City guides Georgia
Tbilisi
For years the pitch was simple: a year visa-free, cheap rent, great food and a 1 per cent tax rate. In 2026 the rules changed. Remote work now needs a permit, consulting was never in the 1 per cent scheme, and the city has had protests on its main avenue every day for well over a year.
Every figure checked 2 Oct 2026
- USD 500 to 1,500 a month Asking rent, central districts
- GEL 410 to 500 a month Coworking hot desk
- GEL 40 Monthly transport pass
- Country Georgia
- Time zone UTC+4 07:05 there now
- Language Georgian
- Currency Georgian lari (GEL)
- Plugs Type C and F, 230V
How far English gets you Patchy. In the 2024 Caucasus Barometer, 51 per cent of Georgian adults said they had no basic English. It works in specialty cafes, coworking spaces and with younger professionals in the centre. It stops with landlords, older people and officials, and Russian is still the more widely shared second language there.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Somebody employed by a foreign company who wants a cheap, walkable, characterful city with superb food, and who is relaxed about permit rules that are still being clarified. Rents have eased from their 2023 peak, coworking is cheap and good, and spring and autumn are lovely.
It does not suit you if
Anyone planning to freelance or consult on the 1 per cent regime without a work permit: since March 2026 that is unlawful, and consulting was never eligible anyway. Anyone who needs a guaranteed legal position for a full year, because the rules changed this year and the lawyers still disagree. Anyone who wants citizenship in five years, because the law now says ten. And anyone who wants to stay well clear of politics: there are daily protests a block from the old town, and the FCDO says a foreigner who joins one can be refused re-entry.
Money
What everything else costs
| Average asking rent per square metre | USD 9.90 a month | Galt and Taggart, May 2026, citywide |
|---|---|---|
| Single fare | GEL 1 | Ninety minutes of unlimited transfers. The card costs GEL 2 |
| Coworking day pass | GEL 40 | Impact Hub and D Block |
| Khachapuri from a bakery | GEL 5 to 8 | The default cheap lunch |
| Coffee | GEL 5 to 10 | Specialty coffee is everywhere in the centre |
| Work permit | GEL 200 or 400 | Thirty days or ten working days |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Visa-free stay | One full year for British and American passports, under Government Ordinance 255 |
|---|---|
| Insurance | Health and accident cover of at least GEL 30,000 for the whole stay, required since 1 January 2026 |
| Digital nomad visa | There is none. The 2020 Remotely from Georgia scheme is defunct |
| Residence | A work residence permit needs the permit to work. Investment residence needs USD 300,000 |
| Permanent residence | After ten years of temporary residence |
| Citizenship | Ten years of continuous lawful residence. The 2023 cut to five years is no longer in the law. Dual citizenship only by exception |
| Tax residency | 183 days or more in any continuous twelve months ending in the tax year |
| 1 per cent small business | 1 per cent of turnover up to GEL 500,000, 3 per cent above. Consulting is excluded, and a foreigner now needs a work permit to register |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
-
Vake
USD 700 to 1,500 askingLeafy, polished and walkable, with Vake Park and the best cafes
The catch The most expensive district in the city, at USD 14.50 a square metre, and steep
-
Sololaki
USD 650 to 1,400 askingOld-town houses and balconies, walking distance to everything
The catch It sits beside Rustaveli Avenue, which the FCDO names as the focus of the protests, especially on Saturday nights
-
Saburtalo
USD 550 to 1,100 askingPractical, on the metro, newer buildings with lifts and better insulation
The catch Newer high-rise residential district with little of the old city about it
-
Marjanishvili
USD 500 to 1,100 askingThe cheapest central option, around Fabrika and the left-bank bars
The catch Cheaper because it is less polished. Check the building, not the street
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan Cold, grey, cheap
- Feb Quiet, cold mornings
- Mar Spring starting, 8C
- Apr Mild and green
- May Ideal walking weather
- Jun Warming fast
- Jul Hot days and nights
- Aug Hottest month, 25C mean
- Sep Warm and settled
- Oct Harvest season, 15C
- Nov Cooling down
- Dec Cold and festive
Come now Fine Avoid
Spring and autumn, and it is not close. July and August are hotter than the averages suggest because the city sits in a bowl and the nights do not cool. Winter is cold rather than snowy, quiet and cheap, which suits somebody who mostly wants to work.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is the national median fixed download from Ookla data in July 2024, from a World Bank analysis quoted by the Georgian regulator, and 93 per cent of tests were under 30 Mbps. It is old and has likely improved, but it is the reason to check a flat's line before you sign.
Cafes in the centre are relaxed about laptops, but if your work is video calls, take a coworking desk. At GEL 410 to 500 a month it is the cheapest insurance on the page.
Somewhere to work
Coworking in Tbilisi
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Georgia
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
-
Khachapuri
GEL 5 to 8Cheese bread from a street bakery. The cheap lunch, and nobody tires of it
-
Khinkali
GEL 8 to 15Soup dumplings, ordered by the piece, five at least. Eat them by the knot, not with a fork
-
Specialty coffee
GEL 5 to 10The centre is full of good cafes, and the price has not caught up with Western Europe
-
Beer in a bar
GEL 6 to 12Local lager. Georgian wine is the better buy, and cheaper than you expect by the bottle in a shop
Days off
Worth a Saturday
-
Rike to Narikala cable car
GEL 2.5The fortress and the best view of the old town for the price of a coffee. Uses your transport card
-
Turtle Lake cable car
GEL 1A lake, walks and the open-air ethnographic museum above Vake
-
Georgian National Museum
GEL 40The Colchian gold. Foreigners pay double: GEL 20 for Georgian citizens
-
Dry Bridge market
Free to browseSoviet medals, cameras, old enamel and paintings, every day. Bargain
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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Bring the insurance paperwork
From 1 January 2026 you must be able to show at least GEL 30,000 of health and accident cover for your whole stay
-
Protests carry real penalties
Protest fines went from GEL 500 to GEL 5,000 in December 2024, and covering your face or blocking a road became a criminal offence in October 2025. The FCDO says joining a demonstration can mean questioning at the border or a refused re-entry
-
Unpaid fines stop you leaving
The FCDO warns that outstanding fines can prevent departure. Pay them
-
Consulting is not small business
The 1 per cent regime excludes consulting. Read Resolution 415 before you describe yourself on the form
-
Use the card, not the app
Paying fares by app or cash loses the ninety-minute free transfer
-
The political backdrop
EU accession talks were suspended in November 2024. A foreign agents law passed in 2024 and a FARA-style law in April 2025. The US rates Georgia at Level 1
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.