Expat insurance
Expat insurance in Georgia
A full year visa-free and Tbilisi private care at a fraction of Western prices. What Georgia cannot treat locally, it evacuates, so that limit carries the plan.
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 expat insurance covers in Georgia
Expat insurance is built for expats with a residence permit or long-stay visa, families, retirees abroad. 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
- Full inpatient and outpatient medical
- Maternity (with waiting period)
- Dental and vision (add-ons)
- Chronic-condition management
- Multi-year renewals without trip-length resets
What it won't do
- Cover in your home country (limited windows on some plans)
- Pre-existing conditions during initial underwriting
- Cosmetic procedures
Healthcare in Georgia: what you are actually buying into
Georgia runs a two-track system. Tbilisi has genuinely good private hospitals, several English-speaking and one JCI-accredited, and they are cheap by Western standards. Outside the major cities care thins out fast, and ambulances often cannot reach you at all. Hospitals may demand payment up front and cards are not always accepted. A GP visit costs under 25 euros. And since January 2026, insurance is compulsory to enter the country.
- Private GP visit
- About 50 to 75 GEL (17 to 25 EUR) at a mainstream private clinic. Expat-facing clinics cost more, starting around 35 USD. Tests, scans and labs are billed on top of the consultation.
- Emergency room visit
- The ambulance is free if you call 112; treatment is billed. An injury workup such as an X-ray plus a cast runs about 200 to 300 GEL (66 to 100 EUR). A hospital admission commonly lands around 1,000 GEL (about 330 EUR). A bigger episode, an MRI plus knee arthroscopy for instance, runs to roughly 3,000 GEL (about 1,000 EUR). Foreigners pay full rates and public hospitals may ask for a deposit before admitting you.
- English-speaking care
- Easy inside the private system in Tbilisi, where several clinics run all-English-speaking specialist teams. Step outside that circle and it gets thin: medical staff may speak little or no English, and even the 112 dispatcher answers in Georgian or Russian before transferring you to an English speaker.
- Pharmacy access
- Pharmacies are dense and well stocked, and the big chains run 24/7 branches in Tbilisi. The trap is at the border rather than the counter: Georgia strictly regulates which medications and how much you may bring in, and travellers carrying prohibited prescription drugs have been detained and fined. Carry medication in original packaging with the prescription.
- Emergency number
- 112 (single national number for ambulance, police and fire). Dispatchers speak Georgian and Russian and transfer you to an English-speaking operator.
Hospital quality
Tbilisi is fine, with caveats. The private end is the good end: one JCI-accredited facility, several ISO-certified clinics, and 24/7 emergency cover with English-speaking specialists. For routine and moderately serious care in the capital, a nomad is well served and pays very little.
The problem is everything beyond the capital, and it is a cliff rather than a slope. Ambulances are not widely available outside Tbilisi, are not equipped to a modern standard, and first responders are generally unable to reach areas outside the major cities. US State Department guidance goes as far as suggesting a seriously ill traveller may be better off taking a taxi than waiting for an ambulance. That matters because the places nomads actually go at weekends, Gudauri to ski, Kazbegi and Svaneti to hike, are exactly where the system runs out.
Where people actually go
MediClub Georgia
Tbilisi
The only JCI-accredited facility on the UK government's list for Georgia, covering emergency medicine, anaesthesia and surgery. The sensible default if something serious happens in the capital.
American Medical Centers Tbilisi
Tbilisi
24/7 emergency care, an all-English-speaking specialist team, and direct billing with more than 50 international insurers, which is the single most useful feature in a country where hospitals expect payment up front.
CITO Medical Center
Tbilisi
Listed by the UK government, ISO certified, English-speaking staff across specialisations. A solid second option.
American Medical Centers Batumi
Batumi
The same English-speaking setup on the Black Sea coast, and realistically the only comparable option for a foreigner outside Tbilisi.
Health risks worth insuring against in Georgia
- Rabies, described as a significant risk, with stray dogs common in Tbilisi. Treatment is only available in Tbilisi and the major towns.
- Hepatitis C, with high prevalence. Check sterilisation before any tattoo, piercing or dental work. Worth flagging because cheap dentistry is one of the things people fly to Tbilisi for.
- Road traffic. WHO puts Georgia's road death rate at 12.7 per 100,000, against a European average of 9.3.
- Medical evacuation exposure. Care outside the major cities is limited, ambulances are scarce, and first responders generally cannot reach remote areas. A serious event in the mountains means a long self-organised journey to Tbilisi, or an air evacuation.
- Venomous snakes, eight species active from March to October, and few facilities stock antivenin. Relevant for anyone hiking the Caucasus.
- Air pollution in Tbilisi, with seasonal smog, plus altitude illness above 2,500m at Gudauri, Kazbegi and Tetnuldi. Tuberculosis is also prevalent.
