Work and Entrepreneur Residence - There Is No Work Permit; There Is a Turnover Threshold and a Real Business
A foreigner works and sets up a business in Georgia without a permit - that is true, and it is exactly what misleads: the absence of a work permit does not mean that staying after the first year is automatic. A work residence permit examines the employer, not the employee - the company's annual turnover must exceed the statutory minimum for every foreign employee; an entrepreneur permit examines the foreigner's own company for genuine activity, and a "paper LLC" with no turnover has been the most common reason for refusal in recent years.
This page describes both grounds the way the agency actually tests them: how the turnover threshold is calculated and what happens when an employer has several foreigners, what "genuine activity" means for a sole entrepreneur and an LLC, what options a freelancer or a remote worker for a foreign company has, which document most often causes a refusal, how a permit transfers to a new employer and how it turns into permanent residence. Challenging a refusal has its own page.
Updated · Practice area: Immigration lawyer
Five Situations, Which Ground Works in Each and Where the Risk Lies
The same person - a developer, a consultant, a sales representative - can stand on three different grounds, and the choice determines the five-year outlook.
Obtaining a Work or Entrepreneur Permit - the Stages From Planning to the Card
Choosing the ground with a five-year outlook
The lawyer starts not with "what documents do you have" but "what will change in two years": is the employer stable or a start-up, will the business have turnover or is it seasonal, are bringing the family and permanent residence in the plan. A ground that passes the first application and fails at renewal is the most expensive choice.
Checking the employer or company "through the agency's eyes"
Recalculating turnover from Revenue Service data (not the accountant's spreadsheet), the number of foreign employees in the company, evidence that the activity is real, the absence of tax arrears. If the threshold is not met - the option of raising turnover, moving to another company or another ground before the application, not after the refusal.
Preparing the contract and corporate documents
An employment contract for no less than the permit period, with position, salary and place of work in Georgia; on the entrepreneur ground - the charter, partner or director status, the extract, a bank statement showing turnover, contracts with clients. The lawyer builds the documents to answer the agency's typical questions - "where do you physically work", "who are the clients", "how many employees do you have".
Legalising foreign documents and timing
A criminal record certificate from the country of citizenship with apostille and translation, within its validity; a diploma if the position requires one; a health certificate if the agency asks. The validity period of certificates and the moment of filing must coincide - an expired certificate is a formal refusal that costs another 30 days and another fee.
Filing during lawful stay
The application at a Public Service Hall or online, with standard or expedited review, early enough before the visa-free year or the previous permit expires to leave time in case of refusal. During the review the lawyer answers the agency's follow-up questions - the case is often decided precisely at this stage.
The card, the family and the renewal calendar
Collecting the residence card, registering at the address, family members' applications on the family ground relying on the main permit. The lawyer sets the renewal calendar: when to check turnover, when to order new certificates, when to file the renewal - and when the count towards permanent residence begins.
The Turnover Threshold per Foreigner - How It Is Counted, Which Turnover Counts and What Happens When It Falls
The main figure in a work or entrepreneur permit is the annual turnover of the employer or the applicant's own company, which must exceed the statutory minimum for every foreign employee (or partner). That means the threshold multiplies: a company with one foreigner shows one minimum, with three foreigners - three. Turnover is verified from Revenue Service returns, not a certificate issued by the company, and the period is as a rule the last annual reporting period - a newly founded company that has not yet filed an annual return has a problem showing the threshold, and that is the typical "paper LLC" refusal.
Which turnover counts is a separate question: whether the agency counts with or without VAT, whether international income (exports, foreign clients) counts or only Georgian, whether the turnover of group companies is aggregated - practice on these questions shifts, and the lawyer's value lies in knowing how the agency counts this month. Where turnover is slightly below the threshold, the solution is planned before the application: consolidating turnover in one company, choosing the reporting period, moving another foreign employee to a different ground.
A fall in turnover at renewal is the most common problem: a company that met the threshold on the first application no longer meets it two years later because of seasonality, the loss of a client or restructuring - and the permit is cancelled or not renewed. The lawyer checks turnover six months before renewal so that time remains: to restore turnover, to move to another ground (property, family) or to another employer. A renewal application filed in the last week without a turnover check is the typical refusal scenario.
What a Work or Entrepreneur Permit Rests On
- Turnover minimum per foreigner
- The annual turnover of the employer or the applicant's own company in the statutory amount for every foreign employee or partner, from Revenue Service data; the threshold and the method of calculation change periodically and are checked against the current version at every application.
- Genuine activity
- On the entrepreneur ground, registering a company is not enough - turnover, clients, contracts, an office or place of work and often employees are required. The agency may request additional information and conduct an on-site inspection.
- Contract term
- The employment contract must be for no less than the requested permit period, or open-ended; the place of work in Georgia, a salary not below the subsistence minimum. Termination of the contract removes the ground for the permit and must be reported to the agency.
