sawsan 1mo

I might also bring a friend with me ! So 7

sawsan 1mo

Sorry just saw the chat 😇

jermane 1mo

Anyone in Batumi want to meet up for a beer and shisha?

boris_k 1mo

I am here. It's the first big table you see right after you enter

sawsan 1mo

5 min away

eyobest 1mo

Back in Tbilisi. Anyone down to meetup for a coffee or drink in the next few weeks?

aekrylov 1mo

Hi all, do you know if upcoming labor law changes affect freelancers with small business status not living in Georgia?

boris_k 1mo

Nobody knows anything at this point

goldenapple 1mo

You will need to close IE if you have no residence permit, or they can close it

goldenapple 1mo

Using IE means you have Work Permit + Residence Permit, or Work Permit + 90 day visa, if you have no Residence Permit or Visa they can close the IE.

But nobody knows if they start closing IE massively

goldenapple 1mo

Because obviously there are thousands of people that dont live in Georgia and use Georgian IE, so, according the rules they have to close.

But if the government really do, that would be super stupid because they will cancel their tax money

goldenapple 1mo

Just to satisfy the rule, sacrificing the additional income - looks really stupid

goldenapple 1mo

So maybe nomads are the outliers and the government will close their eyes because these people pay taxes.

goldenapple 1mo

Note:
Non tax residents, living abroad do not need to pay taxes in Georgia at all

So then, do they need IE if they do not need to pay taxes at all?

boris_k 1mo

Where did you get this info?

boris_k 1mo

This law has a note that the requirement to obtain a work permit and a residence permit does not apply to those who do not need to be located in Georgia to carry out their activities. Technically, this may also apply to individual entrepreneurs who work for foreign clients while also living outside of Georgia. But I have not seen any clarifications regarding this rule, so nothing is clear yet.

boris_k 1mo

In the best-case scenario, the new law wouldn't concern those whose income is 100% foreign-sourced. But we'll see 🤞

goldenapple 1mo

Most of the IT is foreign-sourced, they want that people to stay in a country for 6+ mo per year.
Do you think they will make an exception for almost everyone working in IT?

goldenapple 1mo

There is some chance that they will postpone the law😁

goldenapple 1mo

More info will be available in september...

samgozman 1mo

Or not..

boris_k 1mo

It feels like their concern is primarily local businesses and low-paid employees such as Wolt/Glovo couriers, etc. There have been some complaints recently about such people not being able to speak Georgian, etc. Foreign-sourced IT doesn't harm Georgia in any way.
As I mentioned earlier, I think the abolishment of the 365 days visa-free regime is coming next. So maybe people who want to stay less than 90/183 days will not need to do anything and the others will have to apply for a permit.

goldenapple 1mo

People who want to stay for less than 90 days will need Work Permit + D1 90 days visa.

So, if you are freelancer with SBS, not living in Georgia you will need to apply remotely, and renew this D1 visa every 90 days. Renewal rules are currently unclear

boris_k 1mo

Where the hell do you get all this info? 😁 This sounds like random assumptions.

The law says that the D1 visa is only required for those who want to apply for an IT residence permit from outside of Georgia. And I am assuming it won't even be required for most nationalities with the current 365-days visa free regime.

goldenapple 1mo

chatgpt consultations + web search feature😁

goldenapple 1mo

Unfortunately I do not speak georgian, and can not read the original

boris_k 1mo

I am afraid this doesn't work with Georgia and Georgian language as well 😂

plakkies 1mo

The foreign currency coming from us is a massive gain and tax revenue.

We are essentially there oil fields and they don't even need to invest in the infrastructure we pay for everything.

They can always push the tax to 5% or something rather then make it harder for more oil sources to come here.

Much better deal. It would be cool to have a Foreigner IE lobby group to negotiate better deal/idea for both parties.

hugohb 1mo

Hi guys, I have an IE with small business status, and I'm not living in Georgia at the moment (I haven't set foot in the country in 2025, planning to return there in about a year). I just got off a call with a Georgian international tax lawyer, based in Tbilisi, who basically told me that as long as I'm not physically in Georgia, all the income of my IE is considered foreign-sourced, hence I don't need to declare it nor pay any taxes on it. Do you guys have any experience with that?

boris_k 1mo

It's probably up to you. One of the purposes of declaring it and paying the 1% tax is to have a proof of legal income which may be important in some cases.
I personally always declare it even when I spend more than 6 months outside of Georgia.

