Georgia has amended its immigration rules to introduce a D6 visa for minor students and to narrow how the existing D3 visa and study residence permits apply.
Who qualifies for the D6 visa
The D6 category covers minors enrolled or planning to enroll at an authorized Georgian university or vocational institution, as well as minors at an authorized Georgian school until they complete full secondary education.
Parents, guardians, and minor siblings of a D6 holder may also receive a D6 visa, valid until the minor turns 18.
The visa is issued as multi-entry with one-year validity and can be renewed. Renewal applications may be submitted in Georgia at the Public Service Hall; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles extensions. Applicants are protected from fines and deportation while a renewal is pending.
What changes for the D3 visa
The D3 remains the route for adult students in full-time study or research at authorized institutions, or participants in international programs. Renewal rights under D3 are now more tightly defined: they apply only where the basis for extension does not allow a stay of more than three months.
Study residence permits: tighter rules
Study residence permits now apply only to students at Georgian universities or professional educational institutions — not schools.
New grounds for terminating a study-based stay include:
- Student status is suspended and 90 days pass without reinstatement
- Failure to earn more than one-third of the maximum credits in any single academic year at an authorized higher education institution
- A Ministry of Internal Affairs finding that actual activities are incompatible with study-based residence
- Absence from Georgia for 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period, with exceptions for medical treatment abroad and exchange programs under an accredited Georgian university
The government will establish a formal mechanism to track the physical presence of study permit holders. Educational institutions must notify the Agency in writing or through a designated system when a student's status changes.
Transitional rule
Students whose status was already suspended as of 1 September 2026 have until 1 January 2027 to reinstate it. Missing that window terminates the right to remain.
