"Georgia never became home." An IT specialist couldn't get used to the country, though the tax is 1% — now choosing between Spain and the USA

"There was no particular choice"

— I moved to Georgia in 2023. Before that, since the beginning of the pandemic, I lived in Turkey, because legalization in that country, as it seemed to me, was the simplest in the world: it was enough to rent an apartment for a year, certify the contract with a notary, show a small amount in a bank account, and arrange local insurance. And that's it — the residence permit was guaranteed to be approved!

Moreover, once you obtained a tourist ikamet (residence permit in Turkey), it could be extended without problems year after year. Previously, people lived in Turkey for years — working remotely, buying real estate, sending their children to local schools, and not changing the type of document.

But then a difficult period arrived: the country's migration service (Göç İdaresi) fundamentally changed its approach to foreigners. As a result, I, like hundreds of thousands of other relocants, lost my legal status in this country — my residence permit was not extended.

To be honest: I didn't have much choice — Georgia, Armenia, or some other nearby country where we, Belarusians, were still accepted. I didn't have a Schengen visa at that moment, and I couldn't get one in Turkey without a residence permit.

Initially, I didn't plan to move to Europe, although I could have implemented a business relocation option. But I should have thought about that earlier. By the time I was forced to look for a new country to live in, the Poland Business Harbor program, under which I could have moved to Poland, was already a thing of the past.

Back in 2022, I opened a sole proprietorship (ІП - Individual Entrepreneur) in Georgia and ran my small business through it. In Turkey, a tourist residence permit allowed me not to pay taxes legally, but I needed a reliable jurisdiction, and I chose Georgia. So, in 2024, the logic was simple: if I already have an active sole proprietorship here with a clear tax regime, it would seem logical to continue living and working here.

Overall, Georgia met me normally — I never noticed any negativity from local residents towards me. I rented an apartment without problems in the first week. Yes, prices were biting, but I was prepared for that: I was told that Georgia is not a cheap country.

Visa-free, 1% tax, and Russian language — the same set of advantages

As for Georgia's advantages, the first is, of course, the visa-free regime: you live here for a year, then leave for one day, return — and you can live for another year. And generally, in this regard, no one bothers you here.

The second advantage is the sole proprietorship (ІП - Individual Entrepreneur), which anyone can open here without problems. If you work only with foreigners, you pay 1% to the state treasury and do not pay VAT. The situation changes only if you earn more than 500,000 lari per year (which is approximately 185,000 dollars according to the exchange rate): income above this amount will be taxed at a rate of about 3%, and so on until the end of the year.

If you work with Georgians, the rules are as follows: income less than 100,000 lari (38,500 dollars) still requires a tax payment of 1%, and for higher income, you have to pay 18% VAT. As you can see, the rules are very simple and clear.

Another advantage of Georgia is that Russian is understood and spoken here. I live in Tbilisi, where Russian is not heard as often, but in Batumi, everything is different: even if you don't know English (I'll clarify right away, that's not about me), you won't have problems anywhere, because almost every second local resident there, if not every first, will speak Russian with you.

Cons: It seems no one bothers you, but there's a "sense of danger"

However, overall there's a feeling that sometimes you seem to catch unpleasant glances when speaking Russian.

You see even more hate and resentment on social media and realize that deep inside some people, there's hidden dissatisfaction. But simply on the streets of Tbilisi, in most cases, you feel calm. No one calls you names, bothers you, or tries to provoke a conflict out of nowhere.

And yes, I had an unpleasant incident in 2022 when I first came here. Once I was served very slowly in a restaurant because I spoke Russian first, not English. But then, it seemed, everything was very tense. Now the situation is different.

I don't feel at home here. In Turkey, despite the peculiarities of the mentality, it was easier and more comfortable for me. There I didn't feel danger — unfortunately, that's what I would call it. But here, that feeling exists, although, as I said, in real life I haven't encountered negativity. And yet, there's some tension.

The Georgian mentality, of course, generally differs from the Belarusian one, and this also affects how you feel here. On the roads, there's chaos; people are unreliable and lazy, unwilling to accept criticism, taking everything defensively as if you're an enemy of the people, not just trying to improve reality.

Yes, I want to live in conditions of a certain order; I want to be heard and listened to, for us to find common ground. That's why each of us is given language.