- Expedited review
- 20 or 10 days instead of the standard 30 for a higher fee - for an applicant arriving at the end of the period this is often the only way out, but expediting does not reduce the depth of the check.
- Notification of changes
- A change of employer, position, status in the company or address must be reported to the agency within the statutory period; an unreported change surfaces at renewal or inspection and is a ground for cancellation.
- The route to permanent residence
- After continuous periods of temporary residence a claim to permanent residence arises, which no longer requires renewal of the ground; the count runs in days of residence, and one missed renewal or a long absence breaks it.
Eight Defects That Stall a Work or Entrepreneur Application
- A turnover certificate from the company rather than Revenue Service data - the agency checks itself and the discrepancy is a refusal.
- The threshold counted for one foreigner when three foreigners work in the company - the threshold multiplies.
- An employment contract shorter than the permit period, without a place of work or with a salary below the minimum.
- A newly founded company without an annual return - there is no basis on which to show turnover.
- A criminal record certificate expired or without apostille; a translation in which the surname is transliterated differently from the passport.
- An application filed after the visa-free year has ended - the overstay blocks acceptance of the application.
- The employer's tax arrears or "risky" status, which the applicant did not know about.
- A freelancer's application without evidence of "activity in Georgia" - foreign invoices only.
Three Work and Entrepreneur Permit Cases
A start-up with four foreign founders
Four foreigners founded an IT company in Georgia and all four applied for entrepreneur permits; the company had three months of turnover and the threshold multiplied by four could not be met. The lawyer: two founders on the work ground through employment in the company (the threshold still fell short), so the property ground for two (purchase of the office), the entrepreneur ground for two after the annual return, using the visa-free regime in the meantime. Within a year all four held permits on different grounds.
A renewal halted by a fall in turnover
The agency refused to renew a foreign manager's work permit - the employer's turnover had fallen below the threshold the previous year. The lawyer: a claim disputing the calculation (the agency had ignored the turnover of the group's second company, where the manager was also employed), and in parallel an application from the group company that met the threshold on its own. The second application was granted within 30 days.
A freelancer with no "activity in Georgia"
A designer with foreign clients registered as a sole entrepreneur and applied for an entrepreneur permit; the agency requested additional information on activity in Georgia. The lawyer: contracts with Georgian clients (two local companies), a coworking lease in Tbilisi, a certificate of taxes paid, a statement from a Georgian bank account, a portfolio of Georgian projects. The permit was issued; the share of Georgian clients was deliberately maintained for renewal.
Questions About Work and Entrepreneur Permits
My employer is a small company and cannot meet the turnover threshold. Do I have another way?
Several: checking the turnover by the agency's method (companies often actually meet the threshold but count it wrongly), employment through another company in the employer's group that reaches the threshold, a services contract with the same company under your own sole entrepreneur status (the entrepreneur ground), or another ground altogether - property, family. The lawyer compares these options before the application, because after a refusal there is less time.
I work remotely for a foreign company and live in Georgia. Which permit applies to me?
There is no separate "digital nomad" permit in Georgia, and a foreign employer will not do for the work ground - it cannot show Georgian turnover. The realistic options: registration as a sole entrepreneur and declaring your income in Georgia for the entrepreneur ground, preferably with evidence of Georgian clients or local activity, or the property ground through buying a flat. The lawyer builds one of the two around your income and plans.
My permit was issued with one employer. Can I change jobs?
You can, but not quietly: a new contract, a check of the new employer's turnover against the same threshold and notification of the change to the agency within the statutory period; the agency confirms or amends the permit on the new ground. Working at a new job on the old permit without notification surfaces at renewal and is a ground for cancellation. The lawyer plans the move so that continuity of residence is not broken.
I founded a company but have no turnover yet. Will I get an entrepreneur permit?
As a rule, no - the agency requires genuine activity, and registration without turnover, clients and evidence of activity is the typical reason for refusal. The strategy: use the visa-free year to get the business genuinely running and apply when returns, contracts and account movements exist; if the year is running out - another ground for the time being (property) and a move to the entrepreneur ground later. The lawyer sets this sequence out from the start.
I want to bring my family. Does my work permit cover them too?
Not automatically - your spouse and children file separate applications on the family ground, relying on your permit, and their term follows yours. That means cancellation or refused renewal of your permit affects them in a chain. The lawyer files the family's applications together with yours or as soon as yours is issued, and prepares an independent ground for the family where one is available.
Lawyers for Work and Entrepreneur Residence Permits
A work or entrepreneur permit rests on figures - turnover counted by the agency's method and activity proven by documents. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who regularly files employer and company applications with the agency and advises in English or Russian.
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Call: 568 330 318The Visa-Free Year Is Running Out and You Do Not Know Whether Your Employer Meets the Threshold?
At a free consultation the lawyer recalculates the turnover by the agency's method, tells you whether the work, entrepreneur or another ground will carry you for five years and which document to prepare now. The coordinator's call comes 15 minutes after you send the form, in the language that suits you.