Georgian citizenship is sold online as a ten-year formality with a language test at the end. It is not. It is a discretionary presidential act, it usually requires you to hand back the passport you already hold, and the exam is written entirely in Georgian. Here is what the Organic Law actually requires, what the state charges, and which routes skip the parts everyone assumes are unavoidable.
Who actually grants Georgian citizenship
The rules live in one statute: the Organic Law of Georgia on Georgian Citizenship, published in English on the Legislative Herald. Everything else is procedure.
You file with the Public Service Development Agency, at a Public Service Hall or through a Georgian embassy abroad. The Agency builds the file and checks the conditions. It does not decide.
Article 25 puts the final decision with the President of Georgia, and Article 26 caps the review at three months. Meeting every condition in Article 12 does not entitle you to citizenship. It makes you eligible to be granted it.
The dual citizenship problem comes first
Work this out before anything else, because for most readers it ends the conversation.
Article 3(3) states that a citizen of Georgia may at the same time be a foreign citizen only in the cases provided for in Articles 17 and 21¹. Everything outside those two articles is single citizenship.
Article 15 is where that bites. A decree granting citizenship to a foreign national, other than a grant by way of exception, takes effect only when Georgian authorities receive a document certifying renunciation of the other citizenship.
Approval is therefore conditional. You are approved, then you renounce, then the decree takes effect. If your home country makes renunciation slow or impossible, that is your real bottleneck.
Under Article 15 an ordinary naturalisation decree does not take effect until Georgia receives proof you renounced your other citizenship. Some countries charge four figures and take over a year to process a renunciation, and a few refuse it outright. Check your own country's exit procedure before you spend a lari on the Georgian file.
Article 21¹ runs the other way. A Georgian citizen retains Georgian citizenship if they obtain the state's consent to retention before acquiring another country's citizenship. The order matters absolutely: consent first, foreign passport second. Georgians who naturalise abroad without asking first lose it.
The five routes, side by side
| Route | Legal basis | Residence required | Exam | Other citizenship kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary naturalisation | Article 12 | 10 consecutive years, lawfully resident | Language, history, law | No, Article 15 renunciation applies |
| Simplified naturalisation | Article 14 | 5 continuous years, married to a Georgian citizen | Language, history, law | No |
| Citizenship by exception | Article 17 | None stated in the law | Language, history, law | Yes, expressly permitted |
| Restoration | Article 18 | None stated in the law | Language only | Depends on the ground |
| Consent to retain | Article 21¹ | Already a Georgian citizen | None | Yes, if consent precedes the foreign passport |
Ordinary naturalisation, Article 12
Four conditions, all cumulative. Lawful residence in Georgia for the last ten consecutive years. Knowledge of the official language within the established limits. Knowledge of Georgian history and the basic principles of law. A job, real estate, or a business carried on here.
That fourth condition is the one foreign applicants underestimate. Owning a Tbilisi apartment satisfies it, and so does running a registered company, but the title and the registration have to be clean and in your name. Have the paperwork checked by real estate lawyers in Tbilisi before it becomes an evidence problem.
Stateless persons apply on five years. Refugees, beneficiaries of support and applicants with disabilities have their own carve-outs.
Simplified naturalisation, Article 14
The route most expats actually use. A spouse of a Georgian citizen who has lawfully and continuously resided here for five years may apply under the simplified procedure, still subject to the exam.
Five years, not ten. The exam does not go away, and neither does Article 15. Marriage shortens the clock. It does not buy you a second passport.
Repatriate status sits under its own regulations. If your family left Georgia and you are coming back on that basis, treat it as a distinct application. Family lawyers in Tbilisi and immigration counsel usually work that file together, with a family residence permit holding your status while it runs.
Citizenship by exception, Article 17
The only route that lets you keep what you already hold. The President may grant citizenship to a foreign national who has made an exceptional contribution to Georgia, or where it serves state interests. Article 17 lists the connections that count: Georgia being the person's homeland, ancestors displaced or emigrated for political reasons, substantial investment in the Georgian economy, or achievement in sport, science or the arts.
There is no published investment threshold, no points table and no appeal. Marketing that presents this as a purchasable programme is describing something the statute does not contain.
