Georgia Visa & Entry Requirements (2026)
Georgia has one of the most generous visa policies on Earth: citizens of the US, UK, EU/Schengen, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and dozens more — including Brazil, South Africa, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia — get visa-free entry for up to 365 days per calendar year, no application, no fee, no visa run. It's not universal, though: China's deal is a much shorter 30 days per visit, and travelers from India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia need a Georgia e-Visa arranged in advance. The one thing that changed for 2026: since January 1, every foreign visitor, regardless of visa status, must carry travel medical insurance covering at least 30,000 GEL (roughly $11,000), checked at the border.
Georgia's visa deal is, without exaggeration, one of the best in global travel — a full calendar year, visa-free, for a huge list of nationalities, no paperwork required. But 'huge list' doesn't mean everyone gets the same deal: a few major markets, including China and India, work completely differently, and that's easy to miss if you're going by a generic 'Georgia is visa-free' headline. There's also a real, dated change for 2026 that a lot of travel content hasn't caught up to yet: mandatory insurance, checked at entry, for everyone. Here's the accurate, current version of all of it.
Visa-free stay by nationality
| Passport | Visa-free stay | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Up to 365 days per calendar year | No advance application, no fee — just show up with a valid passport. |
| United Kingdom | Up to 365 days per calendar year | Unaffected by Brexit — Georgia's visa-free policy is set bilaterally, not through EU arrangements. |
| EU / Schengen countries | Up to 365 days per calendar year | Same terms as the US and UK. |
| Canada, Australia, New Zealand | Up to 365 days per calendar year | Same terms as above. |
| India | Visa required — no visa-free entry | One of the biggest exceptions to Georgia's generous reputation: Indian passport holders need a Georgia e-Visa (or a full visa) arranged before arrival — there's no visa-free or visa-on-arrival option as of 2026. |
| China | Up to 30 days per visit (max 90 days per any 180-day period) | A mutual visa-exemption deal with China took effect in 2024 and has been fully in force in Georgia since February 2025 — it's real and current, but it's tourism-only and a fraction of the headline 365-day window, not the same deal other nationalities get. |
| UAE, Saudi Arabia | Up to 365 days per calendar year | Both Gulf states sit on Georgia's full visa-free list on the same terms as the US, UK, and EU — no e-visa or advance paperwork needed. |
| South Africa | Up to 365 days per calendar year | South African passport holders get the same full-year, no-paperwork deal as North American and European travelers. |
| Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile | Up to 365 days per calendar year | Georgia's visa-free list runs deep into Latin America — these four get the same 365-day terms as the US/UK/EU group. |
| Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam | Malaysia: up to 365 days, visa-free. Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam: e-Visa required | Southeast Asia isn't one bloc here — Malaysian passport holders enter visa-free, while Philippine, Indonesian, and Vietnamese travelers all need to apply for a Georgia e-Visa online before flying. |
| Everyone else | Check the official list before booking | Roughly 90+ nationalities get some form of visa-free entry, but a meaningful number still need an e-visa or standard visa — confirm your specific passport on Georgia's e-Visa portal (evisa.gov.ge) or Ministry of Foreign Affairs site. |
365 days a year is not a narrow tourist stamp — it's genuinely close to a year of residency-lite. You can rent an apartment, open a local bank account, and work remotely for a non-Georgian employer during that period. It does not, by itself, grant the right to take up local employment with a Georgian company — that needs a separate work permit.
New for 2026: mandatory travel medical insurance
Since January 1, 2026, every foreign visitor entering Georgia — visa-free or not — must present valid travel medical and accident insurance covering at least 30,000 GEL (roughly $11,000), for the full length of their stay, in Georgian or English, physical or electronic. It can be requested at air, land, or sea border crossings. A handful of categories are exempt (accredited diplomatic staff, certain treaty-based entrants, international freight/passenger drivers) — everyday tourists are not among the exemptions. Buy a standard travel insurance policy before you fly and keep proof of it accessible on arrival; this is a genuinely new rule as of this year and easy to miss if you're reading older travel advice.
Other entry basics
- Your passport should have a reasonable amount of validity left — check the current requirement for your nationality, as rules can vary.
- Border officers occasionally ask about onward travel or accommodation plans — having a hotel booking or return ticket handy smooths things along.
- The 365-day visa-free period is per calendar year, not a rolling 12 months from your entry date — worth knowing if you're planning a trip that spans a New Year's transition.
If you need more than 365 days
Long-term stays beyond the visa-free year typically require a Georgian residence permit, which has its own separate application process, income or investment thresholds depending on the category, and is a materially bigger undertaking than the visa-free entry most travelers use — worth researching well ahead if that's your actual goal rather than a standard trip.