How to Set Up a Foreign-Owned LLC in Georgia in 2026: The Complete Guide

Short answer: A foreigner can own 100% of a Georgian Limited Liability Company (LLC), with no local partner, no local director and no minimum capital. The company is registered with the National Agency of Public Registry, usually within one business day once the documents are ready, either in person in Tbilisi or remotely through a Power of Attorney that you sign at a notary in your country, have apostilled and send to us in the original. Profit kept in the company is not taxed; profit paid out is taxed at 15%, plus 5% on dividends.

This guide reflects the Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs, the Tax Code of Georgia and the Law on Labour Migration as they stand in October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees and procedures change, so check your own case before you rely on it.

What a Georgian LLC Is

A Limited Liability Company (in Georgian shezghuduli pasukhismgeblobis sazogadoeba, usually shortened to შპს / LLC) is the most common company form in Georgia. It is a separate legal entity: it signs contracts, owns assets, opens bank accounts and pays tax in its own name. The partners are not personally liable for the company's debts beyond what they put into it, as long as they do not abuse the company form.

LLCs are governed by the Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs, which replaced the old law on 1 January 2022. The current law allows a simple structure with one partner who is also the director, and a more detailed one with several partners, a partners' agreement and, if wanted, a supervisory board. Companies registered before 2022 had to bring their documents in line with the new law by 1 April 2026; registration of those that did not was suspended. That matters if you plan to buy an existing company rather than open a new one.

For foreign founders, an LLC is the right choice when you want a business that is separate from you personally: for a team of partners, for an agency or trading company, for a business with employees, or for a holding or regional office of a foreign group.

Why Foreign Founders Choose Georgia

• Full foreign ownership. You can own 100% of the company yourself or through a foreign company. There is no nominee or local partner requirement.
• Fast, simple registration. Once the documents are ready, the registry usually completes the registration the same or the next business day. The company receives a 9-digit identification code that also serves as its tax number.
• No minimum capital. You decide the capital in the charter. Nothing needs to be paid in before registration.
• Profit is taxed only when it leaves the company. Under the so-called Estonian model, profit that you reinvest in the business is not taxed. This is a real advantage for growing companies.
• Low, predictable tax rates. 15% on distributed profit and 5% on dividends, with no separate local business taxes on top for most service companies.
• Digital administration. Tax filings, invoices and most registry changes are handled online.
• Banking in several currencies. Georgian banks open accounts in GEL, USD, EUR and other currencies, and a company with real activity can bank in Georgia without a local partner.
• A base for residence. A company with real turnover can support a work residence permit for its founders, subject to the conditions explained below.

What You Need to Register

The Procedure: Step by Step

1. Structure check. We agree who the partners and director are, the share split, the activity and whether an LLC is the right vehicle. This is also the moment to check banking and residence plans, because they affect how the company should be set up.
2. Name and charter. We check the name and draft the charter: the standard version for a single founder, or a tailored one for several partners.
3. Legal address. We provide the address and the owner's consent, or prepare the consent for an address you already have.
4. Documents. In person: you bring your passport to the Public Service Hall in Tbilisi with us. Remote: you sign the Power of Attorney at a notary, have it apostilled and send us the original.
5. Filing with the registry. The application is filed with the National Agency of Public Registry through a Public Service Hall. With urgent processing it is decided the same business day; with standard processing, the next business day.
6. Company extract and code. The company receives its identification code and an extract from the Registry of Entrepreneurs. It is registered with the Revenue Service automatically.
7. Tax portal. We activate the company's account on rs.ge, which is used for monthly declarations, invoices and any VAT registration.
8. Bank account. The company opens its account at a Georgian bank. Expect 3 to 7 days, and be ready for questions about the business, its clients and the source of funds.

Costs and Timing

Expect three layers of cost:

• State fees. Registration costs about 100 GEL with standard processing and 200 GEL for same-day processing. Extracts and translations add a small amount.
• Your own documents. For remote registration, the notary, the apostille and the courier in your country. These depend on the country.
• Professional fees. Our LLC Registration package starts from €420 and includes the charter, a legal address for one year, the registry filing and activation of the tax portal. LLC + Banking starts from €720. The Corporate Bundle at €1,450 adds banking, the labor permit and the work residence permit, with all state fees included. Fast-Track for the LLC route is €1,850.

