Health Insurance in Georgia (the Country) for Expats 2026: Tbilisi, Batumi, the 30,000-Lari Entry Rule and Private Cover

Written by Steffan Grund · Insurance specialist (Versicherungsfachmann BWV) · Updated October 28, 2026Facts checked: October 28, 2026

Key facts: health insurance in Georgia (the country) for foreigners, 2026

Sources: Legislative Herald of Georgia (Resolution No. 602, Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Ordinance No. 255, residence permit procedures), Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Bank of Georgia, Public Defender of Georgia, GOV.UK, Polish embassy in Tbilisi. Full list at the end of the page.

What is Georgia’s mandatory health insurance rule for foreigners from 2026?

Since 1 January 2026, every tourist entering Georgia must hold a health and accident insurance policy with a sum insured of at least 30,000 lari that covers the whole stay, from the day of entry to the day of departure. The operational rules sit in Government Resolution No. 602 of 26 December 2025; law firms link it to the insurance duty in the Law on Tourism. The idea is not new: Parliament had first set the rule for 1 June 2024 and then postponed it to the start of 2026.

The sanction comes from a different law. Article 11 of the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons lists, among the grounds for refusing a visa or entry, that a person “does not have health and accident insurance”. Resolution No. 602 itself sets no fine, and we found no official text that does; a figure for fines that circulates in some articles is not in any official source we could read, so we do not repeat it. In practice the risk is a refused entry, not a bill.

Three details matter for long-stay visitors. First, the period runs from the day you enter, so a policy that starts the next morning or on the 1st of the following month leaves a gap that the wording does not allow. Second, the insurance period in the resolution is at most one year, the same length as the longest visa-free stay. Third, the document must show the figures, not just a card. Print the schedule page that names you, the dates, Georgia as covered territory and the sum insured, in English. The Georgian Foreign Ministry repeats the 30,000-lari figure on its visa pages, and GOV.UK tells British visitors the same.

What the rule does not demand is a Georgian insurer. Unlike neighbouring Turkey, where a residence permit applied for inside the country needs a policy made by an insurer licensed in Turkey (see expat health insurance in Turkey), Resolution No. 602 allows a policy from a foreign insurer, as long as it shows the listed details; the Border Police still decide at the crossing point. Our visa health insurance requirements by country page sets the Georgian rule beside other countries’ entry and visa rules.

Who is exempt from the rule, and does it apply to residents?

Resolution No. 602 exempts five groups by name, mostly diplomats and professional drivers, and it does not mention residence permit holders at all. Because the rule is written for “tourists”, and the Law on Tourism describes a tourist as a visitor staying at least one night and no longer than a year, law firms in Tbilisi read it as not covering people who live or work in Georgia. That reading is reasonable, but it is not an official statement, and officers at the border can still ask.

The practical answer for an expat is simple: until your residence card is in your hand, you are a visitor and need the tourist policy. After that, keep any health policy you hold printed and in English when you travel, because the border officer, not you, decides whether you look like a tourist. No age exemption exists in the resolution, so the rule applies equally to a 30-year-old nomad and a 70-year-old retiree.

Do you need health insurance for a Georgian residence permit?

The residence permit rules we could read do not list health insurance among the documents, so in Georgia insurance is an entry rule for tourists rather than a permit condition. You apply to the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice, through a Public Service Hall, at least 40 days before your lawful stay runs out. The 2014 procedures list the documents for each permit type: a passport copy, the visa or proof of lawful stay, a photo and the evidence for the purpose, such as a work contract, a university enrolment letter, a marriage certificate or an audit of an investment.

The only health item in the 2014 text: the agency “may request a health certificate” when a disease spreading in another country poses a risk to Georgia. The procedures were amended many times since 2014 (latest consolidation 26 August 2026), and the current text was not available to us in full, so ask the Public Service Hall for the list for your permit before you apply.

Even without a formal rule, health cover matters more once you have a permit, not less. A resident cannot use the state programme as a citizen would, Georgian clinics expect payment as treatment is given, and the tourist policy you used on arrival is a one-trip product. That is where long-term cover comes in; the expat health insurance guide explains how such plans work in general.

How long can Americans, Britons and EU citizens stay in Georgia without a visa?

Citizens of the countries on Georgia’s visa-free list, including the United States, the United Kingdom, all EU states, Canada and Australia, can enter and stay for one full year without a visa. The Law on Aliens sets 90 days in any 180 as the general visa-free limit and lets the government name countries whose citizens may stay a full year; Ordinance No. 255 of 5 June 2015 contains that list. GOV.UK puts it as up to 365 days for British nationals.

