Entering Georgia from the Gulf: what you need at the border

Which rule applies to you

Entry to Georgia without a Georgian visa, by type of traveller.

Traveller	Stay without a visa	Condition
Citizens of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman	Stay without a visaUp to one full year	ConditionA valid passport.
Other nationalities holding a valid visa or residence permit of a GCC state	Stay without a visa90 days in any 180-day period	ConditionThe visa or permit is valid on the day you enter Georgia. Carry it with your passport.
Citizens of the 17 countries listed below who hold a GCC visa or residence permit	Stay without a visa90 days in any 180-day period, if the condition is met	ConditionThe visa is a multiple-entry visa, and the visa or residence permit has at least one year of validity left on the day you enter Georgia. Otherwise a Georgian visa is needed before travel.
Travellers who fit none of these cases	Stay without a visaDepends on nationality	ConditionCheck before booking whether you need a visa, through Georgia’s e-visa portal or the nearest Georgian embassy.

Citizens of the six GCC states

Citizens of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman enter Georgia without a visa and may stay for up to one full year. The Consular Department’s list of visa-free countries shows “Full 1 (one) year” for each of the six states; the legal basis is Government Ordinance No. 255.

Residents holding a GCC visa or residence permit

Residents of other nationalities who hold a valid visa or residence permit of a GCC state may enter without a Georgian visa and stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The visa or permit has to be valid on the day you cross the Georgian border, and this is verified from your travel document or another relevant document.

The official pages do not say whether a digital copy of a residence permit is accepted at the border, so please carry the card or the visa itself with your passport.

The exception for citizens of 17 countries

Under an amendment adopted on 17 April 2025, citizens of the countries below may use the residents’ exemption only if their GCC visa is a multiple-entry visa and the visa or residence permit has at least one year of validity left on the day they enter Georgia.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen.

If the visa or permit has less than a year left, the traveller needs a Georgian visa obtained before travel. Georgia’s e-visa portal and the nearest Georgian embassy are the places to ask how to apply. Please settle this before you fix your dates.

The page of the Embassy of Georgia to the UAE lists “Congo”; the statement of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs names the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the list above follows the Ministry.

How long passports and permits must be valid

The Embassy of Georgia to the UAE adds two points on its visa page. The GCC visa or residence permit must be valid on the day of entry into Georgia and on the day of departure from it. The passport, in the embassy’s words, “needs to be valid minimum 90 days”.

The Consular Department’s general page asks only that the visa or permit be valid on the day of entry, and states no minimum for the passport. We work to the embassy’s stricter wording. Its page is written for holders of UAE visas and residence permits, and we apply the same two points to residents of the other GCC states. The embassy page does not say from which day the 90 days are counted, so we ask for each passport’s expiry date and raise any doubt with you before flights are paid for.

Insurance, required since 1 January 2026

Since 1 January 2026 every tourist entering Georgia has to hold health and accident insurance. The policy has to meet these points:

• Cover of at least GEL 30,000.
• A policy in English or Georgian. A policy issued in Arabic alone does not meet the language rule, so please ask your insurer for an English policy or certificate.
• Valid for the whole stay, including the day of arrival and the day of departure.
• Shown on paper or in electronic form. It may be issued by a Georgian or a foreign insurer.
• It states the parties, the territory covered, what is insured, the start and end dates, the risks covered, the sum insured, and the premium and how it is paid.

Send us a copy before you fly and we check the amount, the dates and the language against the rule. If you would like us to arrange a compliant policy, we add it to your quotation on request.

Household staff travelling with you

The same rules apply to every person in your party. A domestic worker, nanny or driver who holds a GCC residence permit enters under the residents’ rule. If that person is a citizen of one of the 17 countries, the permit must have at least one year left on the day of entry; otherwise a Georgian visa is needed before travel. The insurance rule applies to each of them as well.

At the border

Visa-free entry does not mean automatic admission: the decision at the border rests with the Georgian Border Police. Please have these ready for each traveller:

• The passport.
• The GCC visa or residence permit, for residents of other nationalities.
• The insurance policy or certificate in English or Georgian, on paper or on your phone.

What we check with you when you book

When you book, we ask for the following for each traveller, so that entry can be checked with you before flights are paid for:

• Nationality.
• The expiry date of the passport.
• For residents: whether you hold a residence permit or a visa, whether the visa is multiple-entry, and its expiry date.
• A copy of the insurance policy, before departure.

We check these against the published rules. Whether a traveller is admitted is decided by the Border Police alone.

Sources

We read each of these pages on 6 October 2026. Every link opens the page itself. If a rule has changed since that date, the official page prevails.

• Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia: visa-free countries (opens in a new window)The list of countries whose citizens enter without a visa. Each of the six GCC states is shown with “Full 1 (one) year”.
• Consular Department: other conditions for visa exemption (opens in a new window)Point 5: holders of valid visas or residence permits of the listed countries, the six GCC states among them, may stay 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Embassy of Georgia to the United Arab Emirates: visa information (opens in a new window)The exception for citizens of 17 countries, validity on the days of entry and departure, and the 90-day minimum for passports.
• Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia: statement of 24 April 2025 (opens in a new window)Explains the amended rule and names the 17 countries.
• Government Ordinance No. 255, Legislative Herald of Georgia (opens in a new window)The legal basis for visa-free entry of citizens of the listed countries for one full year.
• Government Ordinance No. 256, Legislative Herald of Georgia (opens in a new window)The legal basis for entry on a visa or residence permit of the listed countries.
• Amending ordinance of 17 April 2025, Legislative Herald (in Georgian) (opens in a new window)The text that added the one-year condition for citizens of the 17 countries.
• Consular Department: entering Georgia (opens in a new window)The insurance rule in force since 1 January 2026, what a policy must state, and the role of the Border Police.
• Government Ordinance No. 602, Legislative Herald (in Georgian) (opens in a new window)Insurance: cover of at least GEL 30,000, a policy in Georgian or English, in force from 1 January 2026.
• Georgia’s e-visa portal (opens in a new window)The official site for visa applications made online.