Restoration, Article 18
For people whose Georgian citizenship was terminated unlawfully, renounced, or given up by a parent's choice. The exam here is language only, and it falls away entirely where the original termination was unlawful.
There is also a transitional window. Article 32² gives former citizens who lost Georgian citizenship by acquiring a foreign one the right to apply for restoration, and the consolidated text currently sets that deadline before 1 January 2027.
This window has been moved by amendment more than once, and the Agency's service page has lagged behind the statute before. Get the current deadline confirmed in writing before you plan around it.
The two ten-year clocks nobody separates
Guides collapse "permanent residence" and "ten years of lawful residence" into one requirement. They are different tests in different statutes, counted differently.
| Requirement | Statute | What the years must consist of | Time excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent residence permit | Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 15(g) | 10 years in Georgia on a temporary residence permit | Study, medical treatment, work at a diplomatic mission |
| Ordinary naturalisation | Organic Law, Article 12(1)(a) | 10 consecutive years of lawful residence | Assessed by the Agency on the evidence filed |
| Simplified naturalisation | Organic Law, Article 14 | 5 continuous years, married to a Georgian citizen | Assessed on the same evidentiary basis |
The Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons counts only years held under a temporary permit. Article 12 of the Organic Law says something different: "lawfully resided", not "held a permanent residence permit". The Agency's document list for naturalisation accepts a Georgian visa, a residence permit or card, or border-crossing stamps as proof, which is a wider evidentiary base than most articles admit.
That is not a promise a decade of visa-free entries will be accepted. It is a reason to ask rather than assume. Anyone banking on the 365-day visa-free stay as citizenship-qualifying time should get it confirmed before the tenth year. Our Georgian residence permit guide sets out which permit categories are realistic for foreign applicants, and the permit record is the safer construction.
The exam is in Georgian, all of it
Three blocks: the state language, Georgian history, and the basic principles of law. It is delivered electronically, and taken before you file the citizenship application, not after.
The part people miss is that the history and law papers are administered in Georgian too. Passing does not mean holding a conversation. It means reading multiple-choice questions on constitutional principles in Georgian script, under time.
The Agency's citizenship services page sets out the mechanics: the first sitting is free, each further attempt is 40 GEL, and a pass is valid for one year.
The pass is valid for twelve months and it gates the application. Sit it early, then assemble the file, rather than gathering documents for months and finding the language block is a year of study away.
What the state charges
These are the Agency's published service fees. The pattern is the reverse of what people expect: cheapest is slowest, and paying more buys a shorter decision deadline.
| Service | Cheapest tier | Faster tiers |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary naturalisation | 65 GEL, decision by day 80 | 130 GEL by day 60, 260 GEL by day 40, 390 GEL by day 20 |
| Simplified naturalisation | 65 GEL, decision by day 80 | Same ladder as ordinary |
| Citizenship by exception | 500 GEL, decision by day 80 | 700 GEL by day 60, 1,000 GEL by day 30 |
| Restoration of citizenship | 130 GEL, decision by day 30 | 195 GEL by day 20 |
| Consent to retain citizenship | 500 GEL, decision by day 80 | 700 GEL by day 60, 1,000 GEL by day 30 |
| Renunciation of Georgian citizenship | 130 GEL, decision by day 30 | 260 GEL by day 20, 390 GEL by day 10 |
Fee schedules move by ordinance, so confirm your tier on the day you file. None of this covers certified Georgian translation, notary costs, or the fee your own country will charge to release you.
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Refusal, and what happens next
Article 16 lists the hard bars: international crimes against peace and humanity, grave crimes against a person, the state or public security under Georgian law, cases where a grant would cut against Georgia's security interests, and being wanted by law enforcement or through INTERPOL.
Outside those, refusal is discretionary, and it does not arrive as a reasoned judgment you can argue with. Article 26 allows a fresh application on the same grounds only after six months.
That waiting period is why the first file matters more than the speed tier you pay for. Evidence gaps on the residence history and the means-of-living condition are the usual causes, and both are fixable in advance. The firms on our list of immigration lawyers in Tbilisi build these files as routine work.
What the passport is actually worth in 2026
The selling point in every citizenship article is travel. Georgian passport holders do hold visa-free access to the Schengen area for short stays, under the EU visa liberalisation regime in force since March 2017.
