Coming to Georgia for treatment from the Gulf states: entry, family, language and documents

Do citizens of the Gulf states need a visa?

No. All six Gulf states are on the list in Government Resolution No. 255 of 2015, last amended in February 2026: the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Kuwait and the State of Qatar. Citizens of these countries may enter Georgia without a visa and stay for a full year. So you do not need a medical visa, a notarised clinic invitation or a visit to a consulate.

Many foreigners live and work in the Gulf states. For them, a second list matters, Government Resolution No. 256 of 2015: a residence permit or visa of any of the six Gulf states gives the right to visa-free entry to Georgia for 90 days in any 180-day period, as long as the document is valid on the day you cross the border. This applies, for example, to a citizen of India, Egypt or Iraq who lives in the UAE.

A comparison with other citizenships and the general rules is on the visa and entry page. At the border, have your passport, insurance policy, the clinic's confirmation in English and the address of your accommodation to hand, so that the purpose of your visit is clear at a glance.

How should you plan a trip with your family?

Patients from the Gulf states rarely travel alone: a spouse, children or several relatives often come too, and sometimes household staff. For a group like this, three questions need to be settled in advance.

• Each member's entry rules. A family member enters on their own passport; a housekeeper or driver who is a citizen of another country will be on the 90-day rule with a Gulf residence permit, not on the one-year rule.
• Rules for staying in the patient's room. How many companions can stay overnight with the patient, and whether there is a single room or a separate room for the family, are matters of each clinic's internal rules; we ask about them in writing before you choose a clinic.
• Accommodation nearby. For a large family, an apartment or several hotel rooms near the clinic is often the better option. This part is handled by our accommodation service, and airport pick-up and daily transport by our transport service.

A family member who talks to the doctor on the patient's behalf receives medical information with the patient's consent. If you want the doctor to explain the diagnosis and plan to a particular relative, put this in writing as soon as you are admitted to the clinic, so that a formality does not hold you up on a difficult day.

Language: an Arabic interpreter and English-speaking doctors

Many patients from the Gulf states can have a consultation in English, and doctors at Georgian clinics often speak English or Russian. Even so, many people find it easier to discuss the diagnosis, the risks and the treatment alternatives in their own language, especially when senior family members are making the decision. Georgian law does not require clinics to provide an interpreter, so we book an Arabic interpreter in advance.

Mention your country in the form: the spoken Arabic of the Gulf differs from Iraqi or Egyptian Arabic, and we choose the interpreter accordingly. You can ask for a female interpreter for a female patient, especially for women's health appointments; we confirm availability when you book. Details are on the interpreter page. We prepare Arabic translations of written documents, such as the discharge summary and the operation report, in Modern Standard Arabic, so that any doctor in your country can understand them.

Halal food, prayer and privacy: how do you request them?

Clinics in Georgia receive patients of different religions and traditions, but there is no single standard requiring halal food or a prayer room. So each such need is a request that we send to the clinic in advance, in writing, and we let you know its answer before you choose a clinic. We cannot promise that every request will be met everywhere, but we can find out where it will be.

• Food. We ask whether the clinic kitchen can prepare halal meals or leave out dishes containing pork and alcohol, and whether the family may bring food in from outside, if the doctor's diet allows.
• Prayer. We ask whether there is a quiet place to pray, and whether the timing of procedures can be fitted around prayer times, provided this does not harm the treatment.
• Privacy. A female doctor or nurse for a female patient, a family member present during examinations, and a separate room. In some departments, such as intensive care, this will not always be possible.
• Ramadan. If your treatment falls during the month of fasting, discuss the schedule for the operation, anaesthesia and medicines with the treating doctor. Only the doctor can decide what is safe; we make sure the question is raised before you arrive.

Mandatory insurance and payment: what should you keep in mind?

Since 1 January 2026, health and accident insurance has been mandatory for every tourist arriving in Georgia. For a family, this means a separate policy for each member, children included, with a sum insured of at least GEL 30,000 and covering the entire visit. The policy may be issued by an insurer in your own country, but it must be in Georgian or English. If your policy is only in Arabic, ask your insurer for an English version or an English-language certificate before you travel.

Many families in the Gulf states have private health insurance through an employer. Such a policy sometimes covers planned treatment abroad, but as a rule only with prior approval and certain documents. Before you choose a clinic, ask your insurer in writing whether it will pay for treatment in Georgia, what form of invoice it requires and in which language, and whether it needs certified documents. We write about choosing a policy in more detail in our insurance guide.

Georgia's state Universal Healthcare Programme does not cover foreign visitors. The clinic's bill is paid directly to the clinic, against an invoice issued in your name, while our coordination fee is paid separately, under a written agreement. The payment method, currency and stages, such as an advance before the operation and the final bill at discharge, should be agreed in writing before you arrive; we do not promise in advance that any particular method will work.

Which documents should you bring?

If your hospital issues reports in English, a Georgian doctor can usually understand a complete and legible document without translation, so often only the part written in Arabic is translated into English by our medical translation service. Send us your records before you travel: the clinic draws up the treatment plan and the price only after reading them.

• the latest doctor's report and discharge summaries, and recent laboratory test results;
• the CT or MRI recording in digital form, and the radiologist's report;
• a list of your current medicines with their international names;
• each traveller's policy and passport, and for residents, their residence card as well.

Personal medicines, if they are ordinary products, can be brought in without documents up to 10 standard packs; a narcotic or psychotropic medicine requires a certified prescription in English and a doctor's certificate, for a supply of up to 31 days. The detailed rules are on the medicines page.

Going home: apostille or legalisation?

Your doctor at home needs an accurate translation, not a stamp. But when a document goes to an employer, an insurance company or a state body, the requirement depends on whether your country is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. According to the Hague Conference status table, the Gulf states fall into two groups:

The table is based on the official status table of the Hague Conference, last updated on 30 June 2026.

An apostille on a document issued by a clinic is provided by the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice. Legalisation has two steps: first the same agency, then the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. The UAE, Kuwait and Qatar may also require their own certification; for example, the official page of the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi lists document attestation as a separate service. The list of the Georgian National Tourism Administration also includes the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Tbilisi; check the missions of Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman with your own country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Requesting copies, translation and dispatch are brought together in our documents for home service, while the apostille and legalisation are arranged by our apostille and legalisation service.

Frequently asked questions about coming from the Gulf states