P.s. But I am not actually sure if you even have an option of not declaring it as long as you put your Georgian IE info in the invoices and/or receive money to the IE-related Georgian bank account.

boris_k 1mo

Perhaps the lawyer was referring to the cases when you act as a physical person, not an IE

hugohb 1mo

This lawyer that I talked to says that you can, and he talked specifically about an IE.

hugohb 1mo

Because income from IE is personal income, and personal income isn't taxed in Georgia as the country adheres to territorial tax laws.

boris_k 1mo

Why would you need an IE then at all? It completely has no purpose in this case cause it doesn't serve as a proof of your income 🙂

hugohb 1mo

That's a fair point.

boris_k 1mo

I would still pay the 1%. Nobody would mind for sure 🙂

hugohb 1mo

Haha true, it's not like it makes any dent in my total earnings.

hugohb 1mo

The real reason I'm interested in that is : we're barely in August and I've already reached the max income for my IE for this year... 😬 And I'd like to keep it with the SBS.

boris_k 1mo

You're still eligible for that status for the next year, even if you surpass 500K GEL. In this case, I think you just pay 5% on the income exceeding the 500K. But if you exceed that for two years in a row, then yes, you lose the status.

hugohb 1mo

3%

boris_k 1mo

But you can also declare just some of it. The question here is do you have a way of legalizing the other part that you didn't declare 😁

boris_k 1mo

Don't try to find logic in the actions of the government of any country 😂 . They often do irrational things. The good thing about the Georgian government is that they sometimes back down when they understand they did something wrong. But this case is specifically related to foreigners, so it's hard to say what's gonna happen. I mean, locals are not going to protest against this for us 😂 (even though it will indirectly affect them as well).

hugohb 1mo

I'd prefer declaring nothing (as it is apparently my right) rather than falsely declaring less. I don't know if it's true, but the latter feels more wrong, and potentially not allowed.

boris_k 1mo

You can always claim that the other part of your income has been received by you as a physical person in a different jurisdiction. Nothing wrong with that. But then there is a question of where you are actually able to operate as a physical person.

plakkies 1mo

Good point.

plakkies 1mo

Yea many of us need to prove to our original countries that we do pay taxes elsewhere before they lay claim on it with interest.

And also if you're planning on buying something big or having larger more "corporate" clients its always good to show your plugged into the system and follow due process.

1% is absolute pleasure each month to wire to treasury. I spent more on rent and borjomi. Its a "Look and be Legit" fee more then a "tax" 😋

If your running higer numbers there are many other countries happy to open doors for you and maket access with decent taxes.

leonardo 27d

any european moved their freelancing activity in georgia? would like to have a chat 🙂

gustawdaniel 19d

Hi. Anything interesting happen in Tbilisi tomorrow?

dubaidoll 15d

Hi 🙂 Is there anyone in Kazbegi, Gudauri, Stepandmina now and this week?

roromaniv 15d

Yo! Arriving in Tbilisi next week for a couple months 🫥

Would you recommend any events organised by the community or local coworkings to meet new people?
Is the city is friendly to expats in general? Would love to hear your experiences

eyobest 13d

There is daily event (Expat meetup/lang exchange) posted at here.

https://t.me/tbilisi_expat_community

valpocahonta 13d

Hey everyone! Was thinking to come to Tbilisi for November, is that a good time?

Can anyone recommend any Coliving’s or good accommodations to be around digital nomads?

Thank you very much in advance 🙏🏻

boris_k 13d

All months are good enough for visiting Tbilisi, except maybe July and August (way too hot). November can be somewhat cold (depending on what's cold for you), but much less crowded, plus the autumn foliage is at its peak, so I don't see why not.

farmlancer 13d

november is like the worst month on the calendar, not snowy yet in mountains, not warm enough to be outside most of the time

farmlancer 13d

but still better than in many other places 😊

boris_k 13d

Not snowy => you can still go hiking 😁 But the question was about Tbilisi.

valpocahonta 12d

Thanks everyone! I think I’ll give Tbilisi for a month in November a go!! Thanks a lot 🙏🏻 if anyone knows good accommodation options, I’d really appreciate any tips

ignaciogomezdf 11d

Hi there! Any freelancers under the IE+SB regime? I'd like to know how are you getting paid in your georgian accounts from international clients. I know wise but I personally need to also be able to take card payments and paypal doesn't sound like the best idea for several reasons.

ignaciogomezdf 11d

I know there are many other payment processors here but many of them require you to be a business instead of IE for what I heard

boris_k 11d

There's Keepz which is easy to register but it won't work for subscriptions. Also maybe try Payze. BoG and TBC have their own payment gateway services offered but they almost always refuse to offer that to foreigners with IE, as far as I heard.

ignaciogomezdf 11d

Wow, I had no idea about Keepz, I’m checking it out and it seems exactly like what I need. Thank you!

rishabhp 11d

Planning on going to Georgia next week. Will be mostly spending time in Tbilisi. Any recommendation for esims?