That regime is now conditional in a way it was not a few years ago. The European Commission's visa liberalisation page records that on 6 March 2026 it suspended visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic, service and official passports, the first use of the reinforced visa suspension mechanism.
Ordinary biometric passport holders are not covered by that measure. The point is narrower: the travel value of Georgian citizenship now sits inside a live political mechanism rather than a fixed treaty benefit. Price that in.
Tax gets confused with this constantly. Citizenship is not tax residency, which turns on the Tax Code and its own day count. If your plan is fiscal rather than personal, the conversation belongs with tax advisors in Tbilisi first.
Key takeaways
- Citizenship is granted by presidential decree under the Organic Law. Meeting the conditions makes you a candidate, not an entitled applicant.
- Ordinary naturalisation needs ten consecutive years of lawful residence, the three-part exam, and a job, property or business in Georgia.
- Marriage to a Georgian citizen cuts the residence requirement to five years and removes nothing else.
- Dual citizenship exists only through an Article 17 exceptional grant or Article 21¹ prior consent. Ordinary decrees take effect only on proof of renunciation.
- The exam is administered in Georgian across all three blocks, the first sitting is free, and a pass lasts a year.
- Published fees run from 65 GEL on the slowest ordinary track to 1,000 GEL on the fastest exceptional track.
- A refusal blocks a fresh application on the same grounds for six months.
FAQ
How long do you have to live in Georgia to get Georgian citizenship?
Ten consecutive years of lawful residence immediately before the application, under Article 12(1)(a). Stateless persons qualify on five years, and spouses of Georgian citizens apply on five continuous years under the simplified procedure in Article 14.
Does Georgia allow dual citizenship?
Only in two situations. Article 3(3) permits simultaneous foreign citizenship only in the cases provided for in Articles 17 and 21¹: a presidential grant by way of exception, or prior state consent to retain Georgian citizenship. Every other route is single citizenship.
Do I have to give up my current passport to naturalise?
Yes, on the ordinary and simplified routes. Article 15 provides that a decree granting citizenship to a foreign national takes effect only once Georgian authorities receive proof of renunciation of the other citizenship, with exceptional grants carved out. Check your own country's exit procedure first.
Can I get Georgian citizenship through marriage?
Yes, through the simplified procedure in Article 14, which requires five years of lawful continuous residence rather than ten. Marriage does not remove the exam and does not create a dual citizenship right. The residence still has to be evidenced.
Is there a Georgian citizenship by investment programme?
Not as a published programme with a price. Article 17 lets the President grant citizenship by way of exception and names substantial investment in the Georgian economy as one relevant connection, but there is no stated threshold and no entitlement. Treat any advertised figure as a private estimate.
What is on the Georgian citizenship exam?
Three blocks: the state language, Georgian history, and the basic principles of law, delivered electronically by the Public Service Development Agency. All three are administered in Georgian, so the history and law papers are also a reading test. The first sitting is free and a pass is valid for a year.
How much does Georgian citizenship cost in state fees?
Ordinary and simplified naturalisation start at 65 GEL for a decision by day 80, rising to 390 GEL by day 20. Citizenship by exception runs from 500 GEL to 1,000 GEL, and restoration is 130 GEL or 195 GEL. Fee schedules are set by government ordinance and change, so confirm them on the day you file.
Does buying property in Georgia lead to citizenship?
Not directly. Real estate ownership satisfies the means-of-living limb of Article 12, but it does nothing for the ten-year residence clock or the exam. Property can support a residence permit application, which is a different process with its own criteria.
How long does a citizenship decision take, and what if I am refused?
Article 26 caps the review at three months, and the fee tier you pay sets a shorter deadline, from day 80 down to day 20. A refusal blocks a fresh application on the same grounds for six months, so the evidence has to be complete the first time. Preparation is the longer part anyway: the exam, certified translations and a decade of residence evidence take months.
Can I recover Georgian citizenship my family lost?
Possibly, through restoration under Article 18, which covers citizenship terminated unlawfully, renounced, or given up by a parent's choice. The exam for this route is language only. A separate transitional provision gives former citizens who lost status by taking a foreign passport a window to apply, and that deadline should be confirmed against the current statute first.