Georgia Student Visa: D3 Visa, Residence Permit and Work Rules
Who needs a D3 visa, what the embassy checks, when to file for a residence permit, and what the current work rules mean for students.
Students from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt need a Georgia student visa, category D3, before they travel. Citizens of the GCC countries enter visa-free and apply for a study residence permit inside Georgia.
The D3 visa is only the first half of the process. It is issued for 90 days, and within that window you must apply for a student residence permit, which is what keeps you legal for the rest of your degree. Both steps depend on paperwork you prepare months earlier: an admission order from Georgia's Ministry of Education, legalized school documents and proof of funds.
This page covers each step for the upcoming intake, based on official embassy checklists and agency rules. For the wider picture, start with our study in Georgia guide.
| Your passport or status | Entry to Georgia | Route for study |
|---|---|---|
India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt | Visa required | D3 study visa through a Georgian embassy, then a student residence permit |
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman | Visa-free for 1 year | Enter visa-free, then apply for a student residence permit in Georgia |
Any nationality with a valid visa or residence permit from one of 50 listed countries (US, UK, EU/Schengen, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, GCC and others) | Visa-free for 90 days in any 180 days | Entry rule only; plan your study status separately (see below) |
Who needs a Georgia student visa
India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt are not on Georgia's visa-free list. With one of these passports and no residence abroad, the D3 visa is your route to study.
GCC citizens are in a better position. They can stay in Georgia for one full year without a visa and file for a study residence permit from inside the country. No D3 is needed.
Indian or Pakistani nationals living in the UAE, the UK, the EU or another listed country can enter visa-free for 90 days in any 180 days, if their permit is valid on arrival. This is an entry rule, not a study status. The Georgian embassy in the UAE issues D3 visas to UAE residents with extra conditions (see below).
D3 visa Georgia: documents and fees
The D3 is an immigration visa category used for study. You fill in the application online on the Georgian consular portal, geoconsul.gov.ge. In India, you then hand in the documents through a VFS Global visa center.
The consular fee is 20 USD. If you apply through VFS, their service fee is added on top. Georgia's e-Visa portal is not an option for students: it issues short-term category C visas for tourism, business and transit, and a study visa goes through the embassy.
D3 visa documents (checklist of the Georgian embassy in India)
- Completed visa application form.
- Passport issued within the last 10 years and valid for at least 3 months beyond the visa.
- Receipt for the consular fee.
- Air tickets or a booking.
- Order of the Ministry of Education of Georgia admitting you to study.
- University enrollment order.
- For an English-taught program: confirmation that the program exists in English.
- NEET result (MBBS applicants only).
- Proof of accommodation: a rental contract, a notarized letter from your host, or a booking.
- Proof of funds.
- Health insurance covering the full visa period.
- All education documents apostilled by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
How much money do you need to show?
The embassy checklists do not set a fixed amount. You will see figures online, but they do not come from the embassies. What the embassy asks for is evidence: your own funds, or a sponsor package with a notarized sponsor affidavit, the sponsor's ID, a 3-month bank statement and a salary certificate. A grant or scholarship letter also works.
A statement with one large deposit a week before you apply raises questions. We help families assemble the sponsor package in checklist order.
Applying from the UAE
The Georgian embassy in the UAE adds two conditions. You need an online entry permission for students through registration.gov.ge, and your UAE residence permit or multiple-entry visa must stay valid for 90 days longer than the visa you request.
From offer letter to residence permit: the full sequence
University offer — the university agrees to admit you.
Recognition of your school certificate — Georgia's National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE) checks that your certificate is genuine and matches Georgian standards.
Ministry order — after NCEQE, the Ministry of Education issues the order that lets the university enroll you. Foreign students do not sit Georgia's national exams.
D3 application — online form, then documents at the embassy or VFS, with the ministry order and university order attached.
Travel — the D3 is issued for 90 days.
Residence permit — file with the Public Service Development Agency at least 40 days before your visa runs out.
Start about 2–3 months before the semester. Recognition alone takes up to one month at the standard NCEQE fee of 40 GEL, and faster processing costs more: 80 GEL for 15 working days, 120 GEL for 5 working days, 250 GEL for one working day. The ministry order and the visa come after that. Full entry requirements are on our admission requirements page.
D3 visa and residence permit timeline
For students from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt
2–3 months before the semester
Start the process
Recognition, the ministry order and the visa all take time, so begin well before the semester.
Up to 1 month
NCEQE recognition
40 GEL for 1 month; 80 GEL for 15 working days, 120 GEL for 5, 250 GEL for one working day.
Valid for 90 days
D3 study visa
Apply with the ministry order and university order; the visa is issued for 90 days.
Roughly the first 50 days after arrival
Residence permit application
File no later than 40 calendar days before your legal stay ends.
Day 10, 20 or 30
Residence permit decision
300 GEL for a decision on the 30th calendar day, 450 GEL for the 20th, 600 GEL for the 10th.
Let's review your case in a free consultation
We will match a country, university and programme to your documents and budget, and explain deadlines and the visa.
