Hiring a foreign national in Georgia: questions employers should ask

Identify the person's nationality, basis for stay, anticipated work arrangement and whether any specific permission or employer registration obligation applies. Do not assume that visa-free travel authorizes every form of employment.

Distinguish employment from genuinely independent services by examining work organization, control, remuneration and the parties' roles. Merely naming an agreement a 'service contract' does not settle the legal classification.

Determine which employment, migration and tax records must be kept and whether the arrangement creates any additional employer obligations. The exact requirements depend on current legislation and the factual situation.

Because migration requirements may be amended, rely on the current consolidated text and relevant official implementing procedures rather than an undated online checklist.

Lawful presence in Georgia should not be treated as blanket permission to undertake every form of work. Assess the labour-migration regime, available exceptions, employer responsibilities and the person’s residence category separately. Since migration rules evolve, confirm the current statutory and Public Service Development Agency requirements before employment starts.

Calling an agreement “consultancy” or “services” does not by itself determine the legal character of the engagement. Consider supervision, integration into the business, scheduling, remuneration and allocation of commercial risk. Classification may affect employment protections, tax reporting and immigration compliance. Keep a record explaining the practical arrangement and the basis of your classification.

Lawful entry, permission to stay and authorisation for a particular type of work are not always the same legal status. Before signing or activating an assignment, document the individual’s citizenship, place of work, contractual counterparty, duration and whether the arrangement is employment, independent services or a posting. Analyse which Georgian labour-migration provisions apply and whether the person falls within an exception; exemptions should be evidenced, not assumed from visa-free travel alone. Immigration and employment records must align: job description, compensation, reporting obligations and residence category may interact, but they are not substitutes for each other. Monitor changes during employment, including contract termination and the expiry of the relevant status, and verify the current official procedure rather than copying an outdated checklist.

A specialist contracted to a foreign company starts spending months in Georgia working on a local project. The legal assessment must go beyond the document title: who receives the work, who supervises the individual, how remuneration is structured and whether the activity has a relevant presence in Georgia. Those facts may affect employment, migration and tax obligations. Resolving immigration status does not automatically resolve the others.