Migrant Rights

Workplace checks: how is a Labour Inspection request different from a migration police raid?

workplace-inspectionlabour-inspectionmigration-policeraidright-to-workresidence-permitforeigners-rights

Two different agencies can check whether you are working lawfully, and the consequences for you differ. The Labour Inspection checks the employer and fines the employer. The migration police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs check you — and since 1 September 2026, working without the right to work is a ground not only for a fine but also for detention and expulsion.

Who fines whom is set by Article 14(3) of the Law on Labour Migration:

Labour Inspection Migration police (MIA)
Who is checked the employer the foreign worker
What it looks like a written request or an inspector's visit a raid on a site, in a café, in an office
Fine on the employer — GEL 2,000 for each foreigner without the right to work (Art. 16¹(1)) on the worker — GEL 2,000 (Art. 16¹(2)); on a self-employed alien — GEL 2,000 (para. 3)
Other risks for the worker none directly, but your data may reach the MIA detention, fingerprinting, expulsion

A request or visit from the Labour Inspection

The Inspection starts a check on a complaint, on its own initiative, or on a report of an occupational safety violation (Article 13(1) of the Law on Labour Inspection). An inspector may enter any workplace without prior notice at any time of the day (Article 16(2)(a)) and request documents and information, which must be provided immediately (Article 15(1)–(2)).

If the employer obstructs the check or fails to produce a foreign worker's identity documents, there is a separate fine: GEL 1,000 to 7,000 depending on turnover, GEL 5,000 for a self-employed alien, doubled for a repeat within a year (Article 16² of the Law on Labour Migration).

What this means for you. Once the employer receives a request, it will pass your details to the Inspection — that is its duty. The Inspection itself does not fine you. But the MIA may request information on labour migrants from the Ministry of Labour (Article 52(3²) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons), and an employer must report its employment relationship with a foreigner to the MIA on request (para. 3¹). A letter from the Inspection is a signal to check your papers now, not when the police arrive.

A migration police raid

There are two regimes, depending on where you work.

Public places — no court order needed. The MIA may inspect public places; the law expressly names cafés, restaurants, fast-food outlets, public transport and hotels (Article 53¹(2)). If you work in the dining area of a café or restaurant or at a hotel reception, no court order is required. Back-of-house areas — the kitchen, a storeroom — are probably not public places; the private-premises rules below apply to them.

Private premises — by a judge's order, with two exceptions (Article 53³). An office, warehouse, construction site, workshop or private house is inspected on the order of a district (city) court judge. However:

  • the employer's consent is enough — then no court order is needed (para. 1). In practice employers almost always consent;
  • in urgent necessity — where delay would let the foreigner hide or conceal their passport — the inspection starts immediately and the petition goes to a judge within 24 hours (para. 2).

During the inspection officers may interview, identify, carry out a superficial examination and, where the law provides, apply other preventive and coercive measures (para. 3). They may ask the employer for documents proving that your work is lawful (para. 4).

Why a raid is more dangerous since 1 September 2026. Under Law No 1803, working without the right to work became:

  • a standalone ground for expulsion (Article 51(1)(i)); the decision is made by a court on the MIA's petition (Article 52(1)–(2));
  • a trigger for mandatory photographing and taking of finger- and palm prints — as soon as expulsion proceedings on this ground begin (Article 53²(1));
  • a ground for detention and placement in a temporary accommodation centre (Article 64(2)(l)).

A valid residence permit does not protect you: a residence permit and the right to work are different documents. If you also have no lawful ground to stay, you are expelled under Article 51(1)(a) or (b), and the MIA decides itself (Article 51(4)).

(Article 51(1)(i) and 64(2)(l) are cited by their position in the Georgian text; the English version on matsne.gov.ge has not yet been consolidated with these amendments.)

What documents to keep at work

An employed foreigner needs all three at the same time (Article 13³ of the Law on Labour Migration):

  1. A written fixed-term employment contract — in Georgian and in a language you understand (Article 13²(2)).
  2. The right to work — issued for this specific employer (Article 13⁵(7)).
  3. A work residence permit, a D1 visa or another residence permit.

In practice:

  • the original passport or residence card on you (why a phone photo is not enough — see the FAQ "Is a photo of my passport on the phone enough, or do I need the original?");
  • a printout or screenshot of the right-to-work decision from labourmigration.moh.gov.ge;
  • a copy of the contract — with you and with the employer at the workplace.

If you do not need the right to work (permanent residence, refugee or asylum-seeker status, registered short-term activity, etc. — Article 1(4)), carry a document that proves it. The exceptions and how to prove them are covered in the FAQ "I am an individual entrepreneur or self-employed — how do I prove I work in Georgia lawfully?".

Changed jobs — renew the right to work. Changing employer without a new permit means a GEL 2,000 fine, GEL 4,000 for a repeat (Article 16⁶). A change of position, salary or schedule alone does not require a new permit (Government Ordinance No 70, Article 2(6)).

If you have no documents

  • Do not run and do not resist. That turns a migration check into a case of disobedience to the police.
  • Give your name and show your passport. Questioning beyond establishing your identity is voluntary (Article 19(2) of the Law on Police): you do not have to say how long you have worked there, how much you earn or who else works without papers.
  • Do not sign anything you do not understand. Ask for a translation. If a report is drawn up, write your objection on it.
  • If you are detained, you must be told in a language you understand the grounds, your right to a lawyer, your right to notify relatives and your consulate, and your right to appeal the detention (Article 64(7)). You must be brought before a court within 48 hours; if the court does not decide on placement in a temporary accommodation centre within the next 24 hours, you are released (Article 64(3)).
  • A fine under Article 16¹ can be appealed, but the appeal does not suspend its enforcement (Article 14(3²)).
  • Call a lawyer immediately, not after you have signed papers.

If you want to complain to the Inspection yourself

The inspector does not reveal who complained and, during the check, does not say it was triggered by a complaint (Article 19(2)–(3) of the Law on Labour Inspection). But if you yourself have no right to work, a check triggered by your complaint will uncover your violation too. The order is: first a consultation with a lawyer, then the complaint. Labour Inspection hotline — 1575.

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