Georgia: bank accounts, company registration in Free Industrial Zones, and legal residency through investment

Georgia is an inspiring example of a national revival. Once torn by conflicts and sunk in bureaucracy, Georgia has now turned into a true pearl of Caucasus.

Before 2009, the country had to go through several military conflicts, economic crises, government take-overs, and national upheavals. However, the small country that did not even have basic infrastructure and was highly corrupt after the breakup of the Soviet Union, has managed to make it to the top of the ease of doing business ratings and become competitive in the international arena. In 2017-2018 fiscal year, 10,000 new legal entities were registered in Georgia and over 10 billion US dollars were invested in such spheres of economy as energy production, processing industry, financial sector, and construction. Today, the country offers duty-free access to a two-billion-consumer market as well as the most liberal business conditions in the region.

How did Georgia manage to turn into an economically stable state over such a short period of time? What opportunities does the country provide to the business companies registered there? What are Georgia’s achievements in the international arena? You can find the answers to these and many other questions in our ‘Georgia from A to Z’ section. We hope that the articles published here will make you consider the opportunity to use the favorable business climate in the country.

I. Services and complex solutions for investors in Georgia

Georgia attracts the attention of the international investment community by the favorable business conditions that it offers. Company registration takes one day only in the country. The customs and the tax codes have been recently revised. Incentives for international business are in place. Finally, non-resident banking opportunities are available that stand out against the background of the global de-offshorization processes. All of these features are within your reach with our professional assistance. Right now, you can gain access to the following:

• Personal and corporate bank accounts whose confidentiality is protected not only by the banking privacy principles but also by the absence of Georgia on the CRS member list.
• Companies in Georgia of various forms of ownership including sole proprietorships, LLCs, limited and unlimited partnerships, cooperatives, and so on.
• Duty-free trade with Europe and Asia that is made possible by the “Made in Georgia” label on the products.
• Liberal conditions for international commercial operations in the IT sphere.
• All the necessary instruments for converting cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies and making IСОs.

Important! Over the recent years, Georgia gas passed more laws than some other countries have passed throughout history and the process continues. Thus, we recommend that you acquire business instruments available in Georgia while they are accessible to foreign nationals and come at affordable prices.

II. Real Estate in Georgia

III. Banking sector in Georgia

The banking system in Georgia has been going through reforms for over twenty years now. In the early 1990s, there were over 200 banks in the country, state-owned and private ones. However, during the last decade, the banking sector in Georgia became independent from the state. All banks are private now and their number has been reduced to fifteen while only one bank in the country has Georgian capital. The banking sector in Georgia took the present form at the end of 2014. Parallel to the Government efforts in attracting foreign investments, the banks optimize short-term financing mechanisms including trade financing and consumer loans. Over the last five years or so, the net profits of the banks in Georgia have been stably growing and the growth in this sector of economy is more rapid that the overall economic growth in the country. Ironically, the global de-offshorization process play a positive role in the development of Georgian banks. They are becoming more popular with the international investment community due to the wide spectrum of business credit types that they offer, high interest rates on deposits, and the opportunity to diversify assets securely. Besides, Georgia does not practice currency control thus far. If you register a resident company in Georgia, you can add PayPal account to your corporate account.

IV. FIZ – Free Industrial Zones in Georgia

Seeking to make the best possible use of the country’s logistic potential, the Government of Georgia has established four Free Industrial Zones in the cities of Tbilisi, Poti, and Kutaisi. Companies registered in Georgian FIZs can trade with Europe and Asia without paying the customs duties. In addition to that, no profit tax is levied in FIZs and this has made the Zones popular low-tax offshore territories.

V. Virtual Zones in Georgia for IT companies

The Virtual Zone is a preferential tax regime for IT companies with traditional forms of ownership such as LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc. Companies that sell their IT products and services abroad, that is, outside of Georgia, become tax exempt if registered in the Virtual Zone. This opens several attractive opportunities for reinvestment and profit optimization. As energy resources are readily available in Georgia, more and more IT entrepreneurs choose the country as the platform for their business activities.