Once the documents are in hand, the company itself is usually registered within 24 to 48 hours. The bank account takes 3 to 7 days. If you also need the right to work and a residence permit, add about a month for the right to labor activity and then the review time of the residence permit.

How a Georgian LLC Is Taxed

Georgia taxes company profit when it is distributed, not when it is earned. As long as the profit stays in the company and is used for the business, no corporate income tax is due.

An example: the company earns 100,000 GEL of profit and pays all of it to you as a dividend. It pays 15,000 GEL of profit tax, and 5% is withheld from the 85,000 GEL dividend, which is 4,250 GEL. In total you keep 80,750 GEL, an effective rate of about 19%. If the company keeps the money for the business instead, no profit tax is due that year.

An LLC cannot use the 1% Small Business Status. That regime is reserved for Individual Entrepreneurs. Certain qualifying companies, mainly in IT services and maritime transport, can apply for International Company status, which offers reduced rates but comes with strict activity and substance conditions, so it needs a separate review.

After Registration: Ongoing Obligations

• Monthly returns to the Revenue Service by the 15th of the following month for the taxes that apply: profit tax for any month with a distribution or other taxable payment, income tax on salaries, and VAT once the company is registered. A VAT payer files every month, even with no turnover. Late filing is fined, so agree with your accountant which returns your company must file.
• Accounting. The company keeps accounting records, issues invoices and keeps contracts and bank statements as evidence of its activity.
• Annual financial statements are submitted to the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision (SARAS) through reportal.ge by 1 October of the following year.
• VAT registration within the legal deadline once taxable turnover passes 100,000 GEL in 12 months.
• Registry changes. A new director, a change of partners or shares, or a new legal address takes effect only once it is registered with the Public Registry. Keep the register current, especially before you go to the bank.
• Legal address renewal. Make sure your address agreement stays valid, or registry and tax letters will not reach you.

LLC or Individual Entrepreneur?

If you work alone and your activity qualifies for 1%, an IE is usually cheaper. Choose an LLC when you have partners, high costs, staff, activities excluded from the 1% regime, or turnover that will pass 500,000 GEL. Our tax guide compares the options in more detail.

Residence and the Right to Work

Owning a Georgian company does not by itself give you the right to live or work in Georgia. Two separate approvals apply:

• The right to engage in labor activity. Since 1 March 2026, a foreigner who works in Georgia, including as a partner or director of their own LLC, needs this approval in addition to a visa or residence permit. It is filed online. The penalty for working without it is 2,000 GEL per violation. Our work permit guide explains who is covered and the narrow exception for fully remote work.
• A residence permit. A work residence permit is tied to the company's activity and is generally expected to show about 50,000 GEL of annual turnover per foreign applicant. Since 15 July 2026, a first application by a business registered no more than 3 months ago with fewer than 3 foreign employees can be granted without that benchmark, for up to six months. A residence permit is always filed with the applicant in person in Tbilisi.

Founders who invest at least USD 300,000 can look at the 5-year investment residence permit instead. See our residence permit service for the routes.

Things to Keep in Mind

How Our Team Can Help

We handle the whole setup from Tbilisi, in English, Russian and Italian:

• Structure check before anything is filed: LLC or IE, partners, director, activity, banking and residence plans.
• Name check, charter and partners' agreement, in Georgian and English.
• Legal address for one year, with the owner's consent.
• Registration at the Public Service Hall, with you in person or remotely under your notarized and apostilled Power of Attorney, which we draft for you.
• Revenue Service portal activation and guidance on the first filings.
• Corporate bank account at TBC Bank or Bank of Georgia, with the KYC file prepared to match your business.
• The right to labor activity and the work residence permit, filed online and in person with you respectively, in the Corporate Bundle.

See the LLC registration service and the packages for prices, or write to us on WhatsApp with a short description of your business. The first consultation is free.