Tbilisi for remote founders: visas, work permits, coworking and founder meetups (2026)

Tbilisi suits founders who want a base on UTC+4 between Europe and Asia, a long visa-free stay and a low small business tax rate, and who don't mind a small founder scene. The catch is new: since 1 March 2026 Georgia requires a work permit for foreigners who work in the country, including remotely, so the old "a year visa-free, just bring your laptop" plan needs a second look. GOV.UK also reports long-running street protests in central Tbilisi. Everything below was checked on 28 October 2026 against the official, venue or group page linked next to it.

Visas and residency routes a founder would actually use

Most founders start on the one-year visa-free stay, but since March 2026 the stay alone doesn't cover working. The routes that matter are the visa-free stay, a work permit with a work residence permit, the IT residence permit and the investment residence permit.

The one-year visa-free stay

Georgia's Government Resolution 255 says "Citizens of the countries listed in the annex may enter and stay in Georgia without visa for one full year." The annex includes Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Germany. The free public text on Matsne is the 2015 version, and the consolidated text sits behind a paywall. The most recent amendment, Resolution 80 of 24 February 2026, only changed a note about Ukrainian citizens and didn't add or remove countries.

GOV.UK's entry requirements page matches this for British citizens: "You can visit Georgia without a visa for up to one year." It adds that longer stays, or travel for work or study, need a longer-term visa.

The 1 March 2026 work permit rule

This is the part most older nomad guides miss. The Georgian Foreign Ministry says amendments to the Law on Labour Migration took effect on 1 March 2026, and that foreigners who work in Georgia, "including remotely", need a work permit. Its notice says:

• Self-employed foreigners complete the electronic application themselves and pay the fee. The permit names your field, sector and type of business.
• Validity. A work permit is granted for one year, for a specific position and a specific employer.
• Transition. Self-employed foreigners already working in Georgia on 1 March 2026 were covered from 1 May 2026. People with an active status in the unified database on 1 March 2026 have until 1 January 2027 to get the work permit and matching residence permit.
• Exemptions include holders of a valid investment residence permit and holders of a permanent residence permit.
• Fees depend on processing time, but the notice doesn't list amounts. Non-compliance can bring fines for both the worker and the employer.

GOV.UK says the same in plain terms: foreign nationals working remotely or running a business need a work permit. Neither page explains how the rule treats a founder whose company and clients are entirely outside Georgia, so treat it as applying to you until a Georgian adviser tells you otherwise.

Residence permits

The Public Service Development Agency lists the permits and fees. The ones a founder would look at:

A few details from the agency page:

• Work residence permit. The employer side needs annual turnover of at least GEL 50,000 per foreign worker (GEL 35,000 for schools and medical facilities).
• IT residence permit. It covers "an alien who is registered in Georgia as an entrepreneurial natural person having the status of small business". The pay has to have arrived at least twice in the past year, 30 days apart, and you need a right-to-work decision.
• Investment residence permit. A cash investment has to be followed by annual turnover of at least USD 50,000 in year one, USD 100,000 in year two and USD 120,000 in years three to five. The Foreign Ministry notice lists this permit as exempt from the work permit.
• Timing. For most permits you apply 40 calendar days before your lawful stay ends. The page lists the investment, short-term and IT permits among the exceptions.

For how Georgia compares with countries that offer a dedicated remote work visa, see our digital nomad visas guide and the startup visas guide.

Where founders work

A handful of Tbilisi spaces publish prices on their own sites. These were checked on 28 October 2026:

Notes from the pages themselves:

• TWENTYFIVE says it's available 24/7 and you can book online and get access in minutes. Its contacts page gives the address.
• Impact Hub Tbilisi sits inside Fabrika. Its HUB Week pass is 140 GEL for one week, and HUB Three covers 3 days a week. The page lists the plans under a "Price/Month" heading but doesn't spell out the period for each plan, so confirm before you pay. All plans include Wi-Fi, printing and utilities.
• Vake Cowork says it's on Chavchavadze Avenue "in the center of the financial district". A desk in a private office for 5 to 22 people is 950 GEL a month.
• D Block is listed on Stamba's site as "24/7 Co-Working & Event Spaces", but no prices are shown there.

Pick by where you'll live. Of the spaces listing prices, TWENTYFIVE has the lowest month and 24/7 access. Impact Hub sells a one-week pass for 140 GEL and lists invitations to member-only events among its plan benefits.

Where founders meet

Tbilisi's founder scene is real but small and irregular. We couldn't verify any weekly founder or nomad night, so plan to make your own connections. These groups had dated events on their own pages when checked on 28 October 2026:

• Startup Grind Tbilisi shows 4,497 members. It ran a Startup Connect Happy Hour on Friday 15 May 2026 and an Accelerators Showcase at the Ilia State University theatre on Thursday 4 June 2026, and co-hosted a talk on robotic manufacturing and data centres on Sunday 25 October 2026. No upcoming event was listed.
• eChai Tbilisi has proposed a Startup Mixer for 12 November 2026, 6 PM to 8 PM. It only goes ahead once 10 founders show interest, and the page showed "4 of 10 so far". The event page says it moved from 15 October because too few founders had signed up. A second mixer is listed for Thursday 10 December.
• Startup founders breakfast Tbilisi shows 326 members on Meetup. Its last event was a "Startup founders (late) breakfast" on Thursday 8 October with 5 attendees, and none was scheduled when we checked. It's small, but it's aimed squarely at founders.
• Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi is the big annual event. The 2026 edition ran 19 to 21 June, with the flagship day at Factory Tbilisi, and the site says it expected 10,000+ participants and listed 80+ official side events. A launch event for the 2027 edition is set for 5 December 2026 at Mtatsminda Hall.

