Relocate from Turkey to Georgia

Turkish citizens are allowed to enter Georgia without a visa for one year unless otherwise specified. However, for employment purposes as well as for others such as study or family reunification, a Georgia work visa or another one appropriate to the purpose of the stay will be required. In order to relocate from Turkey to Georgia, a foreign national will need to obtain the D immigration visa which comes in five different categories and it is suited for a specific purpose of a long-term stay in the country.

The procedure for obtaining a visa for Georgia immigration purposes is detailed in this article by our team of specialists. Turkish nationals who are interested in more detailed information, or a specific evaluation of their case, can reach out to us for more details.

Relocation from Turkey to Georgia is often facilitated by the fact that the two countries are neighboring ones, and, as such, there is a natural bilateral flow of individuals between their borders.

Types of visas to immigrate to Georgia from Turkey

The D category visas are the ones awarded to individuals who intend to arrive in the country and stay for long-term purposes. We list these below:

• D1: the visa issued for work purposes for foreigners who have signed an employment contract or those who intend to engage in entrepreneurial activities; it is one of the most common ways in which one can move to Georgia from Turkey; it can also be awarded to company representatives or consultants who are assigned official businesses in the country;
• D2: is the visa issued to Turkish individuals who will engage in scientific, cultural, educational or sports activities; it also applies to interns or volunteers and press workers;
• D3: the study visa for Turkish nationals who have been accepted to a Georgian educational institution or those who are part of an international educational programme;
• D4: this is the visa issued to those who relocate to Georgia from Turkey for family reunification purposes;
• D5: the investment visa awarded to the investor in real estate and his or her family, under certain conditions.

This is a brief outline of the types of visas and we suggest reaching out to our agents for more details about each type. The documents that will be required will depend on the selected D visa, for example, the employment contract or the proof of admission for a Master’s or Ph.D. degree with a Georgian University. Our team can give you more information about these documents based on your motive when you relocate to Georgia from Turkey.

In order to remain in the country based on your residence permit for Georgia, you will also need to apply for the residence card within one month of receiving the permit. This is done at the Community Centre, at any territorial office of the Public Service Development Agency, or with a branch of the Public Service Hall. Our team can give you more details and can help you apply.

Conditions for obtaining Georgia citizenship

Once a foreign national has lived for a minimum number of years in the country, he or she may apply for citizenship by naturalization. This can be the main goal for those who wish to immigrate to Georgia from Turkey. The main conditions for acquiring citizenship are the following:

1. Lawful residence: the applicant must have lived in Georgia for 10 consecutive years before applying for citizenship; we can give you more details about Georgia permanent residence as needed;
2. Basic knowledge: it is expected that the applicant has sufficient knowledge of the language as well as the country’s history and law;
3. Job: the applicant must have a job or own real estate in Georgia; he can also have a business established here;
4. Through the simplified procedure: an individual who is married to a Georgian citizen and who has lived in the country for 5 years, uninterruptedly, can benefit from a faster procedure for acquiring citizenship, provided that the other conditions are met.

One of our agents can provide interested Turkish nationals with more information on the exact process and the submissions that are required in order to gain citizenship after the minimum amount of time has been spent lawfully living in the country.

If you are not a Turkish national and you have questions about citizenship in Georgia, our team can also assist you. Acquiring this status is possible irrespective of one’s nationality, however, it is conditioned by a minimum number of years spent lawfully and uninterruptedly in the country, as well as by one’s ability to show sufficient language knowledge, as well as meet other important criteria.

Turkish nationals interested in Georgia immigration

Turkey is one of the countries with the largest number of immigrants in Georgia. In fact, the relationship between the two countries is mutual in terms of immigration. According to data from the Turkish Ministry of Interior, in 2016 over 18,500 Georgian citizens had a Turkish residence permit. The bilateral nature of immigration is natural for bordering countries.

Below, our team of agents who specialize in citizenship presents a set of data on the number of immigrants according to their country of origin:

• in 2016 there were 6,294 immigrants from Turkey;
• out of the total number, 4,823 were men and 1,471 were women;
• by comparison, the number of Turkish immigrants in Georgia in 2015 was 5,810.

The data used for the overview of the number of immigrants in Georgia is an estimative one, based on information from GeoStat, the National Statistical Office in the country.

Those who wish to know more about the conditions to move to Georgia from Turkey and obtain Georgia permanent residence can contact us for more details. Our team provides complete immigration assistance services that include both the pre and post-arrival phases.