The ordinance was last consolidated on 24 February 2026, and the government changed the terms for 17 countries in 2025, so the list can move. We read the annex in its original form, where the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and every EU member state appear. For people who plan to stay beyond a year, or to work for a Georgian company, the visa-free year is a bridge to a permit, not a substitute for one. Remote workers who compare Georgia with other places can use digital nomad visas by country.

Can foreigners use Georgia’s public healthcare system?

Generally no: Georgia’s Universal Healthcare Programme is built for citizens, and GOV.UK tells British residents plainly that they cannot register for the national healthcare system. The programme was created by Government Resolution No. 36 of 21 February 2013 and is run by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, with the Social Service Agency handling registration. Its text names citizens of Georgia as beneficiaries unless a separate programme says otherwise; recognised stateless persons and refugee or humanitarian status holders have been added.

The permanent-resident case is the only grey zone. In April 2018 the Public Defender of Georgia found that a woman with a permanent residence permit had been refused antenatal care and a state-funded caesarean because she was not a citizen, called it direct discrimination on grounds of nationality and recommended that permit holders get equal access to state health programmes. We found no current ministry page that shows whether the rules changed afterwards, so if you hold or plan a permanent permit, ask the Social Service Agency in writing. For everyone else, the working assumption is private payment, private insurance or both. How Georgia compares with other systems is on healthcare systems by country.

There is no reciprocal health agreement between Georgia and the UK, according to GOV.UK, and the UK S1 form works only in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. The European Health Insurance Card does not apply either, because Georgia is not in the EU. Americans carry nothing over: Medicare generally does not pay for care outside the United States.

What happened to the Remotely from Georgia programme?

We could not confirm that the Remotely from Georgia programme is still open in 2026, so do not plan a move around it. The government launched it in 2020, during the pandemic, for remote workers from 95 countries who intended to stay at least six months, with an online application. We found no current official page for it, and an independent visa database lists the programme as deactivated, without a date.

For a nomad from the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, Canada or Australia this matters less than it seems: the one-year visa-free stay already covers a year of remote work for a foreign employer, as long as you hold the 30,000-lari policy for the whole stay. What it does not give you is residence, a tax registration or a path to a permit; those need a residence permit at a Public Service Hall. Our digital nomad health insurance guide compares travel policies with long-term plans, and health insurance for freelancers abroad covers the self-employed.

Private clinics in Tbilisi and Batumi: what care costs

Foreigners in Georgia use private clinics and pay as treatment is given, and the UK Foreign Office describes facilities in Tbilisi as available but potentially expensive, with limited facilities outside the capital. The Foreign Office keeps a list of medical providers for British nationals. Batumi, the Black Sea city, has private clinics too, including a branch of the National Center of Surgery.

We found no official national price list for private care. The figures below are the only ones we could tie to a source; treat them as orientation, not quotes.

The 30,000-lari minimum is a legal floor, not a price for care. We found no dated source for hospital or surgery prices, so a travel policy at the legal minimum may or may not be enough for a serious case; ask the clinic for a written estimate. When you choose a clinic, ask three things before you need it: whether the doctors speak English, whether the clinic issues itemised invoices in English (your insurer will need them), and how it handles foreign insurers. Do not assume that a clinic and a foreign insurer have an arrangement to settle bills between them.

Why does medical evacuation matter for expats in Georgia?

Evacuation matters because complex care is concentrated in Tbilisi and some treatment may mean a transfer abroad, which GOV.UK tells travellers their insurance should cover. Someone who falls ill in Batumi, Kutaisi or a ski resort may first need a transfer to the capital; someone who needs a treatment not offered in Georgia may need a flight to another country. Both are expensive if no policy pays for them.

Check two separate benefits in any policy. Transport within Georgia to the nearest suitable hospital, and transport out of the country, either home or to a third country. Each travel policy sets its own rules and limits for both; read the schedule. Care Expat World lists medically advised transport back home and rescue costs after an accident of up to €5,000 on Basic, €10,000 on Comfort and €15,000 on Premium. The documents we read do not describe a flight from Georgia to a hospital in a third country, such as Turkey, as a separate benefit, so ask Care Concept in writing before you rely on it. For Americans, transport “back home” means the USA, where the plan pays no care at all; ask how that interacts with the home-country rule as well.

Where does Care Expat World fit for expats in Georgia?

