“My Friends Left, Only I Remain.” What Keeps IT Specialists in Georgia in 2026
Once, Georgia became one of the most accessible and convenient locations for Belarusian IT specialists and beyond. Visa-free entry, a visa-run once a year instead of a residence permit, individual entrepreneurs (IE) with a 1% tax, affordable prices, and a mild climate attracted forced relocants from various troubled countries.
But then conditions began to tighten: work permits, even for individual entrepreneurs, mandatory residence permits, fines for violations, etc. Almost without the prospect of obtaining citizenship. This prompted the relocation of those who initially did not consider Georgia a place for permanent residence. However, not everyone.
How do Belarusian IT specialists live in Georgia in 2026, and what makes them stay there? Devby.io spoke with readers.
“A Quagmire Remains, Slowly Relocating, and I Am Among Them.”
Dmitry, Developer, Tbilisi:
— I can't speak for all Belarusian IT specialists in Georgia, but I'll tell you about myself.
I moved to Tbilisi in 2022 with the help of my employer — a large outsourcing company with Belarusian roots.
As a relatively new employee, relocation to EU countries was not immediately offered to me, and Georgia seemed like a decent stepping stone on the way to Europe. Like most local relocants, I do not consider Georgia a final destination. However, it's not so bad here that I'm eager to flee quickly.
Work is good: I'm with the same company, they pay decently, and legalization issues haven't yet significantly affected those working under employment contracts — apparently, they decided to get rid of individual entrepreneurs first. However, given the trend of squeezing migrants, it's clear that staying here forever is a foolish idea. The government almost explicitly states that citizenship is not in your future, and temporary legalization in the form of a Work Permit/Work Residence Permit can be revoked/not extended at any moment.
Hence the low integration into local society: the migrant community has little contact with locals and, for the most part, doesn't even try to learn Georgian, as they don't see the point (everyday issues are perfectly resolved in Russian and English).
Everyday life here doesn't differ much from Belarus. It's a bit more expensive, a bit harder to get even basic things, but it's livable. This is largely compensated by marketplaces and working (not blocked) banking solutions, as well as the ability to work calmly for Western clients.
More important to me than the selection in offline stores is that with Georgian cards, I can pay for almost any purchase on any platform. This is especially important when choosing computer equipment. A large number of platforms, such as Amazon, deliver goods directly to Georgia, and those that don't use mail forwarders (also not under sanctions, unlike their Belarusian "counterparts").
There are, of course, unpleasant peculiarities of local flavor, for example, a huge number of stray dogs of varying degrees of aggression. Because of this, there's a considerable risk that in addition to a rented apartment for $1000, you'll get a bonus in the form of nightly concerts under your window.
Several acquaintances were bitten, and they had the unforgettable experience of rabies vaccinations: because the problem is widespread, you have to sit in vaccination queues for 3+ hours.
I also want to complain that means of protection against dogs are slowly but methodically being banned by the ruling party: over the past four years, tasers have been completely banned, and pepper sprays now require a permit that is unrealistic even for Georgians to obtain — let alone migrants. Buying illegal means is not a problem, but regularly carrying them is dangerous due to street searches (more on that below).
The idea behind the ban was sound — to make criminal activity more difficult for minors. But it turned out as always. According to local laws, it's almost impossible to hold a person under 14 (if not 16) accountable, so phenomena like shop robberies by teenagers are widespread here. Sometimes teenagers attack people too, but more often, they rob businesses.
Plus drug addicts, because of whom most migrants have more than one story about being stopped on the street by plainclothes police and subjected to searches of varying degrees of brazenness. I've had four such incidents in four years of living in Georgia (in contrast — zero in Belarus).
There's a strange situation with drugs here: rather porous southern borders and a long period of decriminalization of many "light" substances created a developed network for their distribution, which the government has begun to combat in recent years. So police are everywhere looking for couriers.
Of course, they only fight against low-level perpetrators, so advertisements for "marketplace courier" jobs are literally found on every fence; even in tourist areas, you come across signs like "work $1000/week {Telegram link}."
As for socialization, it seems to me that it's only possible within migrant communities. For me, these are communities of interest: some find relationships in the office/among colleagues, but these are almost always immigrants from Belarus/Russia/Ukraine.
Perhaps the only real plus of Georgia is its nature. And the weather.
Tbilisi is sometimes even called the "Trail capital of the world," and indeed there are many options for active recreation here, such as hiking within or very close to the city limits. If you set aside the problem with dogs and the police, this country is much better suited for active recreation than for building a new life here.
