Family Residence Permit Application Service
A family reunification residence permit lets your spouse, children and in some cases your parents live in Georgia on the strength of their relationship to you. They need no job, business or investment of their own. What you have to prove is your own status, adequate housing and the means to support them. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.
- Spouses of Georgian citizens
- Spouses of Georgian residents
- Parents relocating with children
- Georgian citizens bringing parents
- Families of international students
- Our fee from
- $450
- Decision in
- 10–30 days
- Criminal check
- Usually not needed
What this unlocks
They do not need their own qualification
No job offer, no business, no investment. Your relationship and your status are what carries the application.
No labour permit stage
The work routes now run a Special Labour Permit in front of the residence permit. This route does not, which is the main reason it moves faster.
The household is decided together
Applications for a family are filed together rather than in sequence, so nobody is left waiting on a sibling.
Full residency rights
The same banking access, legal status and path to permanent residence as any other permit holder.
What family reunification is
A residence permit granted to a close family member on the strength of their relationship to you, rather than on anything they do themselves. No job offer, no business registration, no investment. It is the simplest permit category Georgia runs, and for most families it is also the fastest, because the criminal record certificate that slows down work permits is generally not required.
Who you can sponsor depends on your own status
This is the part people get wrong, and it changes the answer entirely. A Georgian citizen can sponsor the widest circle. A permanent resident can sponsor almost as widely. A temporary resident, which is most of our clients, can sponsor a spouse and minor children, and has to demonstrate adequate accommodation and the financial means to support them. If you want to bring a parent and you are on a temporary permit, the honest answer is usually that you cannot yet, and the route runs through improving your own status first.
- Georgian citizen, spouse, children of any age, parents, grandparents
- Permanent resident, spouse, children of any age, parents
- Temporary resident: spouse and minor children, with accommodation and means evidenced
- Siblings, in-laws and unmarried partners are not eligible on any status
What each side has to show
You, as sponsor: valid status in Georgia, a rental agreement or property showing adequate housing, and, if you are a temporary resident, bank statements, an employment contract or business income sufficient to support the people you are bringing. Them: a passport valid six months beyond the intended stay, an apostilled relationship certificate, biometric photos, health insurance, and proof of legal entry. The relationship certificate is almost always the long pole: a marriage certificate issued abroad has to be apostilled in the issuing country and then certified-translated into Georgian, and that runs on the home country’s timetable, not ours.
Same-sex partners: the answer is no, and here is what to do instead
Georgia does not recognise same-sex marriage, and same-sex partners cannot sponsor each other through family reunification regardless of where the marriage was celebrated or how it is recognised elsewhere. We would rather say that plainly than let anyone discover it after paying for an application. The workable route is for each partner to qualify independently, a work permit, an IT permit, or a property purchase, which produces two permits and the same outcome of living together legally in Georgia. That planning is worth doing properly, and the consultation covers it.
Applying from inside Georgia or from abroad
In person at the Public Service Hall is faster and more predictable, and we can accompany your family to the appointment. If a family member cannot travel yet, or needs a visa to enter at all, they can apply at a Georgian embassy abroad: slower, less predictable, and worth the $155 remote support package because embassy practice varies and getting it wrong from another country is expensive to fix.
Want us to handle your family reunification?
Thirty free minutes. We will confirm whether this route fits before you spend anything.
Packages
Priced per household rather than per application. Pick the package that matches who you are bringing with you.
One applicant. A spouse joining a Georgian citizen, permanent resident or temporary resident.
- Initial eligibility consultation
- A document checklist built for your nationality and route
- Full document preparation and review
- Certified Georgian translation
- Apostille and legalisation guidance
- Application form preparation
- Accompaniment to the Public Service Hall
- Government liaison and follow-up while the file is open
- Status tracking and updates
- Help collecting the residence card
- Apostille collection from abroad ($95 if you want us to coordinate it)
The common case. A spouse and one or more minor children applying together.
