The most common question before a Georgian formation is not about tax but about travel: do I have to go? The answer is no — and not as a marketing promise but because of how the process is built. This article describes it step by step, with the real timelines and the points where it genuinely gets stuck.
The process
- Day 0
Documents and name check
Passport copy, preferred company name, description of activity and shareholder structure. We check name availability and prepare the articles and the power of attorney.
- Day 1–2
Video appointment with the online notary
The power of attorney is notarised by video call. An in-person appointment with a notary in Germany, Austria or Switzerland is not required. You need a valid passport, a camera and about 20 minutes.
- Day 2–4
Apostille and dispatch
The notarised power of attorney receives the apostille under the Hague Convention and goes to Tbilisi by express courier. This step lies outside our control — the processing time of the issuing authority is the most common cause of delay.
- Day 5–7
Filing at the Public Service Hall
We file on behalf of the shareholders. Registration itself takes 1–3 business days, or one under the express procedure. The company then exists with a registration number and a tax number.
- From day 8
Invoicing possible
The company is operational. Contracts can be concluded, invoices issued, the tax status applied for.
- Day 8–15
Account opening
Banking runs in parallel. An active account typically takes 3–7 business days; the Visa card arrives within 5–10 business days by courier. Formation and banking together realistically take two to three weeks.
The video appointment is where this process differs from the usual expectation. What is notarised is not the Georgian company — that comes into existence at the Public Service Hall in Tbilisi. What is notarised is your power of attorney, under which we act there on your behalf. That is why an online notary suffices and why the in-person appointment falls away.
Where it genuinely gets stuck
What the price includes — and what it does not
This separation is why offers are hard to compare.
- Public Service Hall fee — included in every package tier
- Articles of association, shareholder resolutions and power of attorney
- Filing and representation on the ground
- Registration number and tax number
- Notary costs in your home country — payable there, not to us
- Apostille fee charged by the issuing authority
- Express courier to Tbilisi
- Ongoing bookkeeping — a separate monthly retainer
The online notary is bookable as an add-on if you have no access of your own. The express procedure at the Public Service Hall shortens filing to one business day. What each tier costs and which add-ons make sense in which constellation is set out in What a Georgian Formation Really Costs.
On site it is faster
Anyone travelling to Tbilisi anyway completes everything in one to three days — registration, account opening with an in-person appointment, tax status, signatures. The power of attorney, apostille and courier dispatch fall away entirely, and some banks prefer the in-person appointment in any case.
Both routes reach the same result. The difference is time and cost, not the quality of the structure.
What follows formation — work permit, tax status, ongoing obligations — is set out in What You Have Read Wrong About the Georgian Work Permit and Accounting & Compliance in Georgia; the documents side in detail in Apostille & Remote Notary.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to travel to Georgia to incorporate?
No. The company is registered at the Public Service Hall in Tbilisi on the basis of a notarised and apostilled power of attorney; we act there in your name. What is notarised is not the company but your power of attorney — which is why an online notary by video appointment suffices. Anyone on site anyway completes everything in one to three days.
Is a video appointment really enough instead of a notary visit?
For the power of attorney, yes. You need a valid passport, a camera and about 20 minutes. An in-person appointment with a notary in Germany, Austria or Switzerland is not required. The subsequent apostille is issued by an authority in your home country — a separate step and the most common cause of delay.
How long until the first invoice?
From receipt of the signed and apostilled power of attorney we work with seven business days to an operational company. Filing at the Public Service Hall accounts for one to three of those, or one under the express procedure. From day eight contracts can be concluded and invoices issued. The bank account runs in parallel and typically takes three to seven business days.
Why does the account take longer than the formation?
Because registration and banking follow different logics. The register checks formal requirements and is correspondingly fast. A bank discharges its own due-diligence duties: identification, verification of activity, source of funds. That part cannot be accelerated. Anyone needing a fixed start date therefore plans around the account, not the register.
What is not included in the package price?
The Public Service Hall fee is included in every tier, as are the articles, the power of attorney, filing and representation on the ground. Outside it remain the notary costs in your home country, the apostille fee charged by the issuing authority and the express courier to Tbilisi. Ongoing bookkeeping is a separate monthly retainer.
What most often delays a remote formation?
The apostille. It is issued by an authority in your home country whose processing time varies considerably — which quickly turns seven business days into ten or twelve. Second comes a description of activity that is too vague and prompts queries, at the latest during bank onboarding. Both can be defused in advance.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The timelines given are values from ongoing practice and are not warranted characteristics; the processing time for the apostille in your home country and the banks’ onboarding lie outside our control. As of May 2026, subject to changes in the law.