Looking at cellfie.ge not sure how reliable though. Need something that would work well in Tbilisi, airport, kazbegi, kakheti

rishabhp 11d

Was planning on getting the eSIM before landing so that it’s all smooth (booking cabs, if anything needed in immigration, etc. )

boris_k 11d

Celfie is the worst, get Magti

rishabhp 11d

Unable to figure out how to get eSIM on magti website

boris_k 11d

Just get it at the airport, there is a kiosk there

rishabhp 11d

Cool got it. Any chances if I need internet at immigration they have decent open WiFi?

boris_k 11d

Yeah, there is wifi

boris_k 11d

I heard it's more expensive there, though, than in the city :/

edudeleon 8d

Hey guys,

I’m arriving today to Tbilisi. So far I’m planning to spend one month there. Would like to meet other nomads/entrepreneurs in the area. If anyone is up for a hike, coffee or coworking sessions, let’s connect!

rishabhp 8d

Any idea what kind of difference in the price

ignaciogomezdf 8d

Im down 🤝 hit me up any day

boris_k 8d

Like 2x

rominamarchetti 6d

I’m also down for meeting 🙌🏻

ignaciogomezdf 6d

We’re going to turtle lake tomorrow for lunch around 14 if you want to join!

rishabhp 4d

Just arrived today in Tbilisi. Staying in old Tbilisi. Not sure if I like the hospitality. In some places they didn’t even bother to talk just said “no English”

boris_k 4d

Where are you from?

rishabhp 4d

India

boris_k 4d

Sorry, I can't answer you. It's forbidden 🤡

valkmit 4d

wat

boris_k 4d

Community rules, only positive stuff can be discussed

valkmit 4d

I'm not sure he even asked a question though, the response didn't make sense

valkmit 4d

Seemed to just be a comment on the perceived lack of hospitality?

boris_k 4d

Which depends on the nationality 🤷‍♂️

valkmit 4d

sucks if that's true, probably stems from lack of understanding

boris_k 4d

Nah, not in this case. It's primarily due to increased migration from there in recent years. But not only that, yeah..

valkmit 4d

I’m probably not alone in this group in thinking people who believe that have a pretty silly world perspective, given that we’re all in a group of people traveling around the world lol

valkmit 4d

Any person who is a digital nomad is probably on average net beneficial for any economy they travel to - that’s foreign income being injected directly into a local economy, probably one of the most OP forms of investment a country can ask for

valkmit 4d

But I guess we’re all biased also since we’re all DNs lol

valkmit 4d

I wouldn’t feel too bad if above scenario is true, similar stuff has happened to me in San Juan (one of the only places Americans can go to for big tax breaks) some of the locals are not huge fans but they tend to be people who were left behind economically or dealt a bad hand in life. By and large most are really nice and I’m sure Georgia is the same

valkmit 4d

Former colleagues of mine have had good things to say

boris_k 4d

The world hasn't figured it out yet. Plus, it's not written on your face that you're a digital nomad. Some people will always judge by appearance/origin/nationality. I doubt this will ever change.

valkmit 4d

Guy can dream 🥲

ultrared 3d

Hii, what's in your opinion the best place to try Khachapuri in Tbilisi which is also not a tourist trap but more a local restaurant?

yaircohendev 3d

Not sure if counts as a local restaurant, but craft wine restaurant is fantastic

ignaciogomezdf 3d

https://maps.app.goo.gl/R2n8fQNXvRmFJrmX8?g_st=ipc

I like it here

sergiors 3d

It depends, there are different regional types of khachapuri. Coming from abroad, you're probably thinking of Adjarian khachapuri. Naturally, the best place would be in Adjaria, but in Tbilisi, try Bread & Wine. Lovely place overall. For a more budget relaxed option, you can try Lagidze water in Vake.

eyobest 3d

Am down to meet up. Hit me up.
Btw there are lots of expat events happening daily in La Mano or Niema bar btw

carchibold 2d

I'm down.

eyobest 1d

Mafshalia was amazing but only cash

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