Where to Start Moving to Georgia: A Step-by-Step Plan

If the decision to move to Georgia is already made, it's easier to work through it in order instead of grabbing at everything at once.

Most citizenships don't need a visa, and the visa-free stay runs 90 to 365 days depending on citizenship, so there are almost no formal barriers to getting started: from here it's a sequence of practical steps, not a complicated visa process with applications and consulate lines. Here is that sequence, with each step carrying its own deadline, timing, or direct dependency on the one before it.

Step 1. Pick a City

Tbilisi and Batumi work in completely different ways: one runs at its usual pace year-round, the other swells in summer and nearly shuts down in winter, from November through March. Tbilisi suits those who need stable office-based work and a wide choice of schools and doctors; Batumi suits those who can work remotely and don't mind a quiet winter by the sea. Your own priorities settle the choice between Tbilisi and Batumi.

Step 2. Work Out a Budget

One-time costs for housing, the first week, and a financial cushion are worth estimating ahead of time, not once you've already arrived: one person without a ready income source should reasonably have 3,000 to 7,000 dollars on hand at the start, depending on whether they rent through an agent in the center or look for something cheaper on the outskirts.

From there, monthly spending settles into three scenarios: from 700 dollars on the outskirts cooking at home to 2,000 dollars and up in the center with restaurants. By category, the budget for moving to Georgia breaks down into housing, groceries, transport, and phone and internet.

Step 3. Get the Mandatory Insurance

Since January 1, 2026, the border checks for a health insurance policy in Georgia with minimum coverage of 30,000 lari for medical treatment and accidents: entry can be refused without it, so arrange it before the flight, not after landing. This applies to visa-free and tourist-visa arrivals; residence permit holders are exempt.

An ordinary travel insurance policy from a bank or card doesn't always meet the minimum coverage amounts, which is worth checking separately.

Step 4. Pick a Basis for a Residence Permit, If You're Staying Long-Term

If the plan is more than a tourist trip, it's worth figuring out ahead of time which basis to apply for a residence permit in Georgia on: buying property from 150,000 dollars, a business investment, or another route, since the basis you pick determines what documents to gather back home before the flight.

A spouse and minor children get a residence permit together with the main applicant on the same basis, with no extra investment required per family member.

Step 5. Sort Out a Pet's Paperwork

If a dog or cat is coming along, the rabies vaccination has to be given no earlier than 11 months and no later than 21 days before entry: the timing needs planning ahead, not in the last week before the flight. No separate import permit is required for a personal pet, but a microchip and a veterinary certificate are mandatory, and they form the core of what moving to Georgia with a pet requires.

Step 6. The First Week on the Ground

On arrival, the first things needed are a SIM card, cash, a Metromoney card, and temporary housing through Booking or Airbnb until a permanent apartment is found. Add the emergency number 112 to that list, and the first week in Georgia will go without unnecessary spending in the first days.

Step 7. Handle the First Month: Lease, Personal Number, Bank Account

Over the first month, the usual items to close out are a long-term lease, a Personal Number, address registration, and a permanent bank account.

Residence permit holders must register their residential address within a month of entry, or they won't get a resident ID card. This is also usually when home internet gets connected and electricity and water get sorted, which together make up the first month in Georgia.

Step 8. Sort Out the Kids, If You're Moving as a Family

Municipal kindergartens take applications once a year, in early July, and first grade enrollment runs from February to July, both for a September start, so if the move lands mid-school-year, a child simply won't make the queue and a backup plan is needed for the transition period.

A residence permit for the whole family, pediatricians, and schools make moving to Georgia with family and kids a separate task with its own timeline.

Step 9. Sort Out Taxes, If You Work Remotely

After spending 183 days in the country within a 12-month period, a remote worker automatically becomes a Georgian tax resident, regardless of citizenship or visa status. It's a separate status, unrelated to holding a visa or a residence permit, and it often catches off guard exactly those who never planned to stay that long, then ended up sticking around for a full year of remote work.

One last thing: before working through this plan, look over the list of what most often goes wrong, because common mistakes when moving to Georgia repeat almost identically from one person to the next.