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Apostille or consular legalization
Georgia joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2007, so the route for your documents depends on whether your home country is also a member. Every foreign document you submit to NCEQE also needs a notarized translation into Georgian.
| Country where documents were issued | Hague Apostille Convention | What you do |
|---|---|---|
India | Member | Apostille; for the D3, the embassy requires an MEA apostille on all education documents |
Pakistan | Member | Apostille |
Saudi Arabia | Member | Apostille |
Nigeria, Egypt | Not a member | Consular legalization: your foreign ministry, then the Georgian consulate |
UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman | Not a member | Consular legalization |
The exact legalization order can vary, so confirm it with the consulate before you start.
Find your programme in 2 minutes
Georgia residence permit for students
The study residence permit is issued by the Public Service Development Agency. You can apply at a Public Service Hall, at an agency office, or online. The permit, not the D3, is what covers your years of study.
The key deadline: file no later than 40 calendar days before your legal stay ends. With a 90-day D3, that leaves roughly the first 50 days after arrival. GCC citizens count the 40 days back from the end of their one-year visa-free stay.
| Processing fee | Decision by |
|---|---|
300 GEL | 30th calendar day |
450 GEL | 20th calendar day |
600 GEL | 10th calendar day |
Residence permit documents
- Application form.
- Copy of your passport.
- Proof of legal stay (for Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian and Egyptian students, the D3 visa).
- University certificate of enrollment in a higher or vocational program, showing the length of study.
- Proof of legal income or funds in a bank account.
- Color photo, 3×4, in electronic form.
- Payment receipt.
The funds rule is set as two subsistence minimums per month for the whole permit period. We do not quote a single figure, because Georgia's statistics office updates the subsistence minimum every month. Check the amount at the moment you apply, or ask us to calculate it for your dates. A separate fee applies for producing the permit card.
Working while studying: the current rules
From March 1, 2026, according to published legal explainers, a foreigner without permanent residence needs a separate work authorization to work for a Georgian employer or to be self-employed in Georgia. A study residence permit does not give that right by itself, and no student exception appears in public sources.
The practical advice is simple: build your budget without counting on earnings in Georgia. Lawyers interpret remote work for a foreign company or for clients outside Georgia as not needing authorization, but there is no official confirmation. Plan your costs with our cost of studying in Georgia guide.
What to know before you apply
Most D3 applicants are headed for medicine. The visa is the easy part; these points matter more for your career.
Independent practice in Georgia requires Georgian. The Medical Doctor program is 6 years (360 ECTS), with the internship inside those 6 years. After graduating you get junior doctor status, which means working under the responsibility of an independent doctor, with no right to independent practice except in emergencies. Georgian law makes knowledge of Georgian mandatory for independent medical practice. Universities include Georgian courses in the curriculum because patients in the clinic speak Georgian.
Accreditation has an end date. Georgia's accreditor, NCEQE, is recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) until November 2028. WFME recognizes agencies, not universities. A student starting now graduates years after that date, and renewal cannot be guaranteed in advance.
Home-country licensing decides whether the degree works for you. For Indian students, the NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 set conditions on course length, internship, language of instruction and licensing in the country of study. Georgia's Ministry of Education states that its MD is in line with the NMC rules. That is Georgia's position, not an NMC decision, so check the regulations yourself before applying. NEET is required for Indian citizens who plan to study medicine abroad and register in India. Pakistani students should check the PM&DC conditions, including the MDCAT threshold, before they commit.
There is no official fixed amount of money for the visa. Anyone who quotes you an exact "required bank balance" is guessing. Prepare a clean, well-documented sponsor file instead.
More on program choice is on our MBBS in Georgia page.
Documents and legalisation: a checklist for nine destinations
Where an apostille is enough, where consular legalisation is required, and what separate recognition step each destination asks for — with the order of steps and timings.
- The basic document pack needed everywhere
- Apostille or consular legalisation — a table by destination
- Denklik, homologación, CIMEA, NCEQE: what they are and how long they take
- Three mistakes that cost applicants a year
Other study destinations
The same budget buys a different outcome elsewhere — see the other destinations.
Polandfrom €1,500 a year at private universities; medicine from €12,000
Turkeyfrom $500 a year at public, from $4,000 at private universities
UAEabout AED 60,000–80,000 a year at branch campuses
Malaysiaabout RM 35,000–45,000 a year at private universities
Italyfrom €160 a year at public universities (income-based, ISEE)
Spainabout €1,200–8,200 a year at public universities; private cost more
Hungaryabout €6,000–10,000 a year in English
North Cyprus$4,450–6,400 a year at EMU (public); €2,800–4,500 at private universities after the standard discount
Cyprusabout €9,000–11,820 a year at private universities; medicine €23,000–24,000Send us your passport details, school certificate and target program. We will map your visa route, list the documents you still need legalized, and set a timeline that gets you to Georgia before the residence permit deadline. The first consultation is free. Write to us on WhatsApp or Telegram, or use the form on our contacts page.