How a Foreigner Can Buy Property in Georgia: Step by Step

Foreign citizens buy property in Georgia with almost no restrictions: apartments, houses, commercial premises and non-agricultural land can be registered in full personal ownership. A foreigner's title is protected the same way as a Georgian citizen's.

The only significant restriction is agricultural land: it cannot be registered directly to a foreign individual. For an urban property investor this restriction is irrelevant in practice.

Step 1 — selection and due diligence. Before any money changes hands, the public registry extract is checked (owner, liens, mortgages), and for new builds — the construction permit and the developer's track record.

Step 2 — the contract. A sale-purchase agreement for resale property, or a developer contract for new builds. It can be executed in Russian/English with a notarised Georgian translation.

Step 3 — registration. Ownership is registered at the Public Service Hall: the standard procedure takes 1–4 business days, expedited — same day. The buyer only needs a passport.

Step 4 — payment. Usually by bank transfer; the contract price is stated in lari at the exchange rate, but in practice settlements are dollar-pegged. We help arrange a safe payment scheme.

A foreign buyer only needs a valid passport. There is no property purchase tax in Georgia, and the registration fee is symbolic (around 50–200 GEL depending on urgency). A notary is not mandatory for all deal types.

Total transaction costs are among the lowest in the region: usually under 0.5% of the property value versus 5–10% in many European countries.

Yes. The entire deal can be completed without visiting Georgia — via a notarised power of attorney. It can be issued at a Georgian consulate or by a local notary with an apostille.

In practice it looks like this: video viewings, remote due diligence and financial modelling, signing by power of attorney, registration and key handover to a management company. A significant share of our clients buy exactly this way.

Buying from a developer with no delivery history, paying a deposit before checking the registry, contracts without fixed completion dates and penalties, overestimating rental income 'as quoted by the seller' — typical mistakes that cost money.

The rule is simple: due diligence and a financial model first, money second. We provide turnkey deal support — from selection and verification to registration and handover to management, as a real estate agency with in-house investment expertise.