Care Expat World is a long-term international plan for people living abroad, and Georgia sits in its Zone 1, which covers the whole world except the USA, China and Singapore. It is built for the years after the entry stage: private clinics in Tbilisi and Batumi, treatment in other Zone 1 countries such as Turkey, Greece or Thailand, no end date once you are in, and, in Comfort and Premium, dental care, check-ups and glasses. It is not a travel policy, and we make no claim that the Georgian Border Police or any office accepts it as proof under Resolution No. 602; the insurer’s own terms say it cannot guarantee that the contract satisfies a local compulsory insurance rule.

Three plan rules shape how it fits a move to Georgia. First, the start date: the plan begins on the 1st of a month and never before you cross the border, so it cannot cover the day you land. The safe sequence is a travel policy that satisfies the 30,000-lari rule from arrival, then long-term cover from the 1st of a following month. Second, prior insurance: health insurance that ended no more than 12 months before the start is a condition, with a 31-day waiting period after a gap; whether Medicare, the NHS or a travel policy counts as that prior insurance, the documents don’t confirm this, so ask Care Concept in writing. Third, payment: the documents we read make no promise of direct billing with Georgian clinics, so plan to pay and claim with itemised invoices. The full terms are on the plan details page.

On later trips into Georgia, for example after a holiday, you may again be asked for proof of insurance if you do not yet hold a residence card. We make no claim that a Care Expat World confirmation satisfies Resolution No. 602, so for any entry as a visitor carry a travel policy that meets the 30,000-lari rule for that stay. For readers whose home country is in the EU, one benefit changes the picture: a German or Pole living in Tbilisi is covered on visits home for up to 180 days per calendar year. That benefit does not exist for Americans or Britons; see international health insurance with home-country cover.

Health insurance in Georgia for Americans, Britons and EU citizens: what is different?

On the Georgian side nothing differs, because the entry rule, the visa-free year and the lack of public cover apply to all three; the differences are on the home side, in Medicare, the NHS and EU home-country benefits. An American has no public cover that travels, a Briton has no S1 route because Georgia is outside the EU and EEA, and an EU citizen keeps the option of home visits under an international plan.

Americans should settle the Medicare Part B question before they leave, because dropping it can bring late-enrolment penalties on return; see health insurance for Americans living abroad. Britons should know that, after moving abroad, free NHS hospital treatment on visits is not guaranteed; health insurance for UK expats covers the NHS side. EU citizens can read health insurance for EU citizens abroad.

What does expat health insurance in Georgia cost in 2026?

A travel policy for the entry rule is priced by each insurer, while Care Expat World in Zone 1 costs from €140 a month at 50–54, €200 at 55–59 and €325 at 60–64. We found no official price list for Georgian travel or health policies, so the table shows only the long-term plan from our registry and the fixed legal minimum.

Over a full year at 60–64, Basic with the €3,600 deductible costs €3,900 in premiums and Comfort with €1,200 costs €7,860. In a heavy year you add the deductible: €7,500 on Basic and €9,060 on Comfort. In the first calendar year the deductible is reduced pro rata by full months from the start month. Premiums at every age are on what international health insurance costs.

Checklist: health cover for your stay in Georgia

• Confirmed you mean Georgia the country: the policy schedule names “Georgia” as a country of cover, not a US state
• Travel policy with at least 30,000 lari sum insured, starting on the day you enter and running to the day you leave
• Policy printed and saved in English, showing your name, dates, territory, insured risks, sum insured and premium
• Passport checked against the current visa-free list (Ordinance No. 255)
• Stay longer than a year, work or study planned: residence permit application at a Public Service Hall at least 40 days before your stay runs out
• Asked the Public Service Hall whether your permit type needs any health document
• Long-term cover booked from the 1st of a month after arrival, with the prior-insurance question sent to Care Concept in writing
• Evacuation and transfer benefits checked in writing, including transfer from Batumi to Tbilisi or abroad
• A clinic chosen in advance that issues itemised English invoices
• Separate cover arranged for trips home to the US or UK
• Americans: Medicare Part B decision recorded
• Residence card and a policy confirmation packed for every re-entry

Worked example: an American aged 58 in Tbilisi and a Briton aged 62 in Batumi

Mark, 58, from Texas, arrives in Tbilisi on 14 March on his US passport for the visa-free year. At the airport he carries a travel policy with a 30,000-lari sum insured that runs from 14 March for the length of his planned stay, printed in English. He books Care Expat World Comfort with a €1,200 deductible from 1 April: €505 a month, or €6,060 for the 12-month minimum term. In the first calendar year his deductible is pro-rated from April. He pays a private clinic for a check-up and claims it back with the English invoice. On a trip to Texas the plan does not cover him, because the USA is his home country, so he buys travel cover for those weeks. When he decides to stay beyond the year he applies for a residence permit at a Public Service Hall and asks there whether any health document is needed. From 1 January of the year of his 60th birthday he pays the 60–64 rate, €655 a month.

