Most foreign founders don't need C-5. We confirm yours, or handle the application.

What you get#

Two distinct outcomes, depending on your situation.

If you already have the 1-year visa-free regime — and most readers of this page do — you get clarity that C-5 doesn't add value for you. A Residency Scoping walks through your nationality's visa-free entitlement and confirms whether C-5 would actually improve your position. For foreigners from Western Europe, the US, UK, Canada, Israel, Australia, and the other countries on Georgia's one-year visa-free list, the answer is almost always no — the visa-free regime is operationally simpler and gives more time in Georgia than C-5's single year counted from your first entry. Documented confirmation of this in your file matters more than an unnecessary visa application.

If C-5 is genuinely the right path, you get the application handled end-to-end. We prepare the documentation pack (proof of remote work for non-resident employers, financial evidence, health insurance, valid passport), check your nationality against the e-visa eligibility list, and prepare the application for the Foreign Ministry's e-VISA portal. Georgia can refuse a C-5 on immigration-policy grounds and that refusal can't be appealed, so the file preparation is the substance of what we deliver.

The combined effect: certainty about your visa position before you commit to an application that may not improve your situation, and execution capability for the cases where C-5 is the right answer.

What we do#

The first 30 minutes of any C-5 conversation is determining whether C-5 actually fits your situation versus the alternatives.

Step 1 — Residency Scoping. We map your specific situation: your nationality (which visa-free regime applies), your physical-presence pattern in Georgia, your income source (remote work for non-resident employers, or income flowing through a Georgian structure), your reasons for wanting formalised status. Nationals of one-year-visa-free countries already have that regime — for them, C-5 is usually not an improvement. The Review documents which path actually fits.

Step 2 (only if C-5 fits) — Application file preparation. For the minority of cases where C-5 is the right answer, we assemble the required documentation pack: proof of remote work for non-resident employers, financial documentation demonstrating capacity to support the stay, health insurance valid for Georgia, valid passport with adequate remaining validity. We check the file for completeness and consistency before anything is submitted.

Step 3 (only if C-5 fits) — Submission and tracking. C-5 is issued only as an e-visa through the Foreign Ministry's e-VISA portal; Georgian consulates abroad don't issue it. The decision is due on the fifth working day after the application, or within ten working days where further checks are needed. Happy Georgia assesses your eligibility, prepares your C-5 application file and confirms the appropriate submission arrangements during consultation. We follow the application through to the decision and respond to any requests for clarification.

What's included#

Residency Scoping (the standalone engagement):

• Mapping your visa-free entitlement by nationality against C-5 eligibility
• Comparison of C-5 against your current visa or visa-free status
• Identification of the actually-better path for your situation (visa-free, C-5, residence permit, work-permit exemption where one applies)
• Written confirmation document explaining the recommended path and reasoning
• Brief on what to keep on file regarding visa status and any future configuration changes

C-5 Application Support (when C-5 is the right path):

• Full application file preparation
• Proof-of-remote-work documentation assembly for non-resident employer evidence
• Financial documentation pack
• Health insurance verification and arrangement assistance if needed
• Application submission via the e-VISA portal
• Application tracking and consular correspondence handling
• Brief on operating under the C-5 status post-issuance

What you'll need to qualify#

Three things. We confirm all three before recommending C-5.

Your nationality can use the e-VISA portal. C-5 is applied for only through the e-VISA portal, which is open to nationals of the countries on a list approved by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Residency Scoping checks your nationality against the current list.

Your work is for non-residents, connected with their activity outside Georgia. C-5 is for tourism plus work carried out only for non-resident clients or employers, where that work relates to their activity outside Georgia. Working for Georgian companies or serving Georgian clients falls outside what C-5 permits. For foreign-client freelancers, IT contractors serving overseas businesses, employees of foreign companies — the configuration fits cleanly. For mixed-market or Georgia-based work — C-5 doesn't apply and a different path is needed.

Your documentation supports the application. Evidence that your work fits the C-5 activity rule (an employment contract with a non-resident employer, contracts with foreign clients, or documents for your own non-Georgian business), travel and accommodation details, evidence that you can fund the stay, health insurance covering your time in Georgia, and a valid passport.

We work through all three in the consultation and confirm the application is solid before submission.

How C-5 compares to alternatives#

For most foreign clients we serve, C-5 isn't the right path because better alternatives exist. The Residency Scoping walks through which alternative actually fits your situation.

1-year visa-free regime. Citizens of the countries on Georgia's one-year visa-free list (Western Europe, US, UK, Canada, Israel, Australia, and many others) can already stay in Georgia visa-free for up to one year under the existing regime, with no visa application, visa fee or portal submission. For these nationalities C-5 usually adds little, and the Residency Scoping confirms whether the existing visa-free regime is the better path for your case.

Founder and director routes. Foreign founders and directors of Georgian legal entities (LLC, Virtual Zone, International Company, FIZ) have established pathways to residence permits if they want long-term status. On the work-permit side, directors of Category I, II or III companies are exempt under Article 1(4)(l) of the Law on Labour Migration; directors of smaller companies need another ground or the right to work. For foreigners running Georgian companies, this route is usually structurally cleaner than C-5 — see Work Permit for the exemption framework and Residency for the residence permit options.

Residence permits. For foreigners who want longer-term presence in Georgia with a formal status that allows broader activity (including potentially Georgian-employer work), a residence permit is the right path. Property residence permit (Georgian property worth more than USD 150,000), work residence permit (foreign-client IE economic activity), investment residence permit, and IT-specialist residence permit each fit different configurations. C-5 isn't a residence permit — it's a long-stay visa, structurally lighter than residency. Most readers wanting long-term Georgian presence are better served by a residence permit than by C-5.

