From 2026, hiring a foreign employee requires coordination of the employment relationship, work right, D1 visa or relevant residence status and employer notifications; a Georgian contract alone is not sufficient.
Direct answer and scope
From 2026, hiring a foreign employee requires coordination of the employment relationship, work right, D1 visa or relevant residence status and employer notifications; a Georgian contract alone is not sufficient.
In employment, the written terms and actual working arrangement are assessed together. Function, control, time, pay, equal treatment, data and termination grounds should be documented consistently with reality.
- Employees, employers, HR teams, contractors and foreign workers
- Responsible authority: The Labour Inspection Service, labour-migration authority and Common Courts of Georgia
- Jurisdiction: Georgia
Documents and evidence to prepare
Start the assessment with a complete and consistent file covering: passport and lawful stay, employment contract and role, employer details, work right and immigration application.
A foreign document may require apostille or legalisation and a compliant Georgian translation. Check the copy, date, issuer and its connection to the fact being proved.
- passport and lawful stay
- employment contract and role
- employer details
- work right and immigration application
Procedure and working sequence
Preserve the contract, job description, time and pay records, warnings and correspondence. For a foreign worker, separately check the 2026 work-right and immigration requirements.
For this issue, the practical sequence is: check exemptions and transition; prepare vacancy and contract; obtain work right; manage visa or residence and changes. Before each step, recheck the competent authority, filing form and current deadline.
- check exemptions and transition
- prepare vacancy and contract
- obtain work right
- manage visa or residence and changes
Principal risks and common mistakes
The principal risks are: starting before authorisation; unreported role change; misuse of self-employment; missing residence follow-on. Assess each risk not only by legal outcome but also by time, cost, enforceability and its impact on any other current status.
Where documents conflict, explain and correct the inconsistency first; an unplanned additional filing may deepen the problem.
- starting before authorisation
- unreported role change
- misuse of self-employment
- missing residence follow-on
Decision plan for the next step
Create one working file containing the chronology, objective, document register, official-source links, deadlines and responsible people. Foreign employees in Georgia should not be handled as a form-filling exercise; the final step must fit your facts and risk tolerance.
If the outcome affects liberty, lawful stay, a child, significant property or business continuity, obtain an individual legal assessment before acting.
- Confirm facts and current status
- Recheck the current official source
- Record the deadline and fallback route
- Obtain the written decision or registration evidence
Important noteThis material is general information, not personalised legal advice. Recheck current law, official practice, fees and deadlines against your facts before acting.