Moving to Spain from Georgia

Georgians travel visa-free to the Schengen area and, since September 2024, can exchange their driving licence in Spain. But visa-free entry only covers short stays: to live and work you need a residence permit, and the EU is closely monitoring Georgia’s visa-free regime. Here is what to know before you move.

Key facts

• Entry: with an ordinary biometric passport you can stay visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This does not allow work. Since 6 March 2026 the exemption has been suspended for diplomatic, service and official passports, and the EU calls for heightened border checks on all Georgian nationals.
• Citizenship: 10 years of legal, continuous residence, the CCSE and DELE A2 exams and a declaration renouncing Georgian nationality at the oath.
• Driving: the licence exchange agreement with Georgia has been in force since 29 September 2024. Car and motorcycle licences are exchanged without tests; truck and bus licences require only the on-road test.
• Documents: Georgia applies the apostille; documents in Georgian need a sworn translation into Spanish.

How people usually move

• Arraigo. For people who have already spent 2 years in Spain and have no criminal record: social, socio-labour or socio-training arraigo (family arraigo, for example for the parent of a Spanish child, has no such minimum). Arraigo
• Employment. With a job offer from a Spanish company, the employer applies for the permit and you collect the visa at the consulate. Employment
• Family reunification. If a relative already lives legally in Spain, they can sponsor you after their first year of residence, once renewal has been granted or applied for. Family reunification
• Studies. Bachelor’s, master’s or vocational training with a study authorisation, which allows work up to 30 hours a week. Study stay
• Family of a Spanish or EU citizen. Marriage or registered partnership with a Spanish or EU citizen. Family member of a Spanish or EU citizen

Documents and apostille

• Criminal record certificate (Certificate of Conviction) from the Service Agency of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, which also apostilles its own documents. From abroad it can be requested through Georgian consulates. It usually needs to be recent.
• Birth and marriage certificates from the civil registry, run by the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice (Public Service Hall). That agency is the general apostille authority.
• Academic degrees: submitted for apostille at the same agency, which forwards them to the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement for verification.
• Sworn translation into Spanish of all documents in Georgian, including the apostille.
• Original Georgian driving licence, for the exchange once you are resident.

What to keep in mind

• Spain has had an embassy office in Tbilisi since 2015. Check on exteriores.gob.es which mission currently handles national visas for residents of Georgia before preparing your file.
• Visa-free entry is not a way to look for work or to stay: if you exceed 90 days without a permit, your stay becomes irregular and may affect future applications.
• At the border you may be asked for a return ticket, accommodation and proof of funds: have them ready.
• Once in Spain: register on the padrón from the start and, if you came with a residence visa, apply for your TIE within the first month.

Frequently asked questions

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