D-series immigration visas. For nationals of countries that need a visa for any Georgian entry, the D-series visa categories address specific configurations (D-1 for work or entrepreneurial activity, D-3 for study or research, D-5 for property owners requiring Georgian property worth more than USD 150,000, etc.). C-5 fills a different gap — short-stay multiple-entry tourism for remote workers, not long-term immigration.

When C-5 is the right structure#

C-5 fits readers who:

• Are not on the one-year visa-free list (including if your only visa-free option is 90 days in 180 on another country's visa or residence permit)
• Spend substantial time in Georgia annually but don't want to commit to a residence permit
• Work entirely remotely for non-resident employers with no Georgian client base
• Want predictable long-stay status without immigration commitment
• Travel as a family with spouse and/or minor children

If you're a national of a 1-year-visa-free country, C-5 is almost certainly not the right path — your existing entitlement is operationally better. If you're a foreign founder, director, or operator of a Georgian company, the company-based routes are structurally cleaner. If you want long-term Georgian presence with broader rights, a residence permit is the right path.

We say so honestly in the Residency Scoping when C-5 isn't the right answer for your situation.

Why Happy Georgia#

Independent advisory. No tied visa services, no commission for steering you toward an application you don't actually need. We confirm the actually-better path — which for most readers we serve is the existing 1-year visa-free regime rather than C-5.

Foreign clients only. Our entire practice is foreigners setting up in or visiting Georgia. Every engagement starts from your own situation: where you live and pay tax, who your clients are, and what you plan to do in Georgia.

Fixed pricing, no tourist tax. Residency Scoping is €290 and confirms in writing whether C-5 fits; C-5 Application Support, where it does, is quoted separately. The free first consultation comes before either. We quote in EUR, we honor the quote, no surprises later.

Frequently asked questions#

What is the C-5 visa exactly?#

A multiple-entry short-stay Georgian visa introduced by law in April 2026. It is valid for 5 years and gives a right to stay in Georgia for one year, counted from your first entry on that visa. It is for foreign nationals coming to Georgia for tourism who may also work, but only for non-residents and in connection with their activity outside Georgia. The holder's spouse and minor children can also be issued C-5 visas. It is issued only as an e-visa through the Foreign Ministry's e-VISA portal.

How does C-5 compare to the 1-year visa-free regime?#

For citizens of the countries on Georgia's one-year visa-free list (Western Europe, US, UK, Canada, Israel, Australia, and others), the visa-free regime is operationally better than C-5 — up to one year in Georgia without a visa, with no visa application, visa fee or portal submission. C-5's value is primarily for nationals who aren't on that list — including those whose only visa-free option is 90 days in 180 on another country's visa or residence permit — where C-5 represents a meaningful upgrade in stay duration and predictability.

Who is C-5 actually designed for?#

Foreign nationals who can apply through the e-VISA portal, who don't have access to the 1-year visa-free regime, and who want to spend substantial time in Georgia working remotely for foreign employers. The typical fit is a national of a country with shorter visa-free entitlement (or none), working remotely for foreign clients or a foreign employer, who wants predictable long-stay status without applying for a residence permit.

Can I work in Georgia with a C-5 visa?#

Only for non-residents, and only where the work relates to their activity outside Georgia — foreign clients, a foreign company that employs you remotely, your own non-Georgian business. Working for Georgian companies or serving Georgian clients falls outside what C-5 permits. The framework is "tourism plus work for non-residents" — not a labour-market entry visa.

What documents does the application need?#

Evidence that your work fits the C-5 activity rule (an employment contract with a non-resident employer, or client or business documents showing the work is for non-residents), travel and accommodation details, evidence that you can fund the stay, health insurance covering your time in Georgia, and a valid passport. We check the file for completeness before it is submitted.

How and where do I apply, and how long does it take?#

Through the Foreign Ministry's e-VISA portal only — Georgian consulates abroad don't issue C-5. The rules for the e-visa channel took effect in May 2026. The decision is due on the fifth working day after the application, or within ten working days where further checks are needed. A government application charge applies and is paid separately.

What if my application is refused?#

Georgia can refuse a C-5 on immigration-policy grounds, and that refusal can't be appealed; nor can refusals on certain other statutory grounds, such as an entry ban or security concerns. Other refusals can be appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within a short deadline. This makes file completeness and a genuine fit with the C-5 rules critical at the application stage. We minimise refusal risk by assembling defensible files for genuinely eligible candidates, and we don't push readers toward applications where the eligibility is marginal.

Can my family come with me on C-5?#

Yes. The law extends C-5 to the holder's spouse and minor children. Each family member is still issued their own visa; we can prepare their applications with yours on request, subject to eligibility and the agreed scope.

Does C-5 lead to residence permits or citizenship?#

No, not directly. C-5 is a short-stay tourist visa, not an immigration status, and it doesn't carry the rights of a residence permit. For foreigners who want a path toward long-term Georgian presence with progression rights, a residence permit is the right starting point — see Residency.

How does C-5 interact with Georgian tax residency?#

Under the standard rule, 183 or more qualifying days within any continuous 12-month period ending in the relevant tax year make you a Georgian tax resident, regardless of your visa status. C-5 doesn't change the tax-residency analysis — if you use most of your C-5 year in one stretch, you reach 183 days and become a Georgian tax resident, with all that implies for your home-country tax position. Most C-5 holders who plan extended stays should also assess their Georgian tax residency position. See Tax Residency for the framework.

Ready to assess?#

If you hold a passport with the 1-year visa-free regime, C-5 likely doesn't add value for your situation — Residency Scoping confirms this in writing. If you're from a country with shorter visa-free entitlement and want the predictable long-stay status, C-5 may be the right path and we handle the application end-to-end. The free consultation determines which engagement actually fits your situation.