Coming to Georgia for treatment from Iran: visa-free entry, length of stay, language and payment

Do Iranian citizens need a visa, and how long can they stay?

No visa is needed: the e-visa portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Iranian citizens do not require a visa. At the same time, Iran is not on the list in Government Resolution No. 255 of 2015. It is this list that grants a one-year stay, so the one-year limit does not automatically apply to Iranian visitors.

Public sources disagree on how many days you are entitled to: older information about bilateral agreements gives one figure, while the official portal gives another. That is why we deliberately do not state a number on this page. The practical rule is this: entry is visa-free, but check the permitted length of stay in force before you travel, ideally with the official authority or a diplomatic mission of Georgia. We carry out this check for your travel dates and send you the result in writing.

A separate rule applies to an Iranian traveller who presents at the border a valid visa or residence permit of a country on the list in Government Resolution No. 256, for example the Schengen area, the USA, the United Kingdom or one of the Gulf states: such a traveller is entitled to 90 days in Georgia within any 180-day period, provided the document is valid on the day of entry. A comparison for other citizenships is on our Visa and entry page.

How do you fit treatment within your permitted stay?

Georgia has no type of residence permit issued for medical treatment, and a short-stay visa cannot be extended inside the country either. So for an Iranian patient the safest approach is for the whole of the treatment and recovery to fit within the permitted stay, with spare days. Overstaying, even for a medical reason, will cause you serious problems, so we settle this question before you arrive.

1. The doctor's plan, in days

   Once we have seen your records, we ask the clinic in writing how many days the examination, the procedure, the hospital stay and the recovery will take before you are fit to fly.

2. Checking the limit

   We check the permitted length of stay in force for your travel dates and compare the two numbers.

3. Planning a margin

   If the margin is small, we ask the doctor whether preliminary tests or some examinations can be done in Iran and the results sent in advance.

4. Treatment in stages

   When treatment is scheduled in cycles or stages, we plan each visit separately and take into account how many days you used on your previous trip.

Georgia and Iran do not share a border. An overland route passes through a third country, whose own entry and transit rules apply to you separately, and a long car journey after an operation may not be advisable at all. You choose how to travel taking your treating doctor's advice into account, and your airport pick-up and transport are arranged by our transport service.

Which policy meets the 2026 requirement?

Since 1 January 2026, a tourist coming to Georgia must have health and accident insurance, under rules set by Government Resolution No. 602 of 26 December 2025. For Iranian travellers the most common problem is the language: the policy must be in Georgian or English, so a document drawn up in Persian may not be accepted at the border.

• The minimum sum insured is GEL 30,000, and cover must apply for the whole stay, including the days of arrival and departure.
• The policy may be issued by a Georgian or a foreign insurance company; a policy from an Iranian insurer is acceptable if it is issued in English and meets the conditions.
• It is best to find out before you buy the policy how your insurer handles a claim arising in Georgia and whom you should call.
• A companion, including a child, needs their own policy.

This insurance is an entry requirement and, as a rule, does not cover the planned procedure you are coming for. Details are in our insurance guide.

Persian, Azerbaijani or English: which language should you use with your doctor?

Doctors in Georgian clinics mostly speak Georgian, English and Russian, and medical records are written in Georgian. The law does not oblige a clinic to provide an interpreter, so if discussing your diagnosis and the risks in English would be difficult for you, we book a Persian-speaking medical interpreter in advance.

Choose the language in which you can describe your pain and symptoms most precisely. If your native language is Azerbaijani and you would rather speak with the doctor in it, tell us that too: Azerbaijani is one of our main languages. Before an operation or another complex procedure you sign a written consent form, which may be available only in Georgian; before you sign, every point of it must be explained to you in your language.

What the translator needs to know about Iranian documents

Iranian medical records are often in Persian and dated according to the Solar Hijri calendar. In the translation every date has to be converted to the Gregorian calendar; otherwise a Georgian doctor cannot see how long ago a test or an operation took place. We write the patient's first name and surname as they appear in Latin script in the passport, and we match the brand names of Iranian medicines to their international names. Translations following these rules are prepared by our medical translation service.

Why must the payment method be agreed before you arrive?

Georgia's state Universal Healthcare Programme does not cover foreign visitors, so you pay the full cost of treatment yourself. Under our rules, you pay the clinic's bill directly to the clinic, against an invoice in your name, and the coordination fee is agreed separately, in writing, before work begins. If the clinic pays us any commission, we tell you about it before you make your choice.

Which payment method is available to you depends on the clinic, its bank and your bank, and these rules change. That is why we advise you not to travel until the clinic has confirmed in writing by which method, in which currency and in which stages it will accept payment. For reliability, we use only a route for which the clinic issues an official receipt or invoice.

• Ask whether they need the full amount before the procedure or part of it at discharge, and what happens if you stay in hospital for extra days.
• Request a cost estimate that lists the operation, the ward, medicines, anaesthesia and the follow-up visit separately.
• Find out how much you should keep in reserve for unexpected costs, so that you do not have to look for a payment route all over again if there is a complication.

What should you bring?

Before you buy a ticket, send us your records electronically: the clinic sets the treatment plan and price only after seeing them. When you arrive, have with you:

• your passport, the mandatory policy in English and the clinic's confirmation letter;
• your latest medical reports, discharge summaries and test results, with translations if they are in Persian;
• digital copies of your scans, with the radiologist's report;
• a list of your current medicines with their international names, and a sufficient supply.

Up to 10 standard packs of ordinary medicines can be brought across the border without documents. Narcotic and psychotropic medicines are strictly controlled: no more than a 31-day supply is allowed, with a prescription and a doctor's certificate translated into English and certified by the competent authority of Iran. The full rules are on our Medicines page.

Records for Iran: translation and legalisation

The discharge summary, operation report and medical reports issued in Georgia are in Georgian. We translate them into Persian or English for your doctor in Iran, and we request copies from the clinic in writing while you are still there; this part is described on our Documents for home page.

If a document is needed in Iran by an official body, a court or an employer, an apostille will not help you: Iran has not joined the 1961 Apostille Convention and does not appear in the Hague Conference's official status table (last updated 30 June 2026). What you need is legalisation, which is completed in Georgia in two stages: at the first, the Public Service Development Agency verifies the signature and seal; at the second, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia confirms the Agency's certification. Applications to the Agency can also be submitted at a Public Service Hall, the building where state services are gathered under one roof.

The Iranian side may require an additional certification as well. According to the Georgian National Tourism Administration's listing, the Embassy of Iran in Tbilisi is at 80 Chavchavadze Avenue, and the consulate in Batumi is at 83 King Parnavaz Street. Before we start the legalisation, ask the receiving body in what form it needs the document and the translation. Both stages are arranged by our consular legalisation service.

Frequently asked questions about coming from Iran