How to buy property in Georgia remotely, step by step

Many of our clients buy their apartment in Batumi or Tbilisi without flying in. Georgian law makes this possible: a representative can sign for you with a properly prepared power of attorney, payment goes by international transfer, and you receive your Public Registry extract electronically. What protects you in a remote purchase is not speed but sequence: the right checks, the right documents and payment linked to registration. This guide takes you through each step, with the official source behind every legal point.

Is it legal to buy remotely?

Yes. Foreign individuals can buy apartments, houses, commercial premises and non-agricultural land on broadly the same terms as Georgian citizens. The main restriction concerns agricultural land.⁠^S1 Nothing requires you to be present at signing. A representative can act for you, provided the power of attorney is notarized and, if it is signed abroad, apostilled or legalized and translated as described below⁠^S23⁠^S24.⁠^S25

Step 1: Set your brief and shortlist checked projects

Start with a video call about your goal (rental income, holiday use, capital growth or residency), your budget, the city and your timeline. At SPG, every project passes three assessments (Legal, Financial, and Investment & Profit) before we put it in front of a client.⁠^S18

If residency matters to you, plan for it from the start. Since 1 March 2026, owning non-agricultural property with a market value above $150,000, set by a certified valuer, allows a foreigner to apply for a one-year, renewable residence permit⁠^S7.⁠^S9 The permit is never automatic.

Step 2: View and verify from abroad

• Live video viewings. Ask for a live walk-through rather than edited footage: the unit itself, the view from its windows, the corridor, the lift and the street outside. For an off-plan project, ask to see the site as it is today.
• Registry check. Ask for a current Public Registry extract. It shows the registered owner and any mortgage or seizure. NAPR issues extracts for GEL 13 online, so you can check the data yourself.⁠^S2
• Project documents. For an off-plan unit, check the land title, the construction permit and how your right will be registered. Our off-plan due-diligence checklist covers 12 points.

Step 3: Prepare the power of attorney

This is the step that most often causes delays, so start it early.

1. It must be notarized. A power of attorney cannot be certified at the Public Service Hall.⁠^S23
2. If it is signed abroad, it needs an apostille or legalization. If your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the notarized document receives an apostille. If not, it goes through consular legalization. Check your country on the HCCH status table.⁠^S17
3. It needs a Georgian translation, notarized in Georgia⁠^S24.⁠^S25
4. Alternative: sign it at a Georgian consulate.⁠^S24

Make the scope precise: the property (address or cadastral code), who may sign, whether the representative may make or receive payments, and how long the power lasts. A narrow, specific power of attorney protects you better than a general one. Choose a representative you trust, ideally a licensed lawyer.

Step 4: Review the contract before anyone signs

A standard sale agreement doesn't need a notary. The parties' signatures can be certified by the NAPR official when the agreement is filed for registration, for a GEL 7 fee⁠^S22⁠^S23.⁠^S2 That official only identifies the signatories and doesn't check whether the contract is lawful.⁠^S23 Have the contract reviewed independently before your representative signs.

If you don't speak Georgian, the contract must be filed with a Georgian translation, and the translator signs the translation in front of the NAPR official before the parties sign.⁠^S23 In practice, ask for a bilingual contract. If the contract is signed before a notary instead, the notary must use an interpreter.⁠^S24 Check the payment schedule, the handover date, the delay penalties, the finish level and exactly when your ownership will be registered.

Step 5: Protect your payment from abroad

• Pay only to the account named in the contract, by bank transfer. Never pay into a personal account or through an intermediary.
• Link payment to registration. For a ready property, you can pay when the sale is filed for registration, or use a notary deposit, or bank escrow (for example Terabank, which serves non-residents; usually GEL only)⁠^S24⁠^S26.⁠^S27 These are options, not a standard requirement.
• For an off-plan purchase, tie installments to construction milestones rather than to calendar dates alone.
• Keep your documents ready. Your bank will ask where the funds came from.

NAPR's Smart Contract service is not an option for foreign buyers: it is available only to Georgian citizens, can't be used through a power of attorney and works in GEL only.⁠^S3

Step 6: Registration and your extract

Ownership is recorded by NAPR. The state fee is GEL 150 (4 working days), GEL 270 (1 working day) or GEL 350 (same day).⁠^S2 Once registration is complete, you can download an extract that shows you as the owner, wherever you are. With an off-plan purchase, final registration of the finished unit follows completion, so ask how your right is protected until then.

Step 7: Handover, renovation and rental from abroad

If you buy black or white frame, someone has to manage the finishing. For owners who live abroad, SPG coordinates planning, finishing and furnishing, with updates you can approve remotely, and offers rental management afterwards. Clients follow income and expenses on SPG's rental-management platform.⁠^S18 If you choose another manager, ask for the same things in writing: what is included, how you will receive reports and how fees are calculated.

A remote purchase at a glance

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending a deposit before you have seen the registry extract and, for off-plan, the construction permit.
• A power of attorney that is too broad, has no end date or lacks the notarized Georgian translation.
• Assuming the NAPR official has checked the contract.
• Paying into an account that isn't named in the contract.
• Taking "you will get residency" on trust, without checking the $150,000 market-value rule.⁠^S7

Remote buying and residency

You can buy remotely, but treat the residence permit as a separate process. It depends on registered ownership of non-agricultural property with a certified market value above $150,000 (since 1 March 2026).⁠^S7 The application goes to the Public Service Development Agency (via the Public Service Hall or online), in person or through an authorized representative (Aliens Law, Art. 17(1)). You must be lawfully in Georgia when you apply⁠^S8.⁠^S9 The permit is issued for one year at a time and can be renewed without a new valuation as long as you keep the property.⁠^S9 The documents are the application, a copy of your passport, proof of your lawful stay, the title document, the accredited valuer's report, a 3×4 photo and the fee receipt. The state fee is GEL 300 for a decision in 30 days, GEL 450 in 20 days or GEL 600 in 10 days.⁠^S8 For the details, read Georgia residency by property: the $150,000 rule.

How SPG helps

We support you through every stage of a remote purchase: a shortlist of checked projects, live video viewings, the contract, registration, and finishing and rental management if you want them. We work in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Georgian.

Want to see a unit without flying in? Book a live video viewing on WhatsApp (+995 511 229 942). You can also read Buying property in Georgia as a foreigner, Property taxes and costs in Georgia for foreign owners or our FAQ on remote buying.

General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice. Prices as listed on spg-realty.com in October 2026 and subject to change; laws and fees also change. Yields quoted are market averages, not forecasts for any specific unit; rental income and capital growth are not guaranteed. Confirm your situation, and any contract, with licensed professionals.