- Everything in the single-applicant package, for every family member
- Applications coordinated so the family is decided together rather than in sequence
- One document checklist across the household
Parents and adult dependent children: available to Georgian citizens and permanent residents.
- Everything in the single-applicant package
- Dependency evidence prepared and presented
- Assessment of whether your status supports the relationship before you pay
Add-ons
Coordinating apostilled certificates from abroad. Most useful for US, UK and EU documents.
Cuts the government decision from 30 days to 10 calendar days.
Per application, for family members applying at a Georgian embassy abroad.
Prices exclude 18% VAT where applicable. Fees are quoted in USD and settled in Georgian lari at the prevailing rate.
Per person, set in law at ₾300, paid to the Public Service Hall.
Per person, set in law at ₾450.
Per person, set in law at ₾600.
How family reunification runs
- 01
Free consultation
30 minutesWe check your status against who you actually want to sponsor, the two do not always match, and build a checklist and timeline for the household.
- 02
Certificates and apostilles
1–4 weeksMarriage and birth certificates, apostilled in the issuing country and certified-translated. This runs on your home country’s timetable and it is almost always the critical path, so it starts first.
- 03
Sponsor documentation
3–5 daysProof of your status, your accommodation and, if you are a temporary resident, your means to support them.
- 04
Submission
Same dayWe go with you and your family to the Public Service Hall. Applications for the household are filed together so they are decided together.
- 05
Decision
10–30 days30 days standard, 10 calendar days expedited, then cards collected.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your own status. Georgian citizens can sponsor a spouse, children of any age, parents and grandparents. Permanent residents can sponsor a spouse, children and parents. Temporary residents can sponsor a spouse and minor children only, and must show accommodation and financial means.
Yes. Spouse and minor children are within reach for temporary residents. What you additionally have to evidence is adequate housing and enough income to support them, which citizens and permanent residents are not asked for in the same way.
Only if you are a Georgian citizen or a permanent resident. On a temporary permit you cannot, and the route runs through improving your own status first. That is a real answer with a real timeline attached, and we would rather give it than take a fee for an application that fails.
No. Georgia recognises legal marriage between a man and a woman for these purposes, so neither unmarried partners nor same-sex spouses qualify, regardless of recognition elsewhere. The workable alternative is for each partner to qualify independently through work, IT or property routes.
The Georgian side is 10 to 30 days. The realistic total is one to two months, because apostilled certificates from your home country usually take longer than everything else combined.
$450 for a spouse alone, $690 for spouse plus one child, $880 for spouse plus two, with additional children at $155 each. Parents are $380 each and adult dependent children $450. Government fees are $115 per person standard or $230 expedited.
Generally not, which is the main reason this route moves faster than work permits. The relationship certificate is the document that matters, and it has to be apostilled.
They track the sponsor. A permit granted on the basis of a temporary resident’s status matches that status, so if your permit is annual, theirs is too. Permits granted through a Georgian citizen can run considerably longer.
Their permit rests on yours. If your status lapses, theirs is exposed at the next renewal. This is the strongest practical argument for keeping your own renewals early rather than close to the deadline. You are not only managing your own status.
Yes, at a Georgian embassy. It is slower and less predictable than applying in person here, and embassy practice varies by post, which is what the $155 remote support package is for.
Generally yes, on the parental relationship rather than the marriage. Custody and consent documentation matters and the specifics vary, so bring the court orders to the consultation.
A reunification permit is permission to live here rather than work authorisation. Remote work for clients or an employer abroad needs nothing further. A job with a Georgian company, or Georgian clients through an Individual Entrepreneur registration, needs a Special Labour Permit, and for employment it is the Georgian employer who applies for it.
Only where the sponsor is a Georgian citizen or permanent resident, and only where dependency is evidenced. Adult children of temporary residents do not qualify on this route.
Not sure this is the right one?
Thirty free minutes, no obligation. We will tell you which route actually fits, including when the answer is that you do not need us.