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Student visa for Georgia, for students from United Arab Emirates
As a citizen of United Arab Emirates you will normally need a student visa or residence permit for Georgia before your course starts. Some nationalities may enter Georgia without a visa and apply for the residence permit there instead; check the official page below for the rule that applies to your passport.
The numbers
- Money you must show
- At least twice the subsistence minimum for an average consumer, every month, in your own bank account
- Visa fee
- Study residence permit: GEL 300 (30 days), GEL 450 (20 days), GEL 600 (10 days)
- Work while you study
- Work authorisation required for foreign employees from 1 March 2026
- Stay after you graduate
- No post-study work permit
Rule for the study residence permit. The agency does not state a GEL figure; the subsistence minimum is published monthly by Geostat and changes.
Public Service Development Agency, Migration and Residence Permits, checked 2026-09-24
Paid at the Public Service Hall. Any entry visa you need before arrival is a separate cost.
Public Service Development Agency, checked 2026-09-24
No official student exemption or student hours limit has been published that we could verify. Get written confirmation before taking any job.
Ministry of Labour, labour migration portal, checked 2026-09-24
Your study residence permit depends on enrolment. To stay, you need a new residence ground and, since 1 March 2026, work authorisation.
Public Service Development Agency, checked 2026-09-24
The visa
Georgia works in two steps: enter, then get a study residence permit at the Public Service Hall.
Entry. Citizens of around 90 countries, plus EU member states, can enter Georgia without a visa and stay for a full year, according to Georgia's national tourism administration. If your country is not on the list, you need a visa. Georgia's e-Visa portal is for short stays of under 90 days only, including "study and training less than 90 days", so for a degree you apply at a Georgian embassy or consulate. The e-Visa also requires a separate DuVerify identity check costing USD 15. Check your nationality on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular site (geoconsul.gov.ge) before booking travel.
Study residence permit. Once enrolled, you apply to the Public Service Development Agency through a Public Service Hall. Fees depend on how fast you want a decision:
- GEL 300 for a decision by the 30th calendar day
- GEL 450 by the 20th day
- GEL 600 by the 10th day
You submit the application form, passport copy, proof of lawful stay, a colour photo, proof of payment, and a certificate from an authorised Georgian educational institution confirming you are studying on a higher or vocational programme.
The money. You must show either legal income earned in Georgia (yours, or a Georgian citizen's or legal resident relative's), or funds in your personal bank account of not less than twice the subsistence minimum for the average consumer, for each month. The agency does not convert that into a GEL figure. Geostat, the national statistics office, publishes the subsistence minimum monthly; for comparison, its figure for a working-age man was GEL 283.30 in December 2025. Ask the Public Service Hall how many months of funds they expect for your permit length.
Admission without the national exams. Foreign applicants are admitted without Georgia's Unified National Exams through a procedure run by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE), which forwards your file to the Ministry of Education and Science. You need notarised Georgian translations of your certificates, verification of your last two years of study, and the university's written consent. The fee is GEL 30 (one month) or GEL 60 (15 business days). Your school certificate may also need formal recognition, at GEL 40-250 depending on speed.
Where to apply
At the embassy or consulate of Georgia that covers the United Arab Emirates, or through the visa application centre it names. Book early: in the busiest months appointments can be weeks away. Apply only through the official website; nobody can sell you a faster place in the queue.
Official pages: sda.gov.ge · labourmigration.moh.gov.ge · geostat.ge · georgia.travel · evisa.gov.ge · ge.usembassy.gov. Checked 2026-09-24. Rules change: confirm on the official page before you apply.
Questions students ask
Do students from United Arab Emirates need a visa to study in Georgia?
As a citizen of United Arab Emirates you will normally need a student visa or residence permit for Georgia before your course starts. Some nationalities may enter Georgia without a visa and apply for the residence permit there instead; check the official page below for the rule that applies to your passport.
How much money do I need to show for a Georgia student visa?
At least twice the subsistence minimum for an average consumer, every month, in your own bank account. Rule for the study residence permit. The agency does not state a GEL figure; the subsistence minimum is published monthly by Geostat and changes. (source: Public Service Development Agency, Migration and Residence Permits, checked 2026-09-24).
Can I work while I study in Georgia?
Work authorisation required for foreign employees from 1 March 2026.
This page is general information from official sources, not immigration advice. For a decision about your own case, the official source or a regulated adviser is where that belongs.