VI. Forms of company ownership and nuances of company registration in Georgia

In this section, you can find out how to register a company in Georgia within one day. You can also learn what company ownership types are available in the country. In addition, you can obtain all the necessary information about the documents required for company registration in Georgia as well as various types of licenses that can be acquired there. In short, here you will find everything about company registration in the pearl of Caucasus.

VII. Tax and customs systems in Georgia

The Government of Georgia has joined the Tax Code and the Customs Code into one document. This emphasizes the logistic potential of the country. The number of taxes has been reduced from twenty-six to six while only one tax is payable in FIZs – the payroll tax. In this section, you can find information about taxes levied on local companies as well as import-export companies in Georgia. You will also learn how residents of Georgia are taxed and how the tax system works in the country in general.

VIII. Georgia for investors and business in Georgia for foreigners

One of the main goals that the Government of Georgia has is attracting foreign direct investments to the country. To achieve this goal a great number of reforms have been made and a large number of laws have been passed. As a result, the security of foreign investments in Georgia is guaranteed. International corporations make a note of the favorable investment conditions in the country. A multimillion-dollar inflow of investments that Georgia has received over only a few last years is a sure indication of the interest to the country on the part of large investment groups. Many sectors of economy are invested in. For instance, the banking sector in the country has seen serious positive changes recently; tourist industry develops very fast; construction projects are launched one after another, and so on. But even though giant international corporations make huge investments into Georgian economy, there are sectors for small and medium-size business in the country where competition is low or inexistent. In this section, you can learn how Georgia has managed to minimize investment risks and read about the latest investment projects in the country. Here we also discuss the possible problems that a foreign investor may face in Georgia.

IX. Georgia in the international arena: the rating positions that the country enjoys and the agreements that it has made

Georgia has always been considered a transit hub between Europe and Asia and that is why its diplomatic relations have been strong on both sides notwithstanding any changes of Government. Georgia is the only country in the region that has made free trade agreements with Turkey, China (including Hong King), EFTA countries, EU states, Great Britain, CIS countries, and Ukraine. It also has preferential trade agreements with Japan, the USA, and Canada and similar agreements with India, Israel, and Persian Gulf countries are underway. These agreements give Georgian-made goods duty-free access to the markets with over two billion potential customers. In addition to that, Georgia has signed 50+ agreements on avoidance on double taxation. You can read more about the position of Georgia in the international arena in this section.

X. I am a citizen of Georgia: legal residence and citizenship of the country

Citizens of 98 world countries in total can enter Georgia without a visa and stay there for 365 days a year. We highly recommend visiting Georgia to appreciate its fantastic nature before you make an investment there. Probably, you will want to stay in the country forever. Even though many foreigners are allowed to stay in Georgia all the year round, there is a possibility to acquire a temporary residence permit when purchasing a 100,000-US-dollar worth of real property located in the country. There are also other opportunities to acquire Georgian residency and citizenship. In this section, you will find information on obtaining legal residence and citizenship of Georgia as well as interesting facts about living in the country.

XI. International forums and conferences in Georgia

In this section, we inform the readers about various events related to the offshore industry, investments, and business and that are held in Georgia. We also mention the events in other countries that are dedicated to Georgia and investments into the country.

XII. Georgia in the crypto market: Georgian ‘golden fleece’ cryptocurrency, currency mining, and blockckain technologies in Georgia

XIII. Intellectual property rights protection in Georgia

In this section, we talk about acquiring patents, registering trademarks, and protecting intellectual property rights in other ways in Georgia.

XIV. Accounting requirements and accounting services in Georgia

In this section, we discuss the issues related to keeping the financial records and describe the accounting support services available to Georgian-based companies.

XV. The economy of Georgia

In this section, we describe the current economic situation in Georgia and the economic development in the country.

XVI. Life in Georgia

This section is for those who would like to stay in Georgia for a long time or forever. The articles here cover the topics that may be of interest to (prospective) residents of Georgia. We discuss the possibility to retire to the country and spend your golden years there, among other things.

XVII. Business licenses in Georgia

In this section, we describe the procedures of obtaining various business licenses in Georgia. For example, we discuss the methods of acquiring a FOREX license in the country.