We check whether you're exempt. If you're not, we handle the application.

What you get#

Two distinct outcomes, depending on your situation.

If an exemption applies, you get a documented assessment. A Residency Scoping (€290) maps your configuration against the exemptions in Article 1(4) of the Law of Georgia on Labour Migration and the short-term professional activity rules in Article 13⁹. We set out which ground applies, why, and the documents that support it, so the basis is on file before anyone asks. The assessment is our professional advice; it is not a decision of the State Employment Support Agency and does not bind it. Where an exemption clearly applies, the Scoping is the entire engagement.

If no exemption applies, you get the application handled end-to-end. We prepare the application file with the supporting documentation, brief you on each step, and follow the application through to a decision. Applications are filed on the labourmigration.moh.gov.ge portal: by your Georgian employer if you are an employee, or by you personally if you are self-employed. Government Ordinance No. 70, as amended in July 2026, doesn't allow a self-employed applicant to file through a representative. Self-employed applicants then attend a mandatory video interview with the State Employment Support Agency, and we prepare you for it. A government fee applies, higher for the expedited route of 10 working days. It is paid separately and is not part of our fees.

The combined effect: a clear view of your work-permit position before you commit to a structure, and execution when the right to work is required.

What we do#

The first 30 minutes of any work permit conversation is determining whether you actually need one.

Step 1 — Residency Scoping. We map your situation against the exemption framework: your residency status, your structure (IE, LLC, VZ, IC, FIZ, employee, board member), your client base (Georgian or foreign), your physical-presence pattern in Georgia and, for company directors, the company's size category. Article 1(4) lists fourteen grounds, (a) to (n). A handful are relevant to foreign founders, and each turns on specific facts. We produce a written assessment naming the ground we consider applicable, or confirming that the right to work is needed, with the documentary evidence for each conclusion.

Step 2 (only if not exempt) — Application preparation. Where the right to work is required, for example for a foreign employee of a Georgian company or a self-employed foreigner whose activity no exemption covers, we prepare the full application file. For employees, that means the employment contract documentation, employer details and the Georgian-language elements the portal requires. For self-employed applicants, it means the activity and turnover documentation the rules ask for.

Step 3 (only if not exempt) — Video interview coaching. Self-employed applicants attend a mandatory video interview with the State Employment Support Agency after filing. It is held in Georgian or English, an interpreter is allowed, and you need the original passport used for the application. We brief you on the questions and the documents to have at hand.

Step 4 (only if not exempt) — Filing and tracking. The application is filed on the labourmigration.moh.gov.ge portal, by your Georgian employer for an employee or by you personally if you are self-employed. We prepare everything before submission, track the application through the Agency's review, and help answer any request for additional information within the 10 calendar days the rules allow. The Agency decides within 30 calendar days of a complete application, or within 10 working days on the expedited route at the higher fee.

What's included#

Residency Scoping (the standalone €290 engagement):

• Mapping of your situation against the Article 1(4) exemptions and the Article 13⁹ short-term professional activity rules
• Identification of the ground that applies, paragraph by paragraph, or confirmation that the right to work is needed
• Written assessment citing the legal ground and the documentary evidence supporting it (our advice, not a decision of the State Employment Support Agency)
• Brief on what to keep on file in case of inspection
• Q&A on edge cases, configuration changes that could affect your position, and forward-looking implications (e.g., what if you start hiring local staff, what if your client base shifts, what if your company changes category)

Work Permit Application (when required):

• Full application file preparation
• Employment contract review and Georgian-language element drafting where needed
• Full coaching session for the mandatory video interview (self-employed applicants)
• Filing support on labourmigration.moh.gov.ge (the filing itself is made by your Georgian employer, or by you if self-employed)
• Application tracking and agency-correspondence handling
• Government fee coordination (the fee is paid separately and is not part of our fees)

Who is exempt under the 2026 framework#

Article 1(4) of the Law on Labour Migration lists the situations the Law does not apply to. The grounds most relevant to foreign founders are below, lettered as in the current English text on Matsne. Whether one applies to you depends on the facts, which the Residency Scoping establishes.