Helen, 62, from Leeds, moves to Batumi on her British passport, below UK State Pension age, so the S1 question does not even arise; it would not work in Georgia anyway. She enters on 2 June with a travel policy at the 30,000-lari minimum and starts Care Expat World Basic with the €3,600 deductible on 1 July: €325 a month, €3,900 a year. Because medical facilities outside Tbilisi are limited, she asks Care Concept in writing whether a transfer to Tbilisi or abroad would be paid, and keeps money set aside for the deductible: in a heavy year she would pay up to €7,500 in total. Trips to the UK stay outside the plan.

What if you are 65 or older?

At 65 or older the Georgian rules stay the same, because Resolution No. 602 has no age exemption, but the long-term options narrow. For Care Expat World, the last possible start date is 1 December of the year in which you turn 64. Each stay as a tourist still needs a policy of at least 30,000 lari, and travel insurers set their own upper ages. If you are close to the limit, the year you apply decides what is open to you; see expat health insurance over 65, age limits on international health insurance and expat health insurance for retirees.

Health insurance in Georgia vs nearby countries

Georgia differs from its neighbour Turkey in accepting foreign policies at the border and in having no insurance condition in the permit rules we read, while Turkey asks residents for a policy made in Turkey. All of the countries below are in Zone 1 of Care Expat World.

Georgia sits in Zone 1: the whole world apart from the USA, China and Singapore, with stays in the USA, China and Singapore limited to emergencies on trips of up to 42 days; Americans are not covered in the USA at all, because it is their home country. The terms pay at home only when the home country belongs to the EU or Schengen area, which leaves Americans without cover in the USA and Britons without cover in the UK. Nothing here claims that the Georgian Border Police or a Public Service Hall will accept the plan, and the plan cannot start on the day you arrive. Already 65 or older in the year cover would start? This plan is closed to you; we are preparing a comparison of plans without an entry-age limit. Prices for every age are on the Care Expat World overview.

Plan your move to Georgia

• Pre-existing conditions: how the health interview works.
• Family cover: insuring a partner or children who move with you.
• Cheapest countries to retire: how other low-cost destinations compare.

Where these facts come from

• Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge): Government Resolution No. 602 of 26 December 2025 on mandatory health and accident insurance for tourists entering Georgia, Georgian text (read 28 October 2026)
• Legislative Herald of Georgia: Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, articles 10 and 11, consolidated to June 2026
• Legislative Herald of Georgia: Government Ordinance No. 255 of 5 June 2015 on visa-free countries (annex, initial version; consolidated 24 February 2026)
• Legislative Herald of Georgia: procedures for granting Georgian residence permits (2014 text; consolidated 26 August 2026)
• Government Resolution No. 36 of 21 February 2013 on the transition to universal healthcare (beneficiary article, via the Legislative Herald)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Embassy in Jordan: visa information, insurance for tourists and short-term visas (read October 2026)
• Public Defender of Georgia: finding on nationality discrimination in a state health programme (13 April 2018)
• National Bank of Georgia: official exchange rates for 28 October 2026
• GOV.UK: Georgia travel advice, entry requirements and health (read 28 October 2026); Living in Georgia (22 December 2025)
• Embassy of Poland in Tbilisi: information for travellers to Georgia (1 January 2026)
• UNHCR Georgia: guide to the Universal Healthcare Programme for refugees and stateless persons (2023)
• Secondary, labelled on the page: Eurofast and Andersen Georgia explainers on the tourist insurance rule (2026); EIG Law on the property permit threshold (February 2026); Expatistan doctor-visit price for Tbilisi (March 2026)
• Medicare: coverage outside the United States
• Care Concept: Care Expat World premium table and terms (VB-KV 2026_05, read 27–28 October 2026)

Official sources differ slightly on the visa-free stay (“one full year” in the ordinance, “up to 365 days” on GOV.UK). We found no official statement on whether residence permit holders count as tourists at the border, no current text on permanent residents and the Universal Healthcare Programme, no official status of Remotely from Georgia and no official prices for private care. Check with the Border Police, the Public Service Hall and the Social Service Agency before you rely on a point.