Address Registration and Personal Number in Georgia

Address registration and the personal number are not two separate matters but effectively one visit to the House of Justice: without a registered address, the actual residence permit card in Georgia is not issued, and the personal number is printed right on that same card. There is little point handling them separately, but that is exactly why it is easy to mix up the deadlines and requirements.

Why Register an Address

Address registration in Georgia is not a box-ticking formality but a mandatory condition for getting the actual physical residence card: without a registered address, the card simply is not issued.

A residence permit holder must register at an address within one month of entering the country (if the permit was already obtained beforehand) or from the moment the permit itself is granted (if the process happens while already inside Georgia).

Formally, the law states an obligation, not a recommendation: the registered address goes into the state register and is used, among other things, to deliver official correspondence and during later dealings with government agencies. For post and parcels in Georgia, though, any address with a postcode and phone number will do.

It is not worth listing a fictitious or temporary address just to speed things up: a mismatch between the registered address and the actual place of residence tends to surface when renewing documents and can require a separate explanation to a House of Justice officer.

How to Prove an Address: Three Ways

The application is submitted to the territorial office of the House of Justice covering the intended registration address. The right to reside at a specific address can be confirmed in one of three ways:

• An ownership document, if the apartment or house belongs to the applicant themselves.
• The owner's written consent, if the applicant is renting: the owner does not need to be physically present at the House of Justice, as the consent is arranged separately.
• Testimony from two witnesses confirming that the applicant has actually lived at that address for the last three months: used when neither of the first two options is available, for example with an informal rental without a written contract.

Processing Times

Address registration is free. The standard processing time is up to one month, but an expedited track applies for initial registration and for family members of the owner: 5 calendar days. The final time to actually receive the residence card depends on whichever of the two processes (address registration or document production) finishes later.

Personal Number: A Universal Identifier

The personal number is an 11-digit number printed on the residence card (or ID card for citizens) and then used almost everywhere: to open a personal bank account in Georgia, sign an employment contract, register a business, or put utility accounts in your own name.

There is no separate application for it: it is assigned automatically as part of getting the residence card and registering the address.

A Separate Case: A Tax Number Without a Residence Permit

If a foreigner does not yet have a residence permit but needs a number for tax purposes, for example to buy property or complete a transaction, a different mechanism applies: Georgia's Revenue Service assigns a separate 9-digit tax number.

This number does not match the format of the personal number on a residence card and does not replace it: once the same person obtains a residence permit and a full personal number, the personal number becomes the primary identifier, and the 9-digit tax number remains a historical record in the Revenue Service's system.

It is especially easy to confuse these two numbers in the context of tax residency in Georgia: simply having a 9-digit tax number does not by itself make someone a tax resident and does not substitute for full legalization through a residence permit. These are different systems with different purposes, and both being called a "number" does not mean the underlying status is the same.

What to Do When You Change Address

When moving to a new address within Georgia, the registration needs to be updated: the old address is not automatically cancelled, but a mismatch between the card and the actual place of residence can cause problems during later dealings with government agencies (for example, when renewing the residence permit itself).

The update procedure is no different from the initial registration: the same House of Justice, the same three ways to confirm it, the same free process.

A separate practical point for families: minor children are registered at the address together with the applying parent as part of the same application, not as a separate procedure. The personal number is still assigned individually and permanently to each family member, including children, even if the child's own residence card is physically issued somewhat later than the parent's.