Coming to Georgia for treatment from Ukraine: entry rules, insurance, translation and documents for home

How does a citizen of Ukraine enter Georgia?

Ukraine is on the list in Government of Georgia Resolution No. 255 of 2015, whose citizens enter without a visa and may stay for one full year. This means that to come for treatment you need neither a visa application, nor an invitation from a clinic, nor a prior visit to an embassy.

Use a valid passport as your travel document. The special rule in the resolution allowing entry with an identity card applies to citizens of European Union countries, and there is no such separate provision for Ukraine. The one-year period is long enough even for lengthy treatment, for example a course of chemotherapy or rehabilitation after an operation, if your treating doctor plans it.

A family member who comes with you enters under the rules for their own citizenship. If your companion holds another country's passport, we check their entry rules separately; the table for all citizenships is on our Visa and entry service page.

The mandatory policy: what should you check before you buy?

Since the start of 2026, the Law of Georgia on Tourism and Government Resolution No. 602 have required visitors to Georgia to hold health and accident insurance. The policy may be on paper or electronic, from a Georgian or a foreign insurer, but its main parameters are fixed.

This policy is a condition of entry and will help you in case of unexpected illness or injury, but as a rule it does not cover the cost of planned treatment. Bear in mind too that Georgia's Universal Healthcare Programme does not serve foreign visitors. Which exclusions to look out for before you sign, we explain in our insurance guide.

Ukrainian, Russian or English: how will communication work?

You choose the language of the consultation. We work in English and Russian, and for Ukrainian we bring in partner interpreters; if no Ukrainian interpreter is free on a particular date, we tell you in advance and offer an alternative. The guiding principle is that you fully understand everything the doctor explains.

In Georgia, medical records and informed consent forms are drawn up in Georgian. The Law of Georgia on Patient Rights also applies to foreign patients and requires information to be given in a way the patient can understand, but it does not establish a right to an interpreter. That is why we recommend a medical interpreter when you sign consent before an operation and on the day of discharge, and before signing, ask for each point to be explained to you again.

Which Ukrainian records do you need and how are they translated?

A Georgian clinic makes its first assessment of your case from the documents you send, so gather these in advance:

• an extract from your medical record or your latest discharge report with the diagnosis, the treatment given and the dates;
• recent test results with the laboratory's reference ranges, because units can differ between countries;
• digital imaging files and the radiologist's report;
• the histology report, if this concerns cancer, and, if possible, information on where the tissue sample is stored;
• a list of current medicines with active substances and doses;
• a description of allergies and previous operations, even a brief one.

If your records are in an electronic system, ask your doctor to print an extract with a signature and the facility's stamp: such a document is more reliable both for translation and for any later official use. A Georgian doctor will usually struggle to read a Ukrainian text without a translation, so our medical translation service translates the records into English, Georgian or, if the doctor prefers, Russian. Before translating, we ask the clinic which documents it needs in full and for which a short summary is enough. The full list of what to bring for treatment is in our What to bring to Georgia guide.

When a child is being treated, the clinic asks for confirmation that the parent is the child's legal representative, so bring the birth certificate. We check with the clinic in advance in what form its translation is needed.

Who does what: you, the clinic and the coordinator

Travel and treatment involve several parties, and each one's responsibilities should be clearly divided from the outset.

The fee for our work is set in the written coordination agreement and is not added to the clinic's bill; if any partner clinic pays us a fee, we tell you before you make your choice.

Payment: what to check with your bank and the clinic

The cost of treatment is paid directly to the clinic, against the clinic's invoice issued in your name. Before you arrive, the same question needs to be clarified with two parties, each from a different angle.

Ask the clinic which cards and which currencies it accepts, whether an advance payment is required and what happens to the advance if treatment is postponed. Ask your Ukrainian bank what limits apply to card payments abroad and to international transfers, how many days a transfer takes and what fee is charged. Banks may have their own restrictions on payments abroad, so confirm this with your bank before you arrive.

Transfer money only to the clinic's official account, never to an intermediary's personal account. Keep every receipt and the final itemised bill. How to read a quote and which costs fall outside it, we explain in our Costs and payment guide.

Personal medicines at the border

If you take medicine regularly, bring enough for the whole visit. According to the Revenue Service of Georgia, up to ten standard packs of an ordinary medicine for personal use may be brought in without documents, while a larger quantity requires a medical document.

A special rule applies to narcotic and psychotropic medicines, which are often prescribed for pain, epilepsy or sleep disorders. They may be brought in only as a 31-day supply, with a customs declaration, a prescription translated into English and a doctor's certificate, both certified by the competent Ukrainian authority. Customs checks the quantity, signs and stamps the documents and returns them to you. If 31 days are not enough, a local medical facility can register you and prescribe the medicine on the basis of the document certified by customs. The details of the rules are on our Medicines service page.

A discharge summary in Ukrainian and an apostille: how do you use a Georgian document at home?

On discharge you will receive a discharge summary in Georgian and, where relevant, the operation report and imaging reports. To obtain copies you apply to the clinic in writing, and by law it has 10 working days to respond, so we send the request in advance. For your doctor in Ukraine we translate the text into Ukrainian, giving medicines by the international name of the active substance.

According to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Apostille Convention has applied for Ukraine since 22 December 2003 and for Georgia since 14 May 2007. Only Germany and Greece objected to Georgia's accession, and both later withdrew their objections, so between Ukraine and Georgia an apostille is used instead of consular legalisation.

A doctor rarely needs an apostille; you will need one if you submit the document to a Ukrainian state body, an employer, a court or an insurance company and they require it. In Georgia, the apostille on a document issued by a medical facility is affixed by the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice, without an intermediate notarial step. How the translation must be certified is decided by the receiving body, so we ask them first. Our Documents for home service puts the whole package together, and the apostille processing times and fee are on our apostille page.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Tbilisi

According to the official list of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, the Embassy of Ukraine in Tbilisi is located at 76g Chavchavadze Avenue and has a consular section. You contact it if you lose your passport, if your passport expires during your visit or if you need another consular document required for Ukraine. Check the reception rules and opening hours on the embassy's official page before you go.

In a medical emergency, call 112, then notify your insurer and your coordinator.

Frequently asked questions from patients coming from Ukraine