Georgia's One-Year Visa-Free Rule — The Full List, Plus the New Mandatory Insurance Rule

How to read this article. The country list is compiled from Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular information and Ordinance No. 255 as amended. Because the list is updated by government ordinance from time to time (most recently, a February 2026 amendment and an April 2025 change affecting 17 countries), always confirm your own nationality on the official MFA checker before you travel — link in the sources at the end. Nothing here is legal advice.

How does Georgia’s one-year visa-free rule work?

Georgia visa-free stay is defined by three facts, and all three come from the primary legislation:

• It's a full year — 365 days. The ordinance states that citizens of the listed countries "may enter and stay in Georgia without a visa for one full year." Georgian law defines a year as 365 consecutive days (366 in a leap year). It is not 90 days, and it is not 360.
• The clock is per entry, not rolling. Unlike the Schengen "90 days in any 180" rule, Georgia's year restarts each time you cross the border. Day one is the day you enter; you have a full year before you must leave.
• Visa-free doesn't mean unconditional. You still need a valid passport (some nationalities may use a national ID card — see the notes in the table), and from 2026 you also need travel medical insurance (see below).

Being in the country visa-free for a year lets you live, rent, open a bank account, register a business, and work remotely for clients or an employer based outside Georgia. It does not, by itself, grant residency or the right to take local employment — those are separate processes.

Which countries get visa-free entry to Georgia, and for how long?

Shortest first. On a phone, each country stacks with its condition below it; on a computer it reads as a table.

Additional coverage written into the ordinance: holders of a UN or Interpol laissez-passer/travel document may also enter and stay visa-free for one year.

A separate scheme also lets holders of valid visas or residence permits of the EU, EFTA, GCC, and several other countries (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and others) enter for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Many other nationalities can apply for an e-Visa at evisa.gov.ge. If your country is on none of these lists, you need a visa.

Do you need travel insurance to enter Georgia in 2026?

This is the single most important recent change, and it applies even to visa-free travellers.

Practical takeaway: Buy a compliant policy before you fly. Travellers who cannot show valid insurance at the border may be refused entry or face a penalty, so this is not a formality to leave to chance — especially for a long, one-year visa-free stay, where the policy must cover the whole period you intend to remain.

Several Georgian insurers sell compliant policies online, issued instantly as a digital PDF by email, in English, meeting the 30,000 GEL minimum. Named Georgian providers offering visitor policies built for this rule include E-Cover (ecover.ge), IRAO (irao.ge, part of Vienna Insurance Group), Aldagi, and Imedi L. Typical flow: enter passport + trip dates, pay by card, receive the policy by email in a few minutes.

Three things to check before you rely on any of them

The border check is on the coverage, not the brand.

• Coverage ≥ 30,000 GEL, and it explicitly covers the full period you'll be in Georgia. For a one-year visa-free stay, that means a 365-day policy — confirm the insurer will write that length, as many "travel" products cap at 90 days.
• Policy in Georgian or English, physical or electronic — all of the above meet this.
• It's health/accident (medical) cover, which is what the decree requires.

You're not limited to a Georgian company — a foreign insurer's policy is equally accepted as long as it meets those terms. Georgian insurers are just usually the cheapest and simplest for the exact requirement. We're not endorsing a specific provider or giving insurance advice — compare cover and price yourself, and for a long stay, double-check the duration and any age/medical conditions.

How do you check your own status before booking?

Rules change by ordinance, and your individual circumstances matter. Two official steps:

• Check your nationality on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular portal (geoconsul.gov.ge) — it confirms, country by country, the visa-free period and conditions that apply to your passport.
• Confirm the insurance requirement and your policy's compliance before departure.

If a website quotes different numbers from these, check its date — outdated relocation content is the most common source of Georgia visa confusion.

Frequently asked questions