Services for clients outside Georgia — paragraph (k). Work or services for a non-resident person, where the work relates to that person's activities outside Georgia. This is the ground most relevant to freelancers and contractors billing foreign clients. Government Ordinance No. 70, as amended in July 2026, adds a condition: the ground does not cover an individual entrepreneur who needs a residence permit to stay in Georgia lawfully. Whether an IE holder can rely on (k) therefore depends on their residence position as well as their clients.

Managing a larger Georgian company — paragraph (l). Managerial or governing activity under the Law on Entrepreneurs at a Category I, II or III enterprise as defined by the Law on Accounting, Reporting and Audit, or activity on an audit committee. Category IV is not listed. It is the smallest class: an entity that meets at least two of three tests, namely assets up to GEL 1 million, revenue up to GEL 2 million and up to 10 employees. Under the July 2026 implementing rules, a company that is not identified as Category I, II or III (or as a public interest entity) from its published financial statements is treated as Category IV. A director of a small or newly formed company should not assume (l) applies.

Working from abroad for a Georgian employer — paragraph (j). Labour activity for a Georgian employer carried out entirely from outside Georgia, where the work does not require entering the country.

Short-term professional activity — paragraph (h) and Article 13⁹. During a temporary visit, a foreigner may carry out professional activity linked to a specific short-term project, event or service without the right to work. Government Ordinance No. 70, as amended in July 2026, caps this at four months in total in a calendar year. It also requires the Georgian employer or service organiser to register the activity on the labour migration portal before it starts. Without a confirmed registration, the activity does not count as short-term professional activity.

Investment residence permit holders — paragraph (f). Holders of a valid investment residence permit are outside the Law's scope.

Treaty-based rules — paragraph (e). People to whom an international treaty of Georgia applies a different employment rule.

The remaining paragraphs cover narrower situations, among them refugees and asylum seekers, diplomatic and international-organisation staff, accredited journalists, special residence permit holders, public-sector engagements and cultural heritage restoration. Founders often combine roles, such as an IE billing foreign clients who is also director of a Georgian company. Each activity is assessed on its own ground; an exemption for one activity does not carry over to another.

When the work permit is actually required#

The right to work is generally required in these situations:

Foreign employee of a Georgian company, working in Georgia, with no exemption applying. A foreign national employed by a Georgian employer under a Georgian employment contract. The employer applies on the employee's behalf. International Company status holders are spared the employer quota step under Ordinance No. 70, but their foreign employees still need the right to work unless an exemption applies.

Self-employed foreigner whose activity no exemption covers. Trade, services or other activity carried out in Georgia for financial gain. Unless another ground applies, this includes a director of a Category IV company and, under Government Ordinance No. 70, an individual entrepreneur who needs a residence permit to stay in Georgia lawfully.

Edge configurations the Residency Scoping surfaces. Mixed roles, transitional periods, structures in flight, or activity patterns that don't fit cleanly into one ground. These cases are real and we work through them in detail in the Scoping.

Which side of the line you sit on is a question of facts, and establishing those facts is the point of the Residency Scoping. A documented assessment costs less than an unnecessary application. Filing when the Law doesn't apply to you also loses the fee: the Agency may leave such an application unconsidered, and the fee is not refunded.

Why Happy Georgia#

Independent advisory. No tied employer of record service, no commission for steering you toward a permit you don't need. We say so when an exemption applies, and handle applications cleanly when they're required.

Foreign clients only. Our entire practice is foreigners setting up in 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 at €290 includes the written assessment. Work Permit application from €1,130; the government fee is paid separately. We quote in EUR, we honor the quote, no surprises later.

Frequently asked questions#

Do I actually need a work permit if I'm a foreign founder of a Georgian LLC?#

It depends on what you do and on the company's size. Holding shares and running the company are assessed separately. If you act as director, paragraph (l) of Article 1(4) covers managerial or governing activity only at Category I, II or III enterprises. A company not identified as Category I, II or III from its published financial statements is treated as Category IV, which the paragraph does not list. If you also work in the business, that work is assessed on its own ground. The Residency Scoping sets out which ground, if any, applies to you and what to keep on file.

