RELOVA JOURNAL

Blog/Published April 11, 2026 · Updated September 19, 2026

How to Move to Tbilisi as a Russian or Ukrainian Citizen in 2026

By Anna Moore

Move to Georgia as a Russian or Ukrainian citizen in 2026: visa-free stay periods, individual entrepreneur tax registration, and shared banking logistics.

Move to Georgia as a Russian or Ukrainian citizen, and you are following one of the most common relocation routes for both nationalities in recent years — Georgia's visa-free entry, cultural familiarity, and low bureaucratic friction have made Tbilisi a default landing point since 2022, even though the two groups arrive under different, and recently changed, entry rules.

Visa-free stay periods have moved, and they differ by nationality

Georgia has historically been generous with visa-free entry, and Russian citizens commonly receive a 365-day visa-free stay, among the longest such allowances the country extends to any nationality. Ukrainian citizens' terms have shifted more recently: Georgia's government reduced the visa-free stay for Ukrainian nationals from three years — a policy set in 2024 — back down to one year, under a government decree. That change came with a transitional provision: Ukrainian citizens who had already entered and were present in Georgia before February 24, 2025 have their stay protected through at least February 24, 2026, giving people already settled there a grace period rather than an immediate status cliff. Because both of these rules can change again with little notice, and because the practical mechanics of registering, extending, or converting a stay into formal residency differ by case, confirm your specific status directly with Georgia's Public Service Hall or a licensed local immigration consultant before making irreversible moving decisions.

The individual entrepreneur route many use to stay longer

For both Russian and Ukrainian citizens looking to formalize a longer-term stay beyond the visa-free window, registering as an Individual Entrepreneur (IE) is a commonly used route. Registration is comparatively fast — often completed within about a week — and small-business status can qualify for Georgia's 1 percent turnover tax rate on revenue up to a set annual threshold, a genuinely attractive structure for freelancers, consultants, and small online businesses. IE status does not by itself extend your visa-free entry window or convert it into permanent residency; it is primarily a tax and business registration mechanism, and how it interacts with your immigration status still needs separate confirmation. Many longer-term movers pair IE registration with a residence permit application once they've decided to stay past the initial visa-free period, since the two systems (tax registration and immigration status) run on parallel tracks rather than automatically updating each other.

Banking logistics both groups have to solve

Regardless of nationality, the practical banking situation in Georgia looks broadly similar for Russian and Ukrainian arrivals, and it is worth planning for before you land rather than after. International card networks and SWIFT transfers face real friction for accounts and cards tied to Russian banks specifically, which has pushed many Russian arrivals toward opening local Georgian accounts and relying on cash, local transfer apps, or third-country intermediary accounts to move money. Ukrainian citizens generally face fewer direct sanctions-related banking obstacles, but the broader disruption to normal banking channels during wartime — including limits some Ukrainian banks place on international card usage or transfers — means many also rely more heavily on cash and local account setup than they might in ordinary circumstances. Local banks, most commonly TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, are the two main options for opening a resident or non-resident account, and both run standard KYC (know-your-customer) documentation checks — passport, proof of address (sometimes satisfied with a rental contract), and increasingly, proof of the funds' origin, a step that has become more thorough industry-wide in recent years. Expect the account-opening process to take longer and ask for more paperwork than it did before 2022, and budget for an initial period where cash remains your most reliable payment method for rent deposits, utility setup, and larger purchases.

Settling into Tbilisi day to day

Tbilisi rents have climbed noticeably since 2022, with reports putting increases around 80 percent above pre-2022 levels in the neighborhoods most popular with the recent wave of newcomers — a direct consequence of increased demand from both Russian and Ukrainian arrivals competing for the same housing stock alongside existing Georgian and Western-expat demand. Factor that inflated baseline into your budget rather than relying on older cost-of-living figures you may have seen from before 2022. Beyond banking and housing, day-to-day logistics — SIM cards, local transit, healthcare access — are comparatively easy to set up for both nationalities, and the existing communities from both countries in Tbilisi mean practical, up-to-date advice on document requirements and neighborhood choices is easy to find through established local expat networks.

Plan it on Relova: See Georgia's visa options, tax rates, and cost of living → for a structured breakdown you can compare against other destinations.

See real salaries: What people actually earn in Georgia →

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