Georgia’s ruling party has introduced legislative amendments that would allow foreign nationals to carry out certain professional activities in the country without obtaining residence or work permits, provided the work is short-term and project-based.
The initiative, already submitted to Parliament, proposes adding a special article to the Law on “Labor Migration” to address gaps in the current framework, which does not distinguish between temporary and long-term employment.
Under the draft law, foreigners will be permitted to engage in short-term professional activities in Georgia without a work or residence permit if their work is tied to a specific project, event, or service, does not lead to long-term participation in the local labor market, and is carried out as a temporary visit.
The government will determine the list of eligible activities, their duration, and the criteria for defining them as short-term through a separate decree.
Importantly, individuals operating under this framework will not be classified as labor immigrants or self-employed foreigners in Georgia.
The proposed amendments also expand the list of activities exempt from the law’s requirements. These include individuals holding a special residence permit issued on the initiative of a government member, employment in public institutions or state-participated enterprises, and various forms of remote work—such as working for a Georgian employer from abroad or providing services to a non-resident entity outside the country.
Additionally, managerial roles and participation in audit committees in first, second, and third category enterprises, as defined by the Law on “Accounting, Reporting and Auditing,” will also be exempt.
Authors of the initiative claim that the existing legal framework applies uniform immigration procedures to all types of professional activity, regardless of duration or purpose. In practice, this has created challenges in cases where foreign specialists are invited for short-term, one-off assignments, often requiring urgent timelines.
They argue that the current system imposes unnecessary administrative barriers that can delay or disrupt economic and operational processes.
The amendments aim to reduce bureaucratic pressure and introduce a more flexible mechanism that recognizes the specific nature of short-term professional visits, allowing them to be carried out legally without undergoing full immigration procedures.
Lawmakers also stress that granting the Government authority to define detailed criteria through secondary legislation will ensure adaptability, enabling regulations to be adjusted in line with evolving labor market needs.
The proposed changes are expected to streamline labor migration management while supporting business efficiency and international cooperation, particularly in sectors that rely on short-term foreign expertise.
