Frequently Asked Questions

The National Bank’s resolution does not apply to individuals who buy and sell cryptocurrency and engage in mining for themselves. Only intermediaries in transactions must be registered – the key feature of a virtual asset service provider (VASP) is that it performs transactions in the interests of third parties.

In most cases it is not necessary to register with the National Bank of Georgia if an organization accepts payments for goods or services or pays suppliers with cryptocurrency. The same principle applies here as with individuals – these are transactions for personal benefit.

However, it is important to remember that the official currency of payment in the country is the Georgian lari, so any cryptocurrency transactions must take place with the participation of intermediaries. For example, a payment system widget can be installed on a company’s website to pay for goods or services with crypto. This payment system will automatically convert receipts from customers into the national currency. The same procedure applies if you reward your employees with BTC – it is illegal to transfer cryptocurrency to them directly.

Although crypto is not an official means of payment in Georgia, the VASP is still “authorized to receive commission, interest and fees from customers in the same virtual asset used to provide the service” (Article 1, paragraph 8 of Order No. 94/04).

There are no special restrictions in the regulations of the National Bank of Georgia. You can work with all convertible digital assets that have a market value in fiat equivalent, be it Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Toncoin, or Tether stablecoins.

At the same time, according to the regulator’s logic, virtual assets do not include digital representations of real money (so-called CBDCs), such as the digital lari, which has been under development since 2021. Digital representations of securities and other financial instruments are also not subject to licensing.

The order of the National Bank explicitly defines virtual assets as fungible, so it does not apply to NFTs (which literally stands for Non-Fungible Token). However, the act of selling NFTs for the benefit of third parties is usually related to cryptocurrency, because digital art is bought for ether, bitcoin, and other tokens. So the license is relevant, it’s just that the sale of NFT itself is a wee bit of gray area.

It takes one week to open a brokerage account in Georgia in person on average. That can extend into two weeks if you’re doing it with a power of attorney. And that’s taking into account the time needed to prepare the documents and have the broker verify them.

There are several brokerage companies in Georgia with a license from the National Bank, but most foreigners work with the two largest: Galt & Taggart or TBC Capital. These are subsidiary branches of the largest banks in the country, Bank of Georgia and TBC. Some of their services overlap, and commissions are similar. We can steer you towards the one most suited to your investment strategy during a consultation, or you can read the article about it on our blog.

The National Bank requires brokers to keep client funds (money and securities) separate from their own capital. So even were a broker to go bankrupt, creditors would have no claim to your money, and investor funds have no part in a broker’s commercial activities, such as to hedge third-party transactions. The integrity of client accounts is checked daily, and brokers are constantly being subjected to financial audits.

Since these countries are under U.S. and European sanctions, citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus cannot invest in American and European securities through Georgia brokers. They can still open a brokerage account, though, to access the high-yield corporate bonds of Georgian companies.

Not yet. But investments in other instruments that correlate with the dynamics of cryptocurrencies are available to you. For example, in shares of American mining companies, video card manufacturers, or spot ETFs on bitcoin.

The Labor Inspection Office has the authority to inspect, warn, and penalize companies in Georgia if they do not meet the required standards.

The need for a work visa depends on the country of origin. Citizens of countries with which Georgia has visa-free travel agreements do not need a work visa. For all other countries, a D1 visa is required

1. Employment Agreement: Start by creating a proper employment agreement.

2. Labor Migration Portal: Report the hiring of a foreign employee to the special labor migration portal.

3. Tax Office: Submit the necessary information to the tax office.

No, a special tax number is not required to start work in Georgia.

An Apostille is a verification of the documents, an authentication certification, and a stamp. It was created for use among nations participating in the Hague Convention, of which Georgia is also a signatory. The members of this convention have an agreement to accept documents issued and apostilled by other convention member countries.
An Apostille may pertain to different documents, including: marriage, birth, and death certificates as well as court documents, Power of Attorney, patents, diplomas etc.

The process for different types of documents vary. It can be complicated in some cases. Contact us, send us your documents, and we can take care of the other procedures involved in legalization.

There are different kinds of documents, such as those issued by the ministry of education and science, diplomas, certificates etc.. On the other hand there are public documents, a document submitted for registering a business in Georgia, for example Power of Attorney, birth or marriage certificates, and the list goes on.

Legalization is the official process of document authentication granted by international governments.

Legalization is the same process of document authentication as an apostille. But when a country does not recognize a document apostilled by another country, the legalization of documents must be carried out by foreign authorities.