Employment of foreigners in Georgia in 2022

Today, specialists in the field of IT, web design and finance are in demand in Georgia. Construction industry workers and engineers can also easily find a place. Foreigners have the same right to work as citizens of Georgia, according to the Constitution and the Labor Code of the country. In addition, unlike Russia and Belarus, there are no quotas for foreigners, and there is also no obligation to employ Georgian citizens in companies with foreign capital. a

The work activity of foreigners in Georgia is regulated by the Law "On Labor Migration". If you do not need a visa for a tourist visit to Georgia, then you will not need a work permit either. You can conclude an Employment Agreement already in the country. If there are visa relations between your country of citizenship and Georgia, then for subsequent Employment you will need a work visa, which is issued for up to 90 days.

As we have already written, only an identity card is required for Employment. For certain categories of Employees, there may be requirements for education or health status.

If the period of work exceeds one month, then the Employee and the Employer are obliged to conclude an Employment Agreement in writing (otherwise there is a risk of incurring administrative liability in the form of a fine and tax liability for evasion of income tax from wages). A citizen of another country without a Document granting the right to permanent residence (permanent residence) can conclude a Agreement for up to 30 months with the possibility of extension. A Agreement for a period of more than 30 months (or two Agreements concluded consecutively with a gap of less than 60 days) is considered indefinite, according to the Labor Code of Georgia.

In Georgia, there is a probationary period, and quite a long one — up to six months. The probation period condition can only be established in a written Employment Agreement.

The Labor Code distinguishes between paid and unpaid leave. The right to annual paid leave of at least 24 working days appears after 11 months of work. The Employer is obliged to provide the Employee with a leave without pay lasting 15 calendar days during the year upon request. We recommend that each personnel decision (vacation, Employment, sick leave) be issued by a separate order.

The working week, according to the code, cannot exceed 40 hours per week (excluding rest time).

The obligation to notify the authorities about the new Employee lies with the Employer. Two days before the start of work, he is obliged to notify the tax service about the Employee’s Employment. It is also mandatory to notify the service when an Employee is dismissed within five days after the termination of the Employment Agreement.

Within 30 days from the date of Employment of a foreign Employee who does not have permanent residence in Georgia, the Employer informs the State Employment Assistance Agency about the new Employee. In the form approved by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Protection, he indicates data on the profession, specialty and qualifications of the Employee. To do this, it is necessary to send a notification in paper and electronic form to the Agency’s address and the Ministry’s e-mail, respectively. Employees who initially came to Georgia not for the purpose of work and found it already on the spot are also reported to both services. There is an obligation to send information about the dismissal of an Employee.

Responsibility for non-notification has not been established at the moment, that is, the Employer decides for himself whether to report new Employees or not. We recommend not to neglect this requirement of the authorities.

There is no need to notify about Employees working remotely from another country.

The only tax that an Employee will pay in Georgia is income tax. Its amount is 20%, it is retained by the Employer when paying remuneration. Since the appearance of permanent residence in Georgia, there is an obligation to pay pension contributions. Their size is 4% of the salary, half is paid by the Employee, half by the Employer.

In addition, if the work is associated with increased risk (for example, the construction industry), Employee insurance is mandatory. The damage caused by an accident at work is compensated by the insurance company with which the Employer has concluded a Agreement.

The Employer is obliged to keep a monthly timesheet. It indicates the number of hours worked, days; overtime hours and work on weekends and holidays or at night are allocated. Paid and unpaid leave, absence from work due to illness are separately noted.

The Employer is obliged to familiarize Employees with the report card for the past month in the first ten days of the next month. For example, from September 1 to September 10, you receive a schedule for August and, if you agree, approves it. The form of receipt and approval is agreed upon by the Employee and the Employer — in writing or by e-mail. For failure to fulfill the obligation to record working hours, the Employer faces a fine of 20 to 1000 lari for each violation (each missing schedule). The report card for each month is stored for one year.

Every Employee has the right to safe working conditions and occupational safety. On the part of the Employer, this right must be provided by a certified occupational safety specialist, the presence of him in the staff of the company or involvement for work under a Agreement is a strict obligation of the Employer. If there are fewer than 20 Employees, then the director of the company can perform the functions of an occupational safety specialist if he has a certificate.

If 20 to 100 Employees work, the company must have at least one occupational safety specialist on staff or under contract. If there are 100 or more Employees, the Employer is obliged to create a labor safety service of at least two people.

For violation of the requirement, a warning or a fine in the amount of 400 to 20 thousand GEL is provided.