Since 1 January 2026, Georgia's Law on Tourism makes insurance a border requirement: every tourist must hold health and accident cover of at least 30,000 GEL, roughly 10,000 euros, for the entire stay, presentable in Georgian or English, on paper or digitally.
What this means for your policy
Insurance stopped being optional here. Under Georgia's Law on Tourism, since 1 January 2026 every tourist entering the country must hold valid health and accident cover for the full stay, with a sum insured of at least 30,000 GEL. It can come from a Georgian or a foreign insurer, must be in Georgian or English, and can be shown on paper or on a phone. Border officers can ask for it, so the certificate needs to state the sum insured and the exact dates, not merely that you are covered. But do not mistake the legal minimum for adequate cover. 30,000 GEL is roughly 10,000 euros, which will not pay for an air ambulance or a complicated intensive-care stay. Clear the floor, then buy what you actually need.
Two exposures drive the policy choice. First, this is a pay-first country: hospitals may require payment before treatment, cards are not always accepted, and public hospitals may want a deposit from a foreigner. So you either want a policy that bills the hospital directly, or a fast-reimbursing one plus a card with real headroom. Second, and more expensive, is evacuation. The system is concentrated in Tbilisi and falls away sharply beyond it, and nomads here ski Gudauri and hike Svaneti. Confirm that evacuation and repatriation carry a meaningful limit, and read the adventure-sports and altitude exclusions before you book the ski trip rather than after.
Before you buy, check these four things
- Does it pay the hospital, or you? A reimbursement plan means you front the money. Where hospitals in Georgia expect payment before treatment, that difference is the whole policy.
- Is evacuation actually included, and up to what limit? It is the one bill that can exceed a year of income, and it is the benefit people cut first.
- Does the term cover your permit? A 90-day travel policy expires inside a one-year visa, and an immigration officer comparing the dates will see it.
- Have you declared everything? A condition you left off is grounds to challenge a claim years later, even one unrelated to it.
What care costs in Georgia
These are the bills expat insurance exists to stand between you and. Read them before you decide how much cover is enough, because the number that looks generous in the abstract rarely does next to a real invoice.
| GP visit (private clinic, expat-friendly) | 30 to 60 GEL (about $11 to $22) |
|---|---|
| Specialist consultation | 50 to 100 GEL (~$19–38) |
| Basic emergency room visit (non-admission, private) | 80 to 200 GEL (~$30–75) |
| One-night hospital stay (private) | 150 to 400 GEL (~$55–150) |
| Common procedure (e.g. appendectomy, private) | 3,000 to 7,000 GEL (~$1,100–2,700) |
| 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 system & visa context for GeorgiaThe cost of going uninsured in Georgia
Insurance is abstract until you put a number on the thing it prevents. Pick a scenario and see what it costs in Georgia with nobody paying on your behalf.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Georgia without insurance?
Off a kerb, off a bouldering wall, off a wet bathroom floor. No admission, just a bad afternoon.
| Emergency room, on arrival | $75–$200 |
| X-ray to confirm the break | $15–$30 |
| You pay, out of pocket | $90–$230 |
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
Expat insurance in Georgia: 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; the Georgia guide covers the country's current visa-and-residency stance.
Premiums vary by age, plan and deductible far more than by country; the underwriting risk is priced, not the postal code. The Georgia guide breaks down local treatment costs so you can see what your insurance protects you from, then run a real quote for 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.
112 (single national number for ambulance, police and fire). Dispatchers speak Georgian and Russian and transfer you to an English-speaking operator.. Worth saving before you need it. Note that reaching an ambulance and being covered for what happens next are different problems, and in many countries the second one is yours to solve.
Easy inside the private system in Tbilisi, where several clinics run all-English-speaking specialist teams. Step outside that circle and it gets thin: medical staff may speak little or no English, and even the 112 dispatcher answers in Georgian or Russian before transferring you to an English speaker. This matters more than people expect: describing a symptom precisely is part of being diagnosed correctly, and it is the main practical reason foreigners end up in the private system even where the public one is good.
In Georgia, a private GP visit runs About 50 to 75 GEL (17 to 25 EUR) at a mainstream private clinic. Expat-facing clinics cost more, starting around 35 USD. Tests, scans and labs are billed on top of the consultation. and an emergency room visit The ambulance is free if you call 112; treatment is billed. An injury workup such as an X-ray plus a cast runs about 200 to 300 GEL (66 to 100 EUR). A hospital admission commonly lands around 1,000 GEL (about 330 EUR). A bigger episode, an MRI plus knee arthroscopy for instance, runs to roughly 3,000 GEL (about 1,000 EUR). Foreigners pay full rates and public hospitals may ask for a deposit before admitting you.. Those are the routine numbers and they are survivable. The reason to insure is not the GP visit, it is the admission that follows a bad day, which is where the figures stop being survivable.
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