What about as an IE billing foreign clients?#

Possibly exempt. Paragraph (k) covers work or services for non-resident clients connected with their activities outside Georgia. Government Ordinance No. 70, as amended in July 2026, excludes from that ground an individual entrepreneur who needs a residence permit to stay in Georgia lawfully. The answer therefore depends on who your clients are, how the work connects to their activities outside Georgia, and your residence position. The Residency Scoping works through your case before you rely on it.

What if I have both an IE and an LLC?#

Each activity is assessed separately. The IE work is tested against paragraph (k), including the residence condition in the implementing rules. A director role in the LLC is tested against paragraph (l), which depends on the company's category. One can apply without the other. The Residency Scoping covers both and documents the outcome for each.

What's the Residency Scoping actually delivering?#

A documented analysis of your configuration against the exemption framework. It names the ground we consider applicable, or confirms that the right to work is needed, with the documentary evidence for each conclusion. It sits in your file in case of inspection. It is our professional assessment: the State Employment Support Agency decides independently and isn't bound by it. The €290 covers the analysis, the written assessment and the consultation Q&A.

Why does any of this matter if I'm exempt anyway?#

Two reasons. First, inspection: if your position is questioned, the facts behind the ground you rely on matter, and a documented assessment with the supporting evidence puts them on file in advance. Second, configuration drift: the analysis can change if your situation changes. You might start hiring local staff, take a Georgian-employed role alongside your founder position, see your company change category, or shift to mixed Georgian-and-foreign clients. The Scoping establishes the baseline.

How long does the work permit application take when it's actually required?#

The Agency decides within 30 calendar days of a complete application, or within 10 working days on the expedited route, which carries a higher government fee. Our preparation work typically runs 1–2 weeks before submission and covers file assembly, interview coaching and filing support. Total timeline from engagement to decision: typically 6–8 weeks for standard, 3–4 weeks for expedited.

What's the mandatory video interview about?#

Self-employed applicants attend a mandatory video interview with the State Employment Support Agency after filing and paying the fee. It is held in Georgian or English, an interpreter is allowed, and you need the original passport used for the application. At the end you confirm your electronic application. Missing the interview, not confirming the application or not showing the original passport are grounds for refusal. Our coaching session prepares you for the questions and the document handling.

Is the application filed by Happy Georgia or by me?#

It is filed on the labourmigration.moh.gov.ge portal by whoever the rules name as the applicant. For an employee, that is the Georgian employer. A self-employed applicant files personally, because Government Ordinance No. 70, as amended in July 2026, doesn't allow filing through a representative. Either way, our service value is the file preparation, the interview coaching and the application tracking, not portal navigation.

What happens if I'm refused?#

Refusals are uncommon for properly prepared applications, but they happen, typically when the role-employer-worker triangle doesn't satisfy the agency's substance threshold. We work through refusals case by case. We appeal where the case is strong, restructure the application where the configuration needs adjustment, or recommend an alternative path (e.g., shifting to an exempt configuration).

What about the work permit's relationship to residency permits?#

They are distinct mechanisms, but linked. The right to work governs labour activity in Georgia; a residence permit governs long-term residence. Where the right to work is required, the Law expects a residence status to follow it. Under Article 13⁵, the holder applies for a D1 immigration visa from abroad or a work residence permit in Georgia, unless they already hold a residence permit or work entirely from outside Georgia. Under Article 15(a) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, a work residence permit is issued to a foreigner who has obtained the right to work, or, in cases set by Government ordinance, to someone whose activity falls outside the Labour Migration Law. Since July 2026, Government Ordinance No. 520 applies that second route to any activity covered by Article 1(4) or 1(5) of the Labour Migration Law: the applicant files proof of the activity instead of a right-to-work decision. See Residency for the full picture.

Ready to set up?#

If you're a foreign founder, IE holder, company director or freelancer billing foreign clients, the Residency Scoping (€290) tells you whether an exemption applies and documents the basis. If the right to work is needed, as a Georgian employee or a self-employed foreigner, we prepare the application end-to-end. The free consultation determines which engagement you actually need.