Practical guides, updates, and local knowledge for expats across Georgia.
Kutaisi International Airport has introduced Fast Track for priority passport and security lanes and opened a Visa Business Lounge with seating, dining and children’s areas for up to 70 guests.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze questioned whether higher fines reduced violations, as MP Irakli Kirtkhalia said talks are underway to adjust penalties in the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia will move from its three-year-old strategic partnership with China to a comprehensive strategic partnership, deepening trade, politics and people-to-people links.
New amendments require international students to prove language proficiency and face admission quotas, while universities must report enrolment in a unified system with fines for violations.
Officials marked the start of construction on a Swissôtel-branded resort in Kobuleti with hotel rooms, apartments, sports and conference facilities, backed by roughly $300 million and Chapman Taylor design.
Opus Center has bought land in central Batumi for a four-tower complex with shops, a hypermarket, recreation areas and underground parking, with sea and mountain views promised.
Georgian authorities, working with the FBI and US State Department, detained an internationally wanted person at Tbilisi airport on charges including conspiracy and money laundering.
Georgia and China have signed a memorandum to strengthen Chinese language teaching, including teacher training, resources and joint cultural programmes coordinated by a new working group.
Georgian police seized 148 cryptocurrency mining devices in Mestia municipality, in what officials describe as the first raid on illegal mining operations in the area.
The Youth Olympic Festival opened at Batumi’s Dynamo Arena with more than 1,200 young athletes from 12 Georgian regions competing in the city until 6 June.
Domino’s Pizza will open its first Batumi restaurant on 14 June at Porto Point on Chavchavadze Street, offering delivery and dine-in from next month.
Construction is nearing completion on an expansion at Batumi’s Republican Hospital, adding a crisis coordination centre, an updated polyclinic and additional inpatient facilities.
The State Security Service detained two Georgian citizens on espionage allegations in one day, including NGO figures named in official statements as suspected of passing intelligence to foreign services.
Georgia plans to sell about 40,000 bottles of historic French and Georgian wine once held in Joseph Stalin’s cellar, with proceeds earmarked for a new wine education school.
FlyOne will start twice-weekly direct flights between Chisinau and Batumi on 28 June, operating on Thursdays and Sundays with tickets now on sale.
Batumi collected 15.3 million GEL from gambling businesses in January–March 2026, slightly below the 16.8 million GEL recorded in the same quarter of 2025.
The fifth Tbilisi Gastro Week runs from 31 May to 7 June 2026, bringing international chefs, sommeliers and wine tastings to the capital with events across Tbilisi and Kakheti.
The 19th Black Sea Jazz Festival will run in Batumi from 10–12 July 2026 at the Tennis Club, with Miles Electric Band, Eric Benét and Ghost-Note headlining.
Georgia's Agriculture Committee will form a working group with the National Academy of Sciences to study mountain beer and other brewing heritage.
Guides, tour operators and travel agencies in Georgia must now register with the National Tourism Administration instead of the economic register, with fines from 500 GEL for unlicensed work.
Russia’s State Duma has adopted legislation that can allow seizure of property from citizens living abroad for acts deemed against the country’s interests, including criticism of the army from overseas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Georgians on Independence Day and pointed to new chances to deepen friendship and shared security and prosperity.
FlyOne Armenia is starting regular direct flights between Yerevan and Batumi on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with about one hour in the air.
Stablecoin issuer Tether has begun operations in Georgia and announced GELt, a digital lari pegged one-to-one to the GEL, with the National Bank welcoming the move.
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