If you want a regular room before you land, our guide to communities for remote founders covers online groups you can join from anywhere.

Business basics

The short version: get the right to work sorted first, bank with a passport and a branch visit, and count your days.

The 1% small business status

Georgia's Tax Code says "The status of a small business may be granted to an entrepreneur natural person", which means a registered individual entrepreneur. The rules:

• Rate. Taxable income is taxed at 1% (Article 90).
• Cap. Once gross income passes GEL 500,000 in a calendar year, it's taxed at 3% from that month to the end of the year. Wine and agro tourism operators have a GEL 700,000 limit.
• Losing it. The status is revoked if gross income passes GEL 500,000 in each of two calendar years (Article 89).
• Excluded activities. The Government can bar certain activities from the status (Article 88), so check yours before you build your plan around 1%.

You apply to the tax authority for the status. Article 88 doesn't limit it by citizenship, but since 1 March 2026 a foreign individual entrepreneur also needs the work permit described above.

Banking and getting paid

TBC Bank's expat page says "You only need your international passport and mobile phone number." You start the application in its Mobile Banking app, then finish at a branch. It says National Bank of Georgia rules require the original ID document, not a copy, and that the account is multi-currency. We couldn't read Bank of Georgia's non-resident page, so we're not quoting it.

Many remote founders keep their home business account or a multi-currency account and invoice from their own company. If you register as a Georgian individual entrepreneur, a local account makes paying the 1% simpler. Our guide to business accounts for remote founders compares the options.

Tax residency

Article 34 of the Tax Code makes you a Georgian resident for the whole tax year if you stay "183 or more days in any continuous 12-calendar-month period ending in that tax year". GOV.UK adds that if you stay more than 183 days and do any paid employment, you're automatically liable for income tax and must notify the Revenue Service.

The visa-free year and the 183-day test run on different clocks. A year in Tbilisi will make you resident, whatever your visa status. Read our tax residency guide and talk to an adviser in both countries before you settle.

Time zones

Tbilisi is on Georgia Standard Time, UTC+4 all year, and never changes its clocks. From 1 November 2026, when the US clocks change:

• US Eastern: New York moves to UTC-5, 9 hours behind Tbilisi. 9 AM in New York is 6 PM in Tbilisi, so US East Coast calls land in your evening.
• US Pacific: Los Angeles moves to UTC-8, 12 hours behind. 9 AM in Los Angeles is 9 PM in Tbilisi.
• Central Europe: Berlin is on UTC+1 after summer time ended on 25 October 2026, so Tbilisi is 3 hours ahead. 9 AM in Berlin is noon in Tbilisi, which gives a full afternoon overlap. From 28 March 2027 the gap drops to 2 hours.
• Australia: Sydney is on UTC+11 until 4 April 2027, so it's 7 hours ahead. 9 AM in Tbilisi is 4 PM in Sydney, which leaves a short morning window. From 4 April 2027 Sydney drops to UTC+10 and the gap is 6 hours.

Until 1 November 2026 the US is still on summer time, so New York is 8 hours behind and Los Angeles 11. Tbilisi works best for teams and customers in Europe, with a morning window to Australia and evening calls to the US. Our guide to running a team across time zones has patterns that work.

Monthly cost band

Numbeo's crowd-sourced data puts a single person's monthly costs at about ₾1,725.30 excluding rent. A one-bedroom apartment averages ₾1,795.19 a month in the city centre and ₾1,182.56 outside it. The Numbeo page was last updated on 27 October 2026 and draws on 1,708 entries from 162 contributors in the past 12 months.

That adds up to roughly ₾2,900 a month outside the centre and ₾3,500 in it. Add 350 GEL to 650 GEL a month for a desk from the table above and you have a working estimate before flights, insurance and any permit fees. Treat it as a rough guide, not a budget.

Safety and the political situation

Crime isn't the main concern in Tbilisi, the protests are. GOV.UK's safety page, checked on 28 October 2026, says "9 September marked the 650th consecutive day of protests" and that some have led to violent confrontation between police and protesters. In Tbilisi they're mainly focused on the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue but can spread, particularly on Saturday evenings and on anniversaries of significant political events. The same page says crime levels are low.

Common mistakes

• Relying on the visa-free year to work. Since 1 March 2026 the Foreign Ministry says foreigners need a work permit to work in Georgia, including remotely. Read the notice and get advice before you open your laptop for clients.
• Registering for 1% without checking your activity. The Government can exclude activities from small business status, and the 1% rate becomes 3% above GEL 500,000.
• Reading an old nomad guide. Guides written before March 2026 predate the work permit rule. Check the official pages linked above, and note the dates.
• Forgetting the 183-day count. A full visa-free year makes you tax resident under Article 34, whatever your visa status says.
• Turning up at the bank with a copy. TBC says National Bank of Georgia rules require your original passport, and you finish the account at a branch.
• Booking a flat on Rustaveli Avenue without checking the news. Protests centre on the Parliament building there, especially on Saturday nights.

Bring Remote Builders to Tbilisi

Remote Builders runs city chapters: monthly nights for people building businesses remotely, each run by a member who lives in the city. Bali Startup & Tech in Canggu is chapter one. No city outside Bali has a chapter yet, Tbilisi included. A chapter opens when a member who lives there applies to host and runs a first event, so if you're based in Tbilisi, apply to host or read more on the chapters page.

To meet other remote founders before you land, join Remote Builders (it's free).