Moving to Georgia

Georgia has quietly become one of the most accessible countries in the world for newcomers. Citizens of a long list of countries can enter and stay for a full year without a visa, the cost of living is low by European standards, the food and wine culture is exceptional, and the bureaucracy for registering a business or opening a bank account is unusually light. Tbilisi mixes faded grandeur with a fast moving cafe and startup scene.

It suits remote workers and entrepreneurs who value a long, simple stay over a complex permit, retirees stretching a pension, and the adventurous who want mountains, the Black Sea coast, and a culture that takes hospitality seriously. It rewards people who can handle a developing country rhythm, where the upside is freedom and affordability and the trade off is patchier infrastructure and services than western Europe.

What surprises most people is how much you can do informally and how little the state asks of you in return, paired with the reality that importing your possessions is the one area where Georgia is strict and expensive rather than relaxed.

This is the part of a move to Georgia that catches people out. Unlike much of Europe, Georgia does not offer a broad duty free transfer of residence relief for ordinary newcomers. Used household goods and personal effects are generally treated as imported cargo and can attract customs duty and value added tax, assessed on the cost, insurance, and freight value of the shipment, with a detailed valued inventory required for clearance.

One practical route many people use is temporary import. Household goods can be brought in on a temporary basis for up to one year, after which they must either be exported again or cleared with full duties paid. The customs authority is the Revenue Service, known in Georgian as Sashemosavlo Samsakhuri, and clearance runs through the ports of Poti and Batumi on the Black Sea or by road from Turkey.

Because the treatment is less generous than in many destinations, plan your shipment deliberately. Many people moving to Georgia ship far less than they would elsewhere, replacing furniture locally where it is cheap and bringing only what genuinely matters, precisely because the import side is where the cost and friction sit.

Tbilisi holds most of the international community, the cafe and coworking scene, and the easiest English speaking environment. Batumi on the Black Sea coast is the summer and casino city with a growing year round crowd. Kutaisi is cheaper and more traditional, and the mountain regions of Kazbegi and Svaneti draw those who want nature over nightlife. Most newcomers start in Tbilisi and branch out from there.

Public healthcare in Georgia is basic, and most newcomers rely on private clinics, which are inexpensive by western standards, paired with private or international health insurance. Tbilisi has the best private hospitals. Confirm what your insurance covers before you rely on the public system.

Banking is a notable strength. Georgian banks are modern and used to foreign customers, and opening an account is usually straightforward with your passport, though banks have tightened checks in recent years. Your individual tax number from the Revenue Service is the identifier that ties together tax and business registration, and getting it early smooths everything that follows.