Relocate from Russia to Georgia

Russia is one of Georgia’s bordering countries and natural immigration and emigration exist between these two countries. Russian nationals are among the most numerous foreign individuals living in Georgia, alongside Turkish or Armenian ones. In order to relocate to Georgia from Russia, individuals will need to do so based on an employment permit or another residence permit in Georgia (according to the purpose of their stay) that will allow them to remain in the country for long periods.

Russian nationals who wish to move to Georgia will need to follow the steps for a lawful relocation. This means that they will need to obtain, keep at all times, and renew as needed a residence permit for Georgia. This permit is issued following the proper submission of documents, and their approval by the authorities. Read below to find out more about the conditions and reach out to us if you have questions.

Enlisting adequate assistance, such as the services offered by our Georgia immigration team, can be very useful before deciding to relocate.  Our immigration specialists provide various services, tailored to the needs of the individual who is willing to move to Georgia from Russia. We are a multilingual team that is accustomed to working with foreign nationals both from neighboring countries and from other locations around the world. Should you decide to relocate from Russia to Georgia and require more information than the ones presented in this article, we invite you to reach out to our specialists.

The Georgia work visa and other types of visas

Georgian visas are issued to foreign nationals who come from countries with which a visa protocol is in place. It is useful to note that not all foreign nationals need to obtain a visa for short term or multiple entries. There are certain countries for which the policy is that a national can stay in Georgia for one year without a visa. Countries that are included on the visa-free travel for one year are Australia, Austria, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Japan, Iceland, Canada, Cyprus, Portugal, Romania, Russia, France, Thailand, Hungary, Ukraine, Sweden, Croatia, and many others.

If you are interested in traveling to Georgia for the limited one-year period and need further information about the policies for staying in the country in this condition, you can reach out to our Georgia immigration specialists.

In all other cases, in which a foreign national intends to immigrate to Georgia from Russia, a D category visa, or an immigration visa, is required. This is issued for:

• D1: can be referred to as the Georgia work visa as it is issued for employment purposes (contracted work);
• D2: for individuals who will engage in sports, cultural, scientific, or educational activities; it is also issued for foreigners who will be volunteers or interns and for freelancers and press workers;
• D3: the study visa for Georgia, issued to foreign nationals who have been admitted to the Tbilisi State University or another recognized educational institution;
• D4: the family reunification visa; this is subject to certain requirements, such as proving the actual relationship; one of our Georgia permanent residence agents can provide more details if you wish to move to Georgia from Russia if you already have family here;
• D5: this is the investor visa, detailed by our specialists in this article; it is important to note that there are conditions for minimum investments in the country.

Other types of visas for Georgia include diplomatic, special, ordinary, and transit visas. For individuals who are interested in relocation from Russia to Georgia, the type D visa will be of interest to long-term stays. Our team can give you more details about the residence permit in Georgia.

Main requirements for obtaining Georgian citizenship

Russian foreign nationals who have obtained a visa for employment, investment, study, or family reunification may be willing to make their relocation permanent and can be interested in obtaining citizenship after a certain period.

The main conditions for obtaining Georgian citizenship are the following:

• Minimum residence: the individual must live in Georgia uninterruptedly for 5 years before submitting the application; the Georgia visa, the residence permit, or residence card is presented upon submission;
• Language knowledge: the applicant is expected to learn the language to a pre-defined level and undergo a language test;
• History and law: additional knowledge about the country’s history and law will be tested;
• Activity: the applicant must be employed in Georgia, own real estate here, or be engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

A Russian national who has been married to a Georgian citizen for two years (and has lawfully and interruptedly lived in the country during this time) can be subject to a simplified citizenship procedure. Our team can give you more details if you plan to immigrate to Georgia from Russia in this manner.

According to data from Geostat, Russian foreigners living in Georgia are among the most numerous and their numbers are highlighted below:

• in 2015, the highest number of immigrants in Georgia came from Russia, with a total of 92,937, followed by immigrants from Ukraine, 22,263;
• there were 2,028 permanent residence permits issued to Russians in 2015-2016;
• during the same period, 463 family reunification permits were issued to Russian nationals.

If you wish to relocate to Georgia from Russia, please contact our team specializing in Georgia immigration for more details.

We assist Russian as well as any other foreign nationals who are ready to apply for citizenship in Georgia. You can reach out to us if you have questions about the naturalization procedure, the mandatory requirements, and how you should prepare the documentation for your application. We can assist you throughout the process, under the ordinary procedure or the simplified one.