Georgia: visa and entry rules

Do you need a visa for Georgia, and what is asked at the border

Most people need no visa. Citizens of 94 countries enter Georgia without one. The list is set by Government Ordinance No. 255 of 5 June 2015, current version dated 24 February 2026. Note the number: almost every article online still says 98 countries — they simply missed the latest amendment. The list is revised regularly, so check it again before you travel.

A passport — or, for EU citizens, an ID card. By law (Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons, Article 4) a valid travel document is required. Ordinance No. 255 separately allows EU citizens to enter on a national ID card provided it carries name, surname, date of birth and a photograph.

Insurance became mandatory on 1 January 2026. Government Ordinance No. 602 of 26 December 2025 requires a policy covering at least 30,000 GEL, valid for the whole stay, issued in English or Georgian, on paper or electronically. The fine for travelling without one is 300 GEL. In practice the policy is checked not only at the border but at the airline desk, so you can be stopped before you even fly.

Money. By law (Article 11) lacking funds sufficient for your stay and your return journey is grounds for refusal of entry. The law names no figure, and it would be dishonest to invent one: the officer decides.

What gets people turned back. By law (Article 11) entry may be refused for missing documents, insurance or funds; an existing entry ban; an unpaid fine from a previous violation; false information in documents; a threat to national security or public order; or criminal prosecution for terrorism, drug trafficking or human trafficking.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia treats entry into these territories from the Russian side as illegal, and the consequence for a traveller is being refused entry to Georgia. You cannot reach Abkhazia from Georgia, so the order of countries in your route changes nothing.

How long you can stay in Georgia without a visa

A year, not 90 days. Under Ordinance No. 255, citizens of listed countries may stay in Georgia for up to one full year per entry. This is the exception, not the general rule: by law (Article 10.2) the baseline visa-free period is 90 days within any 180-day period. Anyone reading only the law will get this wrong.

The clock starts on the day you first cross the border — by law (Article 2, point "r").

Visa validity and permitted stay are two different things. By law (Article 2, points "g" and "r") the validity of a visa tells you when you may enter; the permitted stay tells you how long you may remain. A short-stay multiple-entry C visa allows no more than 90 days within any 180, however many months the visa itself runs. This is a constant source of confusion.

Extending on the spot is mostly impossible. By law (Articles 9, 14, 15) ordinary short-stay C visas are not extended. Extension exists for diplomatic, service and immigration visas of categories D3 and D5. Anyone wanting to stay longer applies for a residence permit.

Visa runs. In practice the one-year clock restarts on each entry, so leaving and coming back resets it — people have relied on this for years. But it is practice, not entitlement: no law obliges an officer to let you in, and one may refuse if the passport shows a string of short exits. Do not build long-term plans on it; if you need a secure basis to live in the country, that is a residence permit.

Georgia’s borders: every crossing point

Georgia’s land border crossings, grouped by neighbour:

With Armenia: Sadakhlo, Guguti, Ninotsminda, Akhkerpi.
With Turkey: Sarpi, Vale, Kartsakhi.
With Azerbaijan: Red Bridge (Tsiteli Khidi), Lagodekhi, Vakhtangisi.
With Russia: Upper Lars (Kazbegi) — the only land crossing between the two countries.

The Azerbaijani border is closed for entry. Azerbaijan closed its land borders in March 2020 and has extended the closure ever since, most recently to July 2026. In practice an ordinary traveller cannot cross from Georgia into Azerbaijan by land; leaving Azerbaijan for Georgia by land is generally possible. Private cars, especially foreign-plated ones, are often not allowed through even outbound. Do not plan a Tbilisi–Baku drive: fly.

Opening hours. In practice most crossings run around the clock. Akhkerpi on the Armenian border and Vakhtangisi on the Azerbaijani border operate in daylight only.

Upper Lars is the bottleneck of the whole Caucasus. In practice the road runs over the Jvari Pass, is closed in winter for avalanches and snow, and in high season the queue stretches beyond twenty-four hours. Never connect this crossing to a flight or a non-refundable booking.

