Migrant Rights

I am an individual entrepreneur or self-employed — how do I prove I work in Georgia lawfully?

self-employedindividual-entrepreneurright-to-workremote-workexemptionsdocumentsforeigners-rights

The key point: registering as an individual entrepreneur is a tax status, not a work permit. Since 1 March 2026, a foreigner without permanent residence who works as self-employed must obtain the right to work personally (Articles 13³ and 13⁴(1) of the Law on Labour Migration). The exception is when your activity falls outside the Law altogether (Article 1(4)). Which group you are in decides which documents to keep at hand.

Step 1. Do you need the right to work?

You do not, if you (Article 1(4)):

  • work for a non-resident, and the work relates to the non-resident's activities outside Georgia (k) — the typical case of remote work for a foreign employer or foreign clients;
  • work fully remotely for a local employer without entering Georgia (j) — this does not apply to people living in Georgia;
  • are a refugee, a person with supplementary or temporary protection, or a registered asylum seeker (a), (b);
  • hold an investment or special residence permit (f), (g);
  • carry out short-term professional activities (h) — no more than 4 months a year, and only if the client registered you on labourmigration.moh.gov.ge before the work began (Government Ordinance No 70, Annex 4);
  • work for a public institution or an entity with state participation (i);
  • carry out management or administrative activities at a Category I, II or III enterprise under the Law on Accounting, Reporting and Audit (l);
  • hold a right of temporary stay under Article 60 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens — the temporary ID card for people who cannot be expelled (n, from 1 September 2026; not yet in the English text on matsne.gov.ge).

Holders of permanent residence are outside the Law entirely (Article 1(2)).

In all other cases you need the right to work. Typical examples: an individual entrepreneur serving Georgian clients — a hairdresser, manicurist, tutor, photographer, renovation worker, designer or marketer for local companies.

Step 2a. You need the right to work — what to keep

You need both the right to work and a residence permit or D1 visa (Article 13³(b), (c)):

  • the right-to-work decision. For a self-employed alien it is issued for a specific specialty and field (Article 13⁵(7)). Working in a different field from the one stated is a violation: GEL 2,000, GEL 4,000 for a repeat (Article 16⁶);
  • the residence card or D1 visa — original;
  • an extract of your individual entrepreneur registration from the Registry of Entrepreneurs (National Agency of Public Registry, napr.gov.ge);
  • tax returns and a turnover statement from rs.ge — they show your income comes from the activity named in the permit;
  • contracts or invoices with clients — they show what you actually do.

Also worth knowing:

  • the right to work is valid for 6 months to 1 year, in IT up to 3 years (Ordinance No 70, Article 10);
  • an extension application is filed 30 calendar days before expiry (Article 13⁵(5) of the Law);
  • if you are outside Georgia for more than 6 consecutive months, the right terminates (Ordinance No 70, Article 7);
  • the fee is GEL 200 (up to 30 days) or GEL 400 expedited (up to 10 working days); a self-employed applicant must pass a video interview (Ordinance No 70, Articles 4 and 11).

Step 2b. You fall under an exception — how to prove it

The law issues no document saying "I don't need a permit". Proving the exception is on you. For remote work for a non-resident (k), collect:

  • a contract with a foreign company or client, or an employment contract with a foreign employer;
  • proof that the counterparty is a non-resident of Georgia: company registration abroad, its address;
  • invoices to that client;
  • bank statements showing payments from abroad;
  • for freelance platforms — your profile and order history with foreign clients.

Exception (k) has two conditions at once: the client is a non-resident and the work relates to its activities outside Georgia. If a foreign company hires you to run its Tbilisi café or Georgian branch, the exception does not apply.

Keep a short set — the contract, the 2–3 latest invoices, a recent statement — both on your phone and on paper. In a check, speed matters more than a complete archive.

Closed fields

Courier delivery, passenger transport (taxi) and tourist guide services have a quota of 0 (Ordinance No 70, Annex 3; mountain, alpine and ski guides — 200 places a year). You cannot get the right to work in these fields, entrepreneur status changes nothing, and such work is not recognised as short-term activity either.

What you risk

  • Working without the right to work — GEL 2,000, GEL 4,000 for a repeat, GEL 12,000 the third time (Article 16¹(3)–(5)). The fine is imposed by the MIA (Article 14(3)(b)); an appeal does not suspend enforcement (para. 3²).
  • Obstructing the Labour Inspection or failing to produce documents — GEL 5,000 for a self-employed alien (Article 16²).
  • Since 1 September 2026, working without the right to work is also a ground for expulsion and detention (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 51(1)(i), Article 64(2)(l), per the Georgian text). See the FAQs on workplace checks and on expulsion.

⚠ To be checked by a lawyer: (1) if most of your clients are foreign but at least one is Georgian, work for that client does not, on the literal wording of Article 1(4)(k), fall under the exception — there is no enforcement practice yet; (2) exception (l) does not cover micro-enterprises (Category IV), i.e. many small LLCs where a foreigner is the sole director. Check with a lawyer before relying on an exception.

Sources

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