Law No.1509

Law No. 1509 is Georgia's labour migration framework law, enacted in May 2025, which regulates the employment of foreign nationals in the country. Its most consequential provision for the nomad community is the introduction of a fine ladder for foreign workers without legal work authorisation, which comes into force on 1 May 2026. Employers hiring undocumented foreign workers face fines of GEL 2,000 (approx. EUR 680) per worker for a first offence, rising to GEL 5,000 for repeat violations. Foreign workers themselves face fines and potential deportation under the same regime.

The law exists alongside Georgia's Remotely from Georgia programme, which remains formally open at a USD 2,000/month income threshold. Remote workers employed by foreign companies fall, on a strict textual reading, outside Law No. 1509's scope, since the law regulates local employment relationships. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not published guidance confirming this exemption, and Georgian enforcement has historically operated through discretionary inspection rather than textual precision.

The law is part of a broader legislative trend under the Georgian Dream government that has chilled the foreign-resident community through ambiguity rather than explicit restriction. Combined with the MIA home-inspection authority granted by the March 2026 labour migration amendments (Law No. 1323), the cumulative effect for freelancers and remote workers based in Tbilisi is a significantly elevated risk environment from May 2026.