Health insurance
Health insurance in Georgia
Comprehensive medical cover for people who live or stay long-term in Georgia, with proper inpatient/outpatient benefits, not just emergency travel cover.
Georgia has become one of the most accessible long-stay bases in the world for digital nomads. Citizens of around 95 countries get a full year of visa-free entry on arrival, the Individual Entrepreneur (IE) Small Business regime taxes turnover at just 1% up to roughly 500,000 GEL, and private healthcare in Tbilisi costs a fraction of Western Europe. The trade-off is real: clinical quality concentrates in the capital, English-speaking specialists are limited outside the major private networks, and serious cases often mean evacuation. Most established nomads still carry international cover for catastrophic care and repatriation.
What health insurance covers in Georgia
Health insurance is built for long-term residents, slow travelers spending 6+ months in one place, expats. The lines below are the base. Exact terms are carrier-specific, so always check the policy document for the Georgia situation you care about.
What you get
- Inpatient hospitalisation, surgery, and ICU
- Outpatient GP visits, specialists, scans, labs
- Prescription drugs
- Maternity and chronic-condition cover (on better plans)
- Mental-health and preventive care (plan-dependent)
What it won't do
- Routine cover in your home country (usually excluded if you're a tax resident)
- Cosmetic procedures
- Pre-existing conditions on day-one of most plans (medical underwriting)
Typical local costs in Georgia
What insurance protects you from. Costs vary by region inside Georgiaand between public and private facilities; these are the numbers we've seen most often in 2026.
| GP visit (private clinic, expat-friendly) | 30 to 60 GEL (about $11 to $22) |
|---|---|
| Specialist consultation | 50 to 100 GEL |
| Basic emergency room visit (non-admission, private) | 80 to 200 GEL |
| One-night hospital stay (private) | 150 to 400 GEL |
| Common procedure (e.g. appendectomy, private) | 3,000 to 7,000 GEL |
| International health insurance from-price (32-year-old) | from around $60 to $110/month |
Ranges depend heavily on whether you are using a basic Aversi neighbourhood clinic or a flagship private hospital with international-tier billing. Prices creep upward each year as the nomad and medical-tourism markets grow, and the lari has been volatile against the dollar and euro, so quoted ranges in GEL can move meaningfully in either direction year to year.
Healthcare in Georgia: what you're dealing with
Georgia runs a Universal Health Care Programme (UHCP) for citizens and certain residents, financed through the state budget and administered by the Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs. It covers a baseline of emergency and primary care plus some planned treatment, with significant co-payments on anything complex. As a nomad you are almost never inside this system. You will be using private providers and either paying cash or claiming on international insurance.
The private sector is where care for foreigners actually happens. Three networks dominate: Aversi, EVEX (part of Georgia Healthcare Group), and Medi Club / New Hospitals. These concentrate heavily in Tbilisi, with meaningful presence in Batumi and Kutaisi and thin coverage everywhere else. Standards in the flagship Tbilisi facilities are genuinely good for routine and many specialist procedures. Regional hospitals vary widely, and most international insurers will route you back to Tbilisi for anything non-trivial.
English availability is the weak point. In top Tbilisi private clinics you will usually find English-speaking GPs and many specialists, but it is not guaranteed and the picture drops off fast outside the capital. Russian remains widely spoken, which is part of why a meaningful chunk of Russian and Belarusian nomads ended up here from 2022 onward. For non-Russian, non-Georgian speakers, the realistic play is sticking to the expat-oriented private clinics in Tbilisi.
Costs are the headline. Out-of-pocket pricing at private clinics is often 5 to 10 times cheaper than Western Europe for equivalent consultations. This shifts the economics of insurance in Georgia in a way it does not in Portugal or Germany. The honest framing: cheap routine care, real risk on catastrophic events, and evacuation costs that can dwarf any savings from skipping cover.
Visa & residency requirements
Georgia is one of the easiest places in the world to stay long-term as a nomad without formal visa work. Citizens of around 95 countries (including the US, UK, EU member states, Canada, Australia, and most of the Gulf) get one full year of visa-free stay on entry. This is the famous "year on entry" rule. You can leave and re-enter to reset the clock, though border officers do notice patterns. There is no requirement to show insurance at the border, and no formal "nomad visa" with an insurance condition.
For longer-term setups, the Individual Entrepreneur (IE) status combined with Small Business status grants a 1% tax rate on turnover up to roughly 500,000 GEL (around $180,000 USD) per year. Above that threshold, rates step up sharply. This regime has turned Tbilisi into one of the most tax-efficient bases in Europe for solo freelancers and online service providers. There are also investor residency routes via property purchase (typically at least $100,000 USD), work visas tied to local employment, and family reunification routes. The "Remotely from Georgia" programme launched during COVID is no longer a separate active scheme but still informs how the country treats remote workers.