Those who couldn't endure life abroad (by my subjective feelings, about 30%) have already returned home. Another approximately 30% moved on almost immediately — at that time, companies were still actively helping with relocation to Europe.
The remaining 40%, to which I belong, is a quagmire that either very slowly relocates to Europe, or (to a lesser extent) returns home, but generally remains stationary and is ready to put up with ever-new difficulties in legalization.
Mainly people with lower incomes (testers, tech support) remain in Georgia, while those with higher incomes move further. In my circle, Belarusians mostly go to Poland, and Russians to Spain.
I also plan to relocate. Relocation options at my company are still available. I don't know if I'll manage to get the maximum package, but even a guarantee of employment and an invitation that will serve as a basis for a work visa would be good support.
My primary option is Poland; I'm also considering other EU countries. The USA is out immediately: I need work/life balance, not burnout in a month.
It's hard to say why I'm not in Poland yet and what keeps me in Georgia. Nothing. It's simply always easier to change nothing than to actively do something. But I want to think that I am moving in the right direction, gradually gathering documents for relocation and learning Polish.
If I had approached this issue more thoroughly, I would no longer be in Georgia.
Ihar, IT Specialist, Batumi:
— Before 24.02, I lived in Kyiv, then I came to Poland via Hungary. I didn't have a visa, so my status at that moment wasn't very clear. For about a month, I just lived in Poland and thought about what to do next. I looked for housing options in Poland, Germany, Portugal. It was expensive and inconvenient. In Germany, apartments are rented empty, and I didn't plan to rent for long. Plus, I understood there would be problems with legalization and bureaucracy.
I had friends living in Georgia, and I considered this option as well. The main advantages of Georgia were nature, lack of bureaucracy, and a relatively inexpensive life. The main disadvantage was that by leaving Poland, I wouldn't be able to get a visa and return to Europe quickly.
Ultimately, I chose Georgia.
Four years later, I'm ready to re-articulate the pros that keep me in Georgia.
- Low taxes;
- Life is generally cheaper than in Europe (including utilities);
- Walking access to both the sea and the mountains;
- Measured pace of life;
- Absence of legalization problems (this advantage is gradually being removed now);
- No problems with stores on weekends/holidays;
- If desired, housing can be bought for reasonable money;
- Never felt unsafe on the street at any time of day.
Cons are also present, but for me, there are more pros, and they are more significant.
During my moves, I changed my workplace; now I work for a company with Belarusian roots. It has an office here, but I work remotely.
Legalization used to be simple: you do a visa run once a year and continue living. The last time I left was at the beginning of the year, but new rules came into effect in March — now you need to arrange insurance, a work permit, and apply for a residence permit. I plan to sort this out by summer. Since I have an employment contract, I don't think there will be problems — I might just have to wait.
Recently, responsibility for overstaying (on a visa run) in the country has also been strengthened. Previously, you could just get by with a fine; now they will almost certainly not let you back in. I have an acquaintance who experienced this. And I also hear that migration service raids are intensifying, but I don't know how widespread this phenomenon is.
In chats, people also write stories about police searches on the street. But I haven't encountered it myself and don't know how widespread this story is. Personally, I haven't felt threatened by the police yet and know that I can easily contact them if necessary.
As for stray dogs, it's just local flavor, you quickly get used to it. It's common here to encounter a dog in a store/establishment. If a dog fell asleep right at the entrance, people will just step over it. Yes, there are cases of aggressive behavior, but not often.
I don't purposefully learn Georgian. I've learned the alphabet and numbers, I can read, but my vocabulary is very small. There's simply no need to expand it. When I first came to Georgia, I thought it was temporary. And I still think the same way. The only thing that has changed after four years is that I've started to think about buying housing.
Yes, housing prices in Georgia have risen significantly in recent years, but they are still much lower here than in Warsaw. An apartment of about 50 square meters in a good building and location in Batumi costs about $75,000. (In fact, there are many price-forming factors). And if necessary, you can get a housing loan: the bank has already called me and offered one.
Socialization can be varied. When I first moved, my friends lived here, and we had quite a large group. Only I remain from that group — everyone else left. For various reasons: some were not allowed back during a visa run, some moved to Europe for work, and some were uncomfortable here. Now I have a different circle of friends with whom I share common interests. And what keeps them in Georgia is generally the same as what keeps me. Some of my friends have already bought housing here and plan to stay. This, however, does not mean they intend to obtain Georgian citizenship.
Overall, I've gotten used to Batumi: at the moment, I'm in my comfort zone and feel at home (but I don't forget that I'm a guest). However, in time, I plan to return to Belarus.