What documents do I need to travel to Georgia?
Georgia lets citizens of 90+ countries stay visa-free for up to 365 days on a passport, and since January 2026 you also need health insurance covering your whole stay.
Updated
Entering Georgia - what you need
This article is about the country of Georgia in the Caucasus, not the US state. Entry is straightforward for most travellers, and if you book a hotel in Tbilisi or Batumi on trip1 you will have the address and confirmation the border officer may ask for.
- A passport valid for your whole stay, with at least one blank page for stamps
- Health and accident insurance covering the full period of your visit
- A Georgian e-visa, if your nationality is not on the visa-free list
- Proof of accommodation, such as your trip1 booking confirmation
- A return or onward ticket, which officers sometimes ask about on arrival
The 365-day visa-free stay explained
Georgia allows citizens of more than 90 countries to enter without a visa and stay for up to a full year on each entry. That covers EU and EEA nationals, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Israel, the Gulf states and much of Latin America.
You are admitted for tourism, business or study during that year, but not for local employment, which needs the right permit. A handful of nationalities get shorter allowances, so check the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs list for your passport before you book.
If your nationality is not visa-exempt, Georgia runs an e-visa applied for online in advance. Never pay a third party a premium for it, and use the official Georgian e-visa portal.
The insurance rule that changed in 2026
This is the newest thing to get right. From 1 January 2026, foreign visitors entering Georgia must hold valid health and accident insurance, with a minimum sum insured of 30,000 GEL, covering the full duration of the stay including arrival and departure days.
The policy can be paper or digital, must be in Georgian or English, and must name Georgia as covered territory. Border officers at air, land and sea crossings can ask for it, so save a copy offline rather than relying on airport wifi.
A few groups are exempt, including diplomatic passport holders and international transport crew. Everyone arriving as a tourist should assume the rule applies to them.
Georgia is outside Schengen, and that is useful
Georgia is not in the Schengen Area or the EU. Days you spend in Georgia do not count towards the Schengen 90 days in 180 allowance, so a long stint in Tbilisi is a genuine way for a slow traveller to let their Schengen clock reset.
It also means the EU systems do not touch you here. There is no ETIAS to apply for, and the EU Entry/Exit System does not operate at Georgian borders, so you still get an ordinary passport stamp.
Hotel check-in in Georgia
Georgian hotels ask every adult guest for a passport at check-in so they can register the stay. Bring the physical passport, since a photo of it is often refused.
Show your trip1 booking confirmation alongside it and the front desk can find your reservation straight away. The same confirmation is what proves your accommodation address if the border asks.
Some properties ask for a card at the desk to cover incidentals such as the minibar. That is a hotel policy set by the property, separate from how the booking itself was paid.
Entering Georgia - FAQ
Citizens of more than 90 countries can stay in Georgia visa-free for up to 365 days, which is one of the most generous allowances anywhere. That covers most EU, UK, US, Canadian, Australian and Japanese passport holders.
Yes. Since 1 January 2026 Georgia requires visitors to hold health and accident insurance covering their whole stay, with a minimum sum insured of 30,000 GEL, and border officers can ask to see it.
No. Georgia is outside the Schengen Area and the EU, so days you spend there do not count against the Schengen 90/180 limit.
Georgia asks for a passport valid for the duration of your stay, but many airlines and border officers expect a comfortable margin, so six months of remaining validity is the safest target.
Georgian hotels ask each adult guest for a passport so they can register the stay. Show your trip1 booking confirmation alongside it and check-in usually takes a couple of minutes.
