Georgian citizenship: standard, simplified, and exceptional procedures

Standard procedure: four conditions at once

Article 12 of the law lists the requirements for an adult applicant, all of which must be met together.

First — having legally resided in Georgia for the last ten consecutive years prior to the date of application. Second — demonstrating knowledge of the state language at the required level. Third — demonstrating knowledge of Georgian history and the basic principles of law at the required level. Fourth — having employment and/or property in Georgia, conducting business on Georgian territory, or holding a share or stocks in a Georgian company.

The law does not define the required level of language, history, or law knowledge — it refers to regulations approved by the Citizenship Commission. That is a secondary legal act, and you should check the exact requirements against it, not against secondhand accounts.

There are exceptions. The language, history, and law requirements do not apply to anyone whose persistent physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment makes the assessment impossible. The employment or property requirement does not apply to persons with refugee status. A stateless person with recognised status in Georgia needs only five years of lawful residence in that status, provided all other conditions are met.

Simplified procedure: marriage and five years

Article 14 provides the only real reduction in the waiting period for someone who has moved here: a person married to a Georgian citizen who has continuously and lawfully resided in Georgia for the five years immediately preceding the date of application acquires citizenship through a simplified procedure.

Not all requirements carry over — only two: language and knowledge of history and the fundamentals of law. Conditions relating to employment, property, or a share in a business do not apply under the simplified procedure — the law refers only to sub-paragraphs ’b’ and ’c’ of Article 12.

A separate simplified procedure exists for those with repatriate status: the requirements of Article 12 do not apply to them at all, and the procedure is governed by the regulations of the Citizenship Commission.

• Marriage to a Georgian citizen
• Five years of continuous lawful residence before filing
• Language, history and legal fundamentals — remain
• Employment, property and a business stake — not required

Renunciation of previous citizenship: where exactly it takes effect

Article 15 frames this as a condition for the decree to enter into force, not as a condition for filing. A presidential decree of Georgia granting citizenship to a foreign national enters into force upon receipt by the competent Georgian authorities of a document confirming that person’s renunciation of citizenship of another country.

There is one exception: a presidential decree granting citizenship on exceptional grounds — this condition does not apply to it.

The logic here applies to the entire law. Article 3 states: Georgia recognises a single citizenship, and a Georgian citizen may simultaneously hold foreign citizenship only in the cases provided for in Articles 17 and 21¹.

The flip side of the same rule concerns existing Georgian citizens: under Article 21, a citizen loses Georgian citizenship upon acquiring foreign citizenship — unless they have obtained the state’s prior consent to retain it. Consent is granted when the person’s ties to Georgia are deemed strong, and it must be requested before acquiring a second citizenship, not after.

Exceptional procedure: investment, sport, science, roots

Article 17 gives the president the right to grant citizenship by exception to a foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution to Georgia, or on the grounds of national interest.

The law lists circumstances that are taken into account, among other factors, when assessing national interest. First — the foreigner considers Georgia their homeland, and they or their ancestor lives in an occupied territory of Georgia, is internally displaced from it, or emigrated at various times due to political views or difficult socioeconomic conditions. Second — the foreigner has made or is making an investment in Georgia that significantly contributes to the country’s economic development. Third — the foreigner has achieved success in sport, science or the arts and is prepared to continue their activity on behalf of Georgia.

For the first category, the law separately requires knowledge of the state language, Georgian history, and the basics of law — within the limits established for the exceptional procedure.

The investment is verified by the authority handling the case: it requests the relevant information from the competent authority.

When you will be refused

Article 16 lists the grounds under which citizenship by naturalization cannot be acquired.

Commission of an international crime against peace and humanity. Involvement in a serious crime against a person or against state or public safety and order under Georgian law. Grounds of state and/or public security making the grant of citizenship inadvisable. Being wanted by Georgian or foreign law enforcement agencies or Interpol, or being subject to an ongoing extradition or expulsion procedure.

What exactly constitutes security interests is defined in the law: a threat to Georgia’s relations with other states or international organisations; a high probability that the person has ties to the armed forces of a state or organisation threatening Georgia’s defence and security, to foreign intelligence services, to terrorist or extremist organisations, or to organisations involved in illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons, weapons of mass destruction or their components, human trafficking, or other criminal activity.

An important procedural detail: if the ground for refusal is specifically a matter of national security, the final decision is made by the president personally, and a positive decision must be reasoned.

• International crimes against peace and humanity
• Serious offences against persons, state security, or public safety
• Interests of Georgia’s state or public security
• A wanted notice, extradition, or deportation proceedings in progress

Process, timelines, and reapplication

The application is submitted directly or through an authorized representative to the Public Service Development Agency under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, or to Georgian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. For minors, applications are filed by their legal representatives.

The final decision to grant, maintain, refuse, or revoke citizenship rests with the President of Georgia: a positive decision is issued as a decree, a negative one as an order.

Applications are processed and decided within no more than three months.

After a negative decision on a naturalisation application, you may reapply on the same grounds after six months.

A service fee is payable at the time of submission, the amount and procedure of which are set by the Government of Georgia.

A presidential refusal can now be appealed — this changed in 2025

Article 29 of the law opens with a prohibition: a decision of the President of Georgia on a citizenship matter — other than a decision to terminate citizenship — may not be appealed in court. This is precisely the provision that is typically cited when people say there is nothing to contest.

But next to it in the text of the law sits a note that is usually overlooked. By Decision No. 3/3/1601 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, dated 7 March 2025, the normative content of the first sentence of that paragraph — which excluded the possibility of appealing in court against a negative presidential decision on granting citizenship through the standard, simplified, restoration, or special procedure — was declared void.

In other words, the general prohibition remained in the text, while the exception to it now works in the applicant’s favour: a refusal of naturalisation is precisely the case that the Constitutional Court carved out of the prohibition. This does not remove the state’s discretion on the merits, but it means that a refusal is no longer final by definition.

The second part of the same article explains why it matters who exactly issued the refusal: a conclusion or decision by the citizenship agency that independently creates legal consequences is an administrative act. An agency act and a presidential decision have different legal natures — and different appeal routes.

Frequently asked questions

Verified September 11, 2026. The thresholds and amounts are tied to indicators that are reviewed annually — check the official source for your country before filing.