I like the climate, but Tbilisi is a very gray city. Whether it's winter, autumn, or spring — every day is similar to the last, it's gray and uncomfortable, and because of this, you're constantly in a state of some despondency.

Prices are unreasonably high. If you look at the general standard of living here, it seems that it doesn't match the prices in shops, the service market, and real estate. But there's nothing to be done about that now. These are the consequences of the 2022 migration wave, when Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Russians came here en masse. Of course, prices skyrocketed. They remain at that level even now.

"When I flew out, I had a feeling they might not let me back in"

It seems to me that recently there have been fewer people speaking Russian on the streets of Tbilisi. At least, I encounter them less often than before. In my opinion, there is now an outflow of specialists from Georgia. Perhaps because many initially considered this country a transit point — a kind of buffer zone where one could live safely for a while, get oriented, and understand where to move next.

However, among my acquaintances, there are also opposite examples: some guys, on the contrary, moved to Georgia from Armenia because they like it more here. Everything is individual.

And yet, Georgia is no longer as attractive for most IT specialists, partly due to constant changes in legislation. For example, this year labor legislation changed significantly, and now simply having an employment contract or an open business no longer automatically grants foreigners the right to work in the country.

For legal work, it is necessary to obtain official approval from the Ministry of Labor through a special portal. Violation of this rule threatens large fines for both the employee and their employer, and in some cases — deportation.

This is precisely why there are frequent document checks on the streets. Yes, both I and many of my acquaintances were stopped for checks, and some were even deported.

Strict quotas and financial requirements have been introduced for local companies: the business turnover must be at least 50,000 lari (about 19,000 dollars) per year for each hired foreigner. An exception was made only for freelancers and those who work remotely and receive income from abroad from foreign clients. For them, the legalization procedure remained simpler.

For example, I received both a residence permit and a work permit back in March to properly legalize my status and live without problems.

Therefore, when coming here, it's important to understand: this is no longer the Georgia it was a few years ago, when you could live peacefully with just entry and exit stamps in your passport. If you live in the country for a long time and work here, questions may arise.

By the way, I had an unpleasant incident related precisely to this. Once, before my flight, I was questioned in detail about the grounds on which I had been living in Georgia for so long, whether I had a residence permit, and what services I provided. I had a feeling they might not let me back in.

All these risks must be taken into account when moving. I would strongly recommend that those coming to Georgia for a long time immediately think about legalization. Especially since now there are all opportunities for this: obtaining a residence permit, including through an individual entrepreneurship, has become even simpler, and a large turnover is not required for this. This is a completely solvable task.

If you compare local prices with food prices in Belarus (for example, in Minsk), they can differ by two or three times. Moreover, there is fluctuating pricing here: in one store, the price is one, while in another, the exact same product can cost three times more. Prices also strongly depend on the retail chain and even the district of Tbilisi.

Among the pros — there are Belarusian stores here where you can buy familiar products. Of course, they are also more expensive than in Belarus, about one and a half to two times, but why not. When I lived in Turkey, there was no such opportunity at all.

"They say Georgia has every chance to turn into an IT country"

I won't hide it: now I'm considering alternatives like Spain — with a digital nomad visa — or the USA. Moreover, the latter country is my priority.

I also thought about Canada, studying the possibilities of obtaining a student visa (I haven't been employed for a long time, which means I can't apply for a work visa), but I realized that moving to Canada is still quite expensive. This country generally has many more requirements.

One could also consider Latin American countries, for example, Argentina or Brazil, but there, unfortunately, they have reviewed and complicated the legalization procedures. Now I would have to get apostilles, and I wouldn't want to return to Belarus for that.

They say about Georgia that it has every chance to turn into an IT country, like Belarus was seven years ago. But I don't feel any universal digitalization here.

Yes, there are companies here with Belarusian, Ukrainian, and even Russian roots, and they hire employees. But I live outside the IT crowd (and even outside the Russian-speaking diaspora), so I don't follow all these news.

My social circle consists of my family, friends I've known for a long time, and those I've recently befriended here. There aren't that many of them, in fact.

I don't see the point in establishing new contacts with IT specialists in Georgia: my networking is built on people living in other countries. And generally, I don't feel a lack of communication.

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