The government has introduced changes to the procedure for obtaining residence permits for foreigners. According to BPN, the amendments concern IT specialists, for whom additional regulations have been established to obtain a temporary residence permit. Specifically, under the new regulations, foreigners working in the technology sector will be able to obtain the right to reside in Georgia if their annual income from their activity is not less than the equivalent of USD 25,000. To do this, they must provide the relevant certification.
Previously, such a requirement was not included in the law “On the Approval of the Procedure for Consideration and Decision-Making on the Issuance of Residence Permits in Georgia.”
According to the new decree, a person employed in the field of Information Technology (IT) must submit the following documents to obtain a temporary residence permit:
a) An application in the prescribed form, which must include, among other data, the unique code assigned during the registration of the labor immigrant in the special electronic system of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia;
b) A copy of the foreigner’s travel document;
c) A copy of the document confirming legal stay in Georgia;
d) A document confirming at least 2 years of experience in labor or economic activity in the IT field;
e) A certificate proving that the remuneration received over the last year from labor or economic activity in the IT field is not less than the equivalent of USD 25,000 annually. The documents must confirm that the payment was received at least twice in the past year, with a minimum interval of 30 days between payments;
f) A color photograph, size 3×4 cm, in electronic format;
g) A receipt confirming payment of the service fee; and so on.
Additionally, the document states that for the purposes of this decree, a person employed in the IT sector is considered:
a) A foreigner engaged in any activity classified under code 25 of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) and its relevant subcodes;
b) A foreigner registered in Georgia as an individual entrepreneur with small business status, engaged in any activity under the codes 58.21, 58.29, 62.01, 62.02, 62.03, 62.09, 63.1, and 63.12 of the National Classifier of Economic Activity in Georgia.
According to the decree, temporary residence permits in Georgia are issued for a period of 6 months to 3 years. In addition, the validity of a temporary residence permit may be extended in increments of 3 years, up to a maximum of 12 years.
The decree also states that the validity of a temporary residence permit for a person employed in the IT sector is terminated if the permit holder does not actually reside in Georgia for 183 days or more within any consecutive 12 calendar months.
The government has made changes to the procedure for issuing residence permits to foreigners