Going back through Upper Lars is a separate matter, and it is not Georgia doing the checking. In practice the search on the Russian side is markedly more thorough than on the Georgian one: bags are gone through, phones and laptops are inspected, and you are asked about the purpose of your trip and where you have been. Printed matter draws particular attention — importing anything on Russia's federal list of extremist materials is prohibited, and a book or a leaflet is enough to start a conversation. You may be taken aside and held for several hours. This is not rare and does not always mean trouble, but allow generous time for the crossing.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The crossings on the Georgian side are closed.

Only at official checkpoints. By law (Articles 3 and 4) the border may be crossed only at open checkpoints and during their established hours.

Driving into Georgia

The car gets 90 days; you get a year. In practice a foreign-plated car may remain in Georgia for 90 days, while the driver's visa-free period is 365. The two clocks run separately, and that is the main trap: people are certain they have six months left while the car is already overdue and accruing a fine. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes get 60 days.

When the 90 days run out. In practice there are three routes: take the car out, extend by another 30 days at roughly 5 GEL per day, or place it under temporary import on Georgian plates for up to three years.

The fine. In practice 50 GEL for each day overdue, capped at 1,000 GEL in total.

Vehicle insurance is separate from yours. In practice third-party liability for a foreign-plated car must be covered for the whole stay. The policy is bought at the border or online, and the fine for going without is 100 GEL. Your own medical policy does not replace it — these are two different things.

Documents. In practice the border asks for your passport, driving licence, registration document and insurance. A national licence is accepted; an international permit is not required. If the driver is not the owner, you need a notarised power of attorney that explicitly grants the right to take the vehicle abroad, preferably translated into English. A rental car will not be let across without written permission from the rental company.

Check at the crossing. The periods and fines for vehicles sit in a ministerial regulation that is not publicly available — you will not find them in the Customs Code. Everything above is settled practice rather than the letter of the law, and you cannot cite it in a dispute.

Bringing a dog or cat into Georgia

The microchip goes first — this is the crucial part. In practice the animal must carry a 15-digit microchip to ISO 11784/11785, and it must be implanted before the rabies vaccination. If the chip comes second, the vaccination does not count and the whole sequence starts again. This is the single most common mistake and it costs months.

Rabies. In practice the vaccination must be given no later than 21 days and no earlier than 11 months before entry. Puppies and kittens are not vaccinated before three months of age, followed by a further 30-day wait.

Other vaccinations. In practice dogs need distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and parainfluenza; cats need rhinotracheitis, panleukopenia and feline leukaemia. All within 11 months of entry.

Health certificate. In practice it is issued no earlier than 10 days before entry and endorsed by the state veterinary service of the departure country.

No titre test for Georgia — but think about the way back. In practice a rabies antibody test is not required to enter Georgia. Georgia is, however, classed as a high-rabies-risk country, so if you later take the animal into the European Union you will need the titre test plus a three-month wait after it. Doing it before you leave home is far easier: from Georgia it means three months of standing still.

No quarantine where the requirements are met. Where they are not, the animal may be returned, isolated or put down, with all costs falling on the owner.

Overstaying in Georgia: fines and entry bans

There is a fine, but the law does not state the amount. By law (Article 47) a foreigner whose permitted stay has expired must pay an administrative fine; the figure itself sits in another act. The numbers circulating on forums are unsupported — expect a process rather than a set price, and take the amount only from the border service itself.

Not paying closes the border to you. By law (Articles 11, 47 and 63) no new visa is issued and entry is refused until the fine is settled. An overstay therefore bites not when you leave but on your next trip — which is when people find out.

Expulsion and ban. By law (Articles 51 and 63) a person staying without legal grounds may be expelled by decision of the police or a court, and an expelled person is barred from entering for two to five years. The exact term is set by the deciding authority.

Leaving on your own beats being expelled. By law a person subject to expulsion is given a period for voluntary departure — 10 to 30 days. If they leave within it, an entry ban is normally not imposed.

Your car's overstay is counted separately from yours and under its own rules — see the section on driving.