None of these routes formally require you to carry health insurance. Georgia does not gate residency on proof of cover the way Schengen states or the UAE do. In practice, given how reliant you will be on the private system, most established nomads carry an international plan or at minimum catastrophic-only cover with evacuation.
One quirk worth knowing: Georgia is geographically in Asia for some insurance pricing zones and in Europe for others. This matters because "Worldwide excluding US" tiers can price differently depending on how a carrier classifies Georgia. Confirm the zone definition in writing before you buy.
What to watch out for in Georgia
- Evacuation distances. Top-tier care for complex cardiac, oncology, or neurosurgery typically means evacuation to Istanbul, Vienna, or Tel Aviv. Confirm your plan's evacuation clause covers both ground and air movement out of Georgia.
- War-risk perception and exclusions. Georgia borders Russia and lived through the 2008 war. Most international insurers cover Georgia normally today, but some policies still carry war and civil-unrest exclusions or sub-limits. Read the war clause before assuming you are covered if the regional picture shifts.
- Currency volatility. The lari has moved meaningfully against the dollar and euro in recent years. Cash-pay prices in GEL can feel cheap or expensive depending on the month. Insurance priced in USD or EUR insulates you from this.
- Dental coverage gaps. Dental work in Tbilisi is high-quality and cheap, but most international plans reimburse Georgian dental claims poorly. Add a dental rider only if you actually plan to use it, otherwise just self-pay.
- Mental health provider scarcity. English-speaking therapists exist in Tbilisi but capacity is thin and waiting times are real. Russian-speaking options are broader. Telehealth from your home country is often the cleaner solution.
- Winter air quality. Tbilisi's winter heating mix and basin geography produce real respiratory issues. Factor this in if you have asthma or chronic respiratory conditions.
- Regional vs. capital quality gap. Care in Kutaisi, Batumi, and smaller cities is meaningfully thinner. If you are based outside Tbilisi, confirm your insurer is willing to route you back to the capital and cover associated costs.
FAQ
In most cases Georgia expects long-stay residents and visa applicants to show proof of health coverage. The specific bar (carrier, sum insured, residency-vs-travel cover) depends on your visa class; see "Visa & residency" below for the country's current stance.
Premiums vary by age, plan and deductible far more than by country; the underwriting risk is priced, not the postal code. Use the "Typical local costs" table above to gauge what your insurance protects you from, then run a real quote to see your own number.
It depends on your situation — how long you're staying, your visa class, your age and health, and whether you want cashless treatment or are fine with reimbursement. Rather than push one plan, we match you against the options that actually fit a stay in Georgia: answer a few honest questions and see only what's relevant.
Citizens of around 95 countries get one full year on entry. You can leave and re-enter to reset, though border officers do notice repeated patterns. This is one of the most generous visa-free regimes in the world.
Yes, with conditions. You need IE registration with the Revenue Service of Georgia plus Small Business status, your turnover must stay under roughly 500,000 GEL per year, and your activity has to qualify. Above the threshold, rates step up. Most online service freelancers fit cleanly.
Yes. A private GP consultation in Tbilisi often costs less than a Western European co-payment. The catch is that you are paying entry-level prices for entry-level care. Top-tier specialist work at flagship hospitals costs more, though still well below Western or US pricing.
For routine and mid-tier care, the maths sort of works. For evacuation, ICU stays, or complex surgery, it does not. The sensible version of self-insurance is a high-deductible international plan or evacuation-only cover, not zero insurance.
Not for visa-free stays, and not formally for residency routes either. The decision to carry insurance is practical, not regulatory.
Aversi, Medi Club, and EVEX cover most of what nomads need. These are the three networks with the strongest English availability, the cleanest billing for international insurers, and the deepest specialist benches.
Yes, more than in most European destinations. Complex cardiac, oncology, and neurosurgery cases are routinely evacuated to Istanbul, Vienna, or Tel Aviv. Make sure your plan's repatriation and evacuation clauses are explicit and high-limit.
At several Tbilisi private clinics, yes, but the network is narrower than in EU countries. Verify specific facilities before relying on it for cashless treatment.
Most international insurers cover Georgia normally today. Some policies carry war and civil-unrest exclusions or sub-limits that could activate if the regional picture changes. Read the war clause carefully and ask the carrier directly if you have concerns.
Widely available across both public and private systems. This was a meaningful factor for the post-2022 wave of Russian and Belarusian nomads who relocated to Tbilisi and Batumi.
High-quality, cheap, and a real medical-tourism draw. Most international plans do not reimburse well, so most nomads simply pay cash.
The visa-free year applies per person, so each family member resets independently. For longer-term residency tied to IE status, family reunification routes exist but require separate paperwork. International nomad plans commonly offer family plans.
Other insurance for Georgia
Different stages of nomad life need different cover. Here's the full set we've mapped for Georgia.
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