Georgia for remote workers: the 365-day stay, coworking in Tbilisi and Batumi, banks, SIMs, costs and taxes in plain words

Yes, most Western passport holders can live and work remotely in Georgia for up to a year without applying for a residence permit, because the country’s visa-free allowance for many nationalities already runs to 365 days rather than the usual 90. Add a fast SIM card, fibre internet in most of Tbilisi and Batumi, several working coworking spaces, and a 1 percent turnover tax for registered small businesses, and it is easy to see why Georgia has become a fixture on remote-work shortlists. None of this is a substitute for checking your own passport’s rules on the day you travel, and some of the figures below (tax thresholds, the odd visa detail) are revised by the government from time to time.

This guide sets out what is stable and what you should double-check before you book a flight: the visa-free stay itself, the fate of the pandemic-era “Remotely from Georgia” scheme, where to work from a laptop in Tbilisi and Batumi, how foreigners open a bank account, what a SIM and home internet actually cost, how the Individual Entrepreneur 1 percent regime works in plain terms, and what rent, groceries and a Tbilisi winter feel like day to day.

The visa-free stay: is it really 365 days

Georgia’s standard tourist entry is short, but the country has long granted citizens of a long list of states, including the EU/EEA, the UK, the USA, Canada, Israel, the UAE and dozens more, a visa-free stay of up to one year rather than the usual 90 days. This is unusual internationally and is the main reason Georgia appears on remote-work lists at all. It is an entry allowance, not a work or residence permit, and it does not by itself entitle you to a Georgian tax ID, a long lease without a local guarantor, or local health insurance. Nationalities not on the visa-free list generally apply through the national e-visa portal. Because visa-free lists and durations are periodically revised by government decision, confirm your own nationality’s current entry terms before booking, on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the e-Visa portal, and keep a screenshot of the page you checked with the date on it.

Remotely from Georgia: the programme’s status in 2026

During the pandemic, when ordinary tourist entry was suspended, the government ran a scheme called “Remotely from Georgia” that let foreign remote workers apply for entry with proof of income, health insurance and a minimum stay. Borders have been open on the standard visa-free basis for years now, and that pandemic-era application route is understood to no longer be the operative mechanism for most nationalities, since the general 365-day visa-free allowance already covers the same need without an application. If you are relying on this programme’s name in older blog posts, treat it as historical: check the current position directly with the Georgian National Tourism Administration and gov.ge before assuming any special remote-worker entry category still exists, since names and schemes of this kind are sometimes revived or renamed.

Coworking in Tbilisi and Batumi

Tbilisi has the deeper bench: several multi-floor coworking buildings in the Vake, Saburtalo and Old Town districts offer day passes, monthly hot desks and private rooms, usually with decent fibre backup and a generator or UPS for the occasional power dip. Batumi’s scene is smaller and more seasonal, concentrated near the Boulevard and in newer business centres, busier in summer when the city fills with domestic tourists and quieter, cheaper and arguably more pleasant to work from in the winter rain season. Café-working is normal in both cities; many cafés in Vake, Vera and Batumi’s seaside strip tolerate laptops for the price of a coffee, though Wi-Fi quality varies more than in a dedicated coworking space.

• Tbilisi: multiple coworking buildings in Vake and Saburtalo, day-pass and monthly options, generally the most reliable fibre and backup power.
• Batumi: fewer dedicated spaces, concentrated near the seafront and business district, cheaper and emptier outside the May-to-September season.
• Both cities: verify current prices, membership terms and whether a space issues an official invoice, since these details change and matter if you plan to expense the cost.

Opening a bank account as a foreigner

Georgia’s two largest commercial banks accept foreign passport holders for personal accounts, typically requiring the passport itself, proof of a local address (a rental contract or hotel confirmation is often enough), and sometimes a Georgian tax identification number, which foreigners can usually obtain at a local Public Service Hall the same day. Account opening in person at a branch is still the most reliable route; policies on remote or online account opening for non-residents change by bank and by compliance climate, so confirm current documentation requirements with the bank directly before you travel if a working account is essential to your plans. A Georgian account makes rent, utilities and the 1 percent tax regime far simpler to manage than running everything through a foreign card.

SIM cards and internet speeds

Prepaid SIM cards are sold at the airport and in city kiosks on production of a passport, activation is usually immediate, and data allowances are generous by regional standards. Fibre-to-the-home broadband is widely available in central Tbilisi and Batumi, with advertised speeds that comfortably support video calls; older buildings and villages elsewhere in the country may still run on slower copper or wireless links, so if your work depends on a stable connection, ask a prospective landlord specifically which provider and package is installed, and test it before signing a long lease. Mobile data is a dependable backup across both cities and along the main highway corridors; it becomes patchy in the high mountains, which matters if you plan working weekends in places like Svaneti or Tusheti.

Taxes: the Individual Entrepreneur 1 percent regime, as a fact not advice

Georgia’s tax code allows a registered Individual Entrepreneur who obtains “small business status” to pay tax of around 1 percent on annual turnover up to a threshold set in law (historically GEL 500,000, roughly EUR 172,000 at the National Bank’s rate of 2 November 2026), with a higher rate applying above that threshold and ordinary personal income tax rules applying if small business status is not held or is revoked. This status is commonly used by freelancers and remote workers billing foreign clients, but it comes with conditions: certain activities are excluded, record-keeping and invoicing rules apply, and thresholds and rates are set by legislation that is amended from time to time. This is general information, not personal tax advice; the authoritative text is the Tax Code of Georgia published on the Legislative Herald of Georgia, and anyone planning to rely on this regime should confirm the current threshold, rate and registration process with a Georgian accountant or the Revenue Service before invoicing a single client under it.

Cost of living: rent, groceries and winter

Rent is the biggest variable and depends heavily on neighbourhood and furnishing standard rather than city size. A furnished one-bedroom flat in central Tbilisi (Vake, Vera, Saburtalo) commonly runs from the low hundreds of euros a month in older buildings to significantly more in new developments with amenities; Batumi is broadly similar in season and noticeably cheaper outside it. Utilities, a SIM with data, and groceries for one person add a modest fixed cost on top. Because rents move with the exchange rate and with seasonal tourist demand in Batumi, treat the figures below as a starting point for budgeting, not a quote, and confirm current listings with a local agent or on the major Georgian classifieds sites before committing to a lease.

Winter in Tbilisi is mild and mostly dry by European standards, with occasional snow and daytime temperatures often hovering around freezing or just above; Batumi’s winter is wetter and windier, a subtropical coastal climate that rains more than it snows. Both cities are comfortably workable through winter with ordinary heating, though older apartments can be under-insulated, so ask about the heating system (central, gas, or electric) before signing a lease if you are sensitive to cold.

Weekends and time off

Part of the appeal of basing a remote-work stint in Georgia is how little time it takes to reach the mountains or the wine country on a Friday evening. A short private transfer or a day with a driver reaches Kazbegi, Kakheti or Borjomi comfortably within a long weekend; for a first taste of the wine region, the Kakheti Wine Country Day Trip or the Sighnaghi & Bodbe trip both work from a Saturday morning start, while the Georgian Military Highway day to Ananuri, Gudauri and Gergeti covers the classic mountain view in a single day. For longer breaks, a Car with Driver by the Day gives flexibility without a rental car, and a Licensed Private Guide by the Day is useful if you want context rather than just transport.

Practical summary

• Check your own nationality’s current visa-free duration before booking, on mfa.gov.ge and evisa.gov.ge; do not assume the 365-day allowance applies to every passport.
• Treat “Remotely from Georgia” as a pandemic-era scheme of uncertain current status; verify with gnta.ge and gov.ge rather than relying on old blog posts.
• Tbilisi has more and better coworking choice than Batumi; test the Wi-Fi and backup power before committing to a membership.
• Open a bank account in person with your passport and proof of address; ask specifically about non-resident account policies, since these vary by bank.
• Buy a SIM with your passport on arrival and confirm fibre availability at any flat before signing a lease.
• Small business Individual Entrepreneur status can bring tax to around 1 percent of turnover up to a legal threshold, but confirm the current rate and threshold with an accountant before relying on it.
• Budget rent as a range, not a fixed figure, and expect Batumi to be cheaper and quieter outside the summer season.
• Use a weekend transfer or driver-guide day to see Kakheti, Kazbegi or Borjomi without losing a working week.

Sources

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa information
• Georgia e-Visa portal
• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Government of Georgia services portal
• Legislative Herald of Georgia (Tax Code)