Georgian Gov’t Encourages Foreigners to Move to Georgia & Work Remotely

As part of the strategy of the gradual opening up of the country, the Coordination Council of the Government in July took the decision to set up a special entry regime for foreign citizens wishing to come and work remotely from Georgia.

The project is intended for foreigners who are freelancers who work remotely or can manage their businesses from any part of the world.

"We invite citizens who are working remotely for global companies in 95 countries to come to Georgia, where they’ll have the chance to fulfill their job responsibilities remotely for at least 180 days," Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated at Wednesday's session of the Interagency Coordination Council.

"The National Tourism Administration has a very good initiative, entitled 'Work from Georgia.' In the context of the global pandemic, more and more transnational corporations and global companies are switching to remote work, meaning the geographical location of people does not matter in order for them to exercise their rights and responsibilities.

"Therefore, we offer the program 'Work from Georgia' to 95 countries, which means that we are able to convert the achievements of virus management into specific revenues for the tourism sector," the PM said.

"We invite this target audience to Georgia and offer them the chance to live in our country under special conditions," Natia Turnava, Minister of Economy, noted in July.

"We're talking about opening the border in a manner which will let us protect the health of our citizens and on the other hand let every foreign citizen who falls into this category enter Georgia," she added.

Based on the initiative, a citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter Georgia for the long-term should fill in a mandatory electronic application form and obtain the preliminary confirmation required for border crossing.

The mandate was signed this week by Minister Turnava and Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, giving foreigners an opportunity to work remotely from Georgia. Permission will be granted to foreign citizens from the Ministries of Economy and Foreign Affairs.

On filling out said application form, the foreign applicant should upload the following documents in English:

• A copy of their passport;

• Personal information (name, surname, personal number, address);

• Contact details of their foreign employer;

• Information about the job position and income (at least $2,000 per month);

• Consent to enter a mandatory 12-day quarantine, as well as consent to undergo PCR testing at their own expense;

• Mandatory health insurance, valid for at least six months.

Applications will be reviewed within 10 working days.

The PM further highlighted that the government is doing everything possible to make potential foreign workers’ presence in Georgia safe and comfortable.

The program 'Work from Georgia' has already been uploaded on stopgov.ge for use.

By Ana Dumbadze

Image Source: insider.com/Maya Karkalicheva/Getty Images