Healthcare for foreigners living in Georgia: the state programme, insurance, doctors and pharmacies

Whom does Georgia's Universal Healthcare cover?

In Georgia the main route to state-funded treatment is the Universal Healthcare Programme, created in 2013 by Government Resolution No. 36 and financed from general taxation. The programme is run by the National Health Agency, the state body that reimburses clinics for the cost of treating beneficiaries. For the patient this means that a participating clinic provides part of the service at the state's expense, and the patient covers the rest through a co-payment.

Article 5 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care grants the right to medical care under state programmes to two groups: Georgian citizens and stateless persons holding the relevant status in Georgia. The Agency's description of the programme names as beneficiaries holders of a document confirming citizenship, a neutral identity card or a neutral travel document, stateless persons with status, holders of refugee or humanitarian status, and asylum seekers.

A foreign national living in Georgia on a work, study, investment or family residence permit is not mentioned separately on this list. We could not find a rule in any source that would make such a person a beneficiary of the programme. So the realistic assumption is that the cost of doctor's visits, tests and hospital stays will fall on you or your insurance company. If your status is a special one, for example that of a refugee or a stateless person, ask at the clinic or the Agency on the basis of that very status.

The exception: the maternal and child health programme

Since 1 January 2018, holders of a permanent residence permit have been beneficiaries of the state maternal and child health programme. This change was made by Government Resolution No. 592 of 28 December 2017, after the Public Defender (Ombudsman), the state human rights institution, found that excluding permanent residents from pregnancy monitoring was discrimination on grounds of nationality. If you have permanent residence and are expecting a baby, ask at your antenatal clinic at your very first visit how you will be enrolled in this programme. How to sort out the paperwork after the birth is described in our guide to having a baby in Georgia.

What options does a foreign resident have?

The table below shows the general picture. It does not replace the answer a clinic or the Agency gives on your specific case, but it helps you work out in advance which question to ask whom.

The table is based on Article 5 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care, the National Health Agency's description of the programme and the Public Defender's 2018 statement. We found no clear rule on the rights of residence permit holders, so read that row with caution.

A small but important detail: a foreigner in Georgia with a severe or significant disability status who has lived in the country permanently and lawfully for the last ten years may be entitled to a social package if they do not receive a pension from their own country. This is a cash benefit, not health insurance, but it is worth knowing about for families who have lived here for a long time.

How do you choose private health insurance?

Since the start of 2026, a health and accident policy has been mandatory for tourists: its sum insured must be no less than GEL 30,000, and its text must be in Georgian or English. For the purposes of the law, a tourist is a visitor who spends more than one night and less than one year in the country. Whether this rule applies to a residence permit holder we could not establish from an official source; if you cross the border often, carry a policy with you. The rule itself, the exemptions and how to check a policy are explained in detail in our insurance guide.

For someone living in the country long term, a travel policy is rarely enough: it mainly covers unexpected illness and injury, not planned visits, management of a chronic condition or pregnancy. An individual health policy can be bought from an insurer operating in Georgia or from an international one, and employers sometimes enrol their staff in a group policy. Before you sign the contract, ask these questions:

• Which clinics are in the network? Ask in which cities and which clinics direct billing works, so that you do not have to pay upfront at every visit.
• What does the outpatient part cover? Family doctor, specialists, laboratory tests and medicines are often funded with a separate limit or a co-payment.
• What happens with a pre-existing condition? A condition diagnosed before the policy is often excluded or covered after a waiting period; ask for this term in writing.
• Pregnancy and childbirth. If you are planning to grow your family, check the waiting period and the limit.
• Evacuation and repatriation. If, in a serious case, you would want to return to your own country for treatment, this is a separate clause.
• Language and documents. Ask in which language the insurer accepts bills and medical reports, and whether it needs a translation.

You need to understand the policy pages precisely in your own language, especially the exclusions section. If the contract is only in Georgian, you can order a translation through our medical and legal translation service, and if a dispute with the insurer has already arisen, our insurance dispute lawyers can step in.

How do you see a family doctor or a specialist?

For planned outpatient care, a beneficiary of the Universal Healthcare Programme registers with one primary care clinic, using a document issued by a Georgian authority and signing a consent form. There, the family doctor refers the patient to specialists. For a foreigner outside the programme this registration is not required: you can see a family doctor, a general practitioner or a paediatrician at a private clinic as a paying patient, often directly, without a referral.

The UK government's travel advice warns that medical facilities are available in Tbilisi but can be expensive, while outside the capital the choice is limited. For a family living in the regions this means having a practical plan: find out in advance which nearby clinic you can go to, and for which situations you will need to travel to Tbilisi or Batumi.

Practical tips for your first visit

• When you call, ask whether the doctor speaks English or Russian; if not, bring an interpreter to the appointment. The Law of Georgia on Patient Rights gives foreigners the right to treatment, but does not require the clinic to provide an interpreter.
• Write down your previous diagnoses, operations, allergies and regular medicines on one page, in English or Georgian. Such a summary tells the doctor far more than a spoken explanation.
• At the end of the visit, ask for a written report. A clinic issues copies of medical records at the patient's written request, and these copies will later be useful to a doctor or an insurer in your own country.
• Keep the payment receipt and the invoice: an insurer will often consider reimbursement only on the basis of an itemised bill.

Patient rights, including the rules on a second opinion and informed consent, are explained in our guide to international patient rights. To talk to a Georgian clinic in your own language, there is our medical interpreter service, in person at the appointment or by video call.

How do prescriptions and pharmacies work?

In Georgia, medicines are divided by law into three groups. Groups I and II are dispensed on a doctor's prescription and include, for example, antibiotics, hormonal medicines and controlled substances. Group III is sold without a prescription: painkillers, fever reducers and some cold and digestive remedies. This classification applies to each medicine individually, so the same substance at different doses may fall into different groups.

Group II prescriptions are no longer written on paper; they are electronic only, and the doctor issues them in the national system. As a result, you will usually be unable to buy such a medicine with a paper prescription from your own country, and you will need to see a local doctor. The Ministry has also approved a list of medicines that may be dispensed without a prescription in an emergency. Since April 2022, doctors have mainly prescribed medicines by their international, that is generic, name, so at the pharmacy you may be offered a product from another manufacturer with the same active substance.

When bringing your own medicines, bear in mind that some products may have a different legal status in Georgia from the one they have in your country. Customs limits, the paperwork for narcotic and psychotropic medicines and continuing treatment locally are described on our Medicines service page, and the general rules for travel in our guide to travelling with medicines.

What should you do in an emergency?

Georgia's single emergency number is 112. Calls are free from any landline or mobile phone, on any network, at any time of day or night. One number covers the ambulance, the police and the fire service: tell the operator you need an ambulance, give the address and briefly describe what happened.

The Ministry of Health hotline 1505 has a different purpose: it answers information questions, for example about state programmes and clinics. In a life-threatening situation, always dial 112.

The Law of Georgia on Health Care obliges a medical facility to provide emergency care to a patient whose condition is life-threatening. This obligation is not tied to citizenship. However, after the emergency stage, hospital treatment is paid for by a patient outside the programme, so notify your insurer as soon as you are admitted. We could not find an official answer on what an ambulance costs a foreigner, so we do not state it.

Save your embassy's number, your insurer's hotline and your policy number on your phone, and tell one family member where your medical documents are kept. What to do if you fall ill while visiting as a tourist, and who pays the hospital bill, is described on our If you fall ill in Georgia page.

Which medical documents should you keep track of?

A foreigner living in Georgia uses medical documents in two directions: the history you bring from home is needed by your Georgian doctor, and the records created here will later be useful in your own country, with your insurer or with your employer. In both cases the rule is the same: keep reports, test results and imaging both digitally and on paper, in date order.

1. Before you arrive

   Gather the main medical reports of recent years, operation reports, your vaccination record and a list of your regular medicines, in English if possible.

2. While you are in Georgia

   Get a written report at every visit. After a hospital stay, ask for the discharge summary, and request a full copy of your records from the clinic in writing.

3. When another country needs the document

   A Georgian document needs a translation, and if the receiving authority requires official certification, notarisation or an apostille will be added.

We translate Georgian discharge summaries through our discharge summary translation service, and our guide to notarisation and the apostille will help you choose the right certification route. When you leave the country for good, we prepare your document package through our Documents for home service.

How can Solidaroba.ge help?

Solidaroba.ge is a private portal. It is not a clinic, an insurance company, a state body or the state Solidarity Fund, and it does not fund treatment. Our work is coordination: we help you choose a licensed clinic, organise appointments, bring in an interpreter, and translate and certify documents. Decisions about treatment are always made by the treating doctor.

Foreigners living in Georgia most often come to us with one of three needs: an appointment with a specialist where language is a barrier; translation of Georgian records to continue treatment at home; and a complex case where you need to compare clinics and get written quotes for a planned operation. All three are described on our page for international patients, and our guide to choosing a clinic sets out criteria for assessing one. You can communicate with us in English and Russian, and for other languages we bring in an interpreter.

Frequently asked questions about healthcare for foreigners in Georgia