a temporary identity card and other cases expressly provided by law. A "previous visa-free period" is not among them.
  • Article 10(4): a residence permit holder enters visa-free "for the entire validity period" of the permit. This is a way of entering on a permit, not a separate reserve period.
  • Article 10(3) and Government Ordinance No 255: a full year without a visa is given to citizens of the listed countries (including, for example, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan), on entry. Everyone else gets 90 days in any 180-day period under Article 10(2), or needs a visa.
  • Article 2, definition of the period of stay: the period is counted from the date of crossing the border.
  • Article 47(3) and Article 47¹(2): you must leave before the lawful stay expires; without a lawful basis, immediately.

Why people get confused

  1. "I am a citizen of a visa-free country, so I am entitled to a year." You are, but on entry, not by default after a permit.
  2. They have heard that a year starts again after leaving and re-entering. In practice it does (see the FAQ "Can I be refused entry on a visa run after an overstay?"), but only through the border.
  3. It seems that years on a permit are "saved up" or "reset" the visa-free period. The law contains no such logic.

What to do before the last day of the permit

  • Extend the permit. File early, not on the last day (see the FAQ "My residence permit is expiring and the extension is still being reviewed — can I stay?").
  • Leave and re-enter visa-free, if your country is on the list. In practice a new entry opens a new period, but there is no express rule on resetting, and an unpaid fine or an active ban will block entry (Article 11(1)(b)).
  • Change the basis — apply for another type of permit while the current one is valid (Article 14(2)), or for a D immigration visa: the application is due no later than 45 days before the lawful stay expires (Article 6(1¹)).

Note: visa-free entry does not give you the right to work. If you worked on a permit, then after leaving and re-entering visa-free, employment or self-employment requires the right to work and a residence permit or D1 visa (see the FAQ "I am an individual entrepreneur or self-employed — how do I prove I work in Georgia lawfully?").

What you risk if you stay

Article 191 of the Administrative Offences Code: up to 3 months — GEL 1,000 and a 6-month entry ban; up to 1 year — GEL 2,000 and 2 years; over 1 year — GEL 3,000 and 3 years. The count runs from the day the lawful stay ended. You may also be expelled where there is no lawful basis for stay (Article 51(1)(b)). More in the FAQ "How much is the overstay fine in Georgia, and how is it enforced?".

⚠ To be verified: (1) the list of countries with the one-year visa-free regime in Ordinance No 255 has been amended (latest amendment of 24.02.2026, No 80); check the current version for your citizenship; (2) the law does not expressly confirm that entering the day after leaving opens a